What is the Real Cost of Building a Website?
Websites are essential for business. They establish trust, give an online presence where potential customers can find answers to questions, and therefore can act as a personal assistant.
It’s hard to argue against the idea of having a website.
So what does it cost?
The truth is, that the cost of a website can vary greatly depending on your specific needs, goals, and the complexity of your requests.
All of the cost averages will be based on US service prices as of 2024.
Initial Design and Development Costs
If you do not have a website — why would you be reading this if you do have one?? — then this is where most of your cost will come from. It is the foundation of the project.
Like building a brick-and-mortar business, the design and development are structure, electrical, plumbing, walls, cabinets, flooring, and everything else inside.
The more extravagant the design, and higher the cost. The more features, the higher the cost.
Basic Website ($1,000 — $5,000):
A simple website can cost anywhere from $1,000-$5,000. A simple Home, About, Services, and Contact page is a basic website.
Many web developers will opt to build these websites on a platform like Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress. It is the most cost-effective solution. You can work with the developer to create a layout and style that works for you, but the functionality of the platform is simple.
Custom Website ($5,000 — $15,000+)
A custom website requires more customization, like customized forms, memberships, scheduling & booking, etc. It also can contain everything that you would get on a basic website. These websites allow for much greater flexibility and scalability.
E-commerce Website ($10,000 — $30,000+)
In addition to the features you get on a basic and custom website, websites an e-commerce website allows you to add products, have a secure payment gateway, and accept varying payment types.
The specific cost depends on the number of payment options, integrations with third-party platforms, and the number or type of products on the website.
Domain Name and Hosting
Maybe you have a domain name already, or maybe you still need to find one.
The domain name is like your street address, and what you will give to people so they can navigate to your business’s website.
Hosting is needed to show your website online.
Domain Name ($10 — $50/year)
The domain name cost depends on what domain name you use, and how popular of a name it is.
Website Hosting ($100 — $500/year)
Hosting is where all the files for your website are stored and sent to visitors when they visit your page. Hosting can be shared, which lowers the cost, but if you have a very high-traffic site, such as an e-commerce site, a dedicated hosting server might be necessary.
Ongoing Maintenance and Updates
Websites take maintenance. They are often comprised of many different libraries, frameworks, and other third-party tools. When these are upgraded or worked on, they can require other dependencies to be updated as well, otherwise, the website could break.
Just like you have to update your phone occasionally, every website needs maintenance.
Security and Software Updates ($100 — $1,000/year)
Updates to plugins, software, and security features are critical to keep your site safe and secure for your users.
Content Updates and SEO ($500 — $5,000/year)
It’s best to update the content of your website frequently to stay up-to-date with the newest SEO best practices and keep your site’s content fresh and relevant. If you have a developer helping to keep this up-to-date, this is the rough average yearly cost, dependent highly on how many ongoing updates you want.
Additional Features and Integrations
SEO Optimization ($500 — $5,000)
SEO is how you move up in the search engine. It is how people can find you, organically. With good attention to SEO, you can gain a lot of traffic.
Try googling something, like “Snow Shoes” and notice what you see first. SEO can be local, helping people find a business on Google Maps, or it can be general like what you see in the main Google Search.
SEO services come at a cost, but you generally get what you pay for, and the initial work keeps on giving.
Third-Party Integrations ($500 — $10,000+)
If you want to integrate your website with a CMS, booking system, email marketing, or other integrations, you’ll have to pay for these additionally as they require additional development work.
Long-Term Costs vs. Short-Term Savings
Low-to-no-code options exist for building websites, like Squarespace or Wix. These options are much cheaper than hiring a developer to build out your website, but you need to decide if this is right for you.
Consider your long-term goals. If you want to expand your website later, potentially adding a shopping cart or third-party integrations, then keep in mind that migrating off of these platforms later can be pricey in inconvenient.
Using these quick-build websites can come with limitations in terms of customization, scalability, and ownership.
Depending on your business needs, it might save you time and money in the long run to invest a custom website.
Tailoring Costs to Your Business Needs
There is no clear way to know what your website will cost to build without speaking to a web developer. The end price largely depends on your business goals and needs.
Understanding the different factors that can influence the price can help you make an informed decision that will be future-proof.
Your website is a business asset and can be a very valuable one.
