How Much Does a Website Cost?
65% of people now search online or look for some kind of review before buying, So, not having a small business website with reviews can leave a poor or negative impression on them. If you’re postponing your plan to have your own site due to money, you should not.
This is because small business website cost has come down drastically these days.
But how much does it cost to build a website? Two-thirds of small business owners spend less than £7,000 to design, build, and launch a website.
If you just want to create a website to promote your products and services, you can expect to spend around £1000 to £5000. Businesses that need to offer a buying or booking facility can put up a website for about £5,000 and anything up to £25,000 for a larger multi-product site.
If you want to know the exact average website cost, it will not be possible for us to list it here, as the cost of website building depends on various factors, such as
· The complexity of a website
· Copywriting cost
· Choice of domain and hosting company
· Way to have a website (DIY route or hiring a website designer)
How much does a website cost per month?
A basic website can cost you around £25 to £50 per month if you choose set up it using a website builder. To increase the functionality of your website, you may expect to pay some additional fee per month, depending on the price of add-on apps you choose. You can pick a free website builder for your small business to minimize costs but quality and functions are very limited.
You should also understand that your monthly website cost will increase if you choose to have a website built by a website designer in Bromley Kent. But there are significant benefits that offset the additional cost.
How much does a website cost per year?
A website can cost you £100 to £5000 or more per year, depending on the route you choose to have a website and the functions you’re looking at.
If you use a website builder, the cost will be around £100 to £3000 per year. And hiring a website designer to get a custom website built can cost you about £1500 to £10,000 or more per year plus the upfront cost of hiring the designer.
The annual cost of a website solely depends on the type of website you’re making and how you are making it. Complex websites built by experienced designers will always cost you more money, but the benefits can far outweigh the costs.
DIY Website Creation Vs. Built for You
The Internet is jam-packed with articles, guides, videos, and other resources on how to build a website.
So, if you are web or tech-savvy, you can opt for DIY website creation instead of hiring someone to build a website for you. DIY website creation can save you some money, but it comes at a price – namely your time, lack of understanding, look, feel, design and ultimately getting your website ranked and seen by your customers.
If you are in any doubt, it may just be a better decision to hire an expert to do the job.
Using a Website Builder Vs. Custom Made Website Design
With the help of a website builder, business owners can create their websites without hiring a professional web developer.
Is a website builder the right choice for your business? Or you should go for a custom-built website.
Considering the following factors can help you make the right decision:
Budget
Building a website using a website builder is clearly cheaper than hiring a web design agency to have a custom-made website. Domain registration fees and hosting service charges are usually already included in the monthly or annual website builder prices. This is a big factor for some small businesses, but using a web designers doesn’t always mean expensive.
Today there is a smart hydrid option. Use a website designer that is experienced and approved by one of the companies that offers smart pre-made templates like WIX or SquareSpace. That way their costs for designing are much reduced but you can avail of their talents in terms of tailoring the template to suit your needs and then the other stages like app integration and optimisation.
Time and Energy
If you’re not web or tech-savvy, using a website builder can eat up tons of your time and energy. But hiring a developer can save you time that you can utilise to run your business – in short, do what you are good at, running your business.
Security and Support
Website builder’s subscription cost includes security and support. So, you don’t have to invest in the security of your website. And there is no website maintenance cost.
But if you hire a web design agency to have a custom-made website, you have to invest in the security of your website. Also, you may have to spend some money regularly on the maintenance of your website, but they will do that for you.
Skill Requirement
Website builders claim that it is super easy to build a website using their platforms. But there is always a learning curve to use those platforms optimally. If you’re not web or tech-savvy, using a website builder will require a big time commitment.
However, you don’t need any web or tech skills to hire a web designer to have a custom-made website design. Again, do what you are good at – run your business.
Customisation
Website builders tend to offer limited customisation options. So if you want a professional website with lots of customisation to suit your business needs, a typical off the shelf website builder may not do the job.
Custom website development costs more money, but it offers a lot more options to get your website exactly as you want it.
Breakdown Costs of Building and Maintaining a Basic Business Website
Whether you want to run an online store or a simple website, you should know that good website development costs money.
Even if you’re thinking about using one of those free themes, you will have to spend money on web hosting, domain name registration fees, fee for premium plugins (if you use any), etc. And most sites do need some just to function.
And not to forget, if you go the Wordpress route, you will have to hire a WordPress developer if you want to use a custom WordPress themes.
We have mentioned below the breakdown costs you may have to bear to have your own website:
Domain Name
You can expect to pay £2 to £20 per year for a domain registration fee. Some hosting providers and website builders offer a free domain for one year. So you should check it with your hosting provider.
Popular domain name registrars include Domain.com, Bluehost, GoDaddy, etc.
Web Hosting
Web hosting costs anywhere from £40 to £250 per year, depending on the provider you choose. If you’re looking for a powerful web hosting service, you can opt for Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting or dedicated hosting. If you’re building a WordPress site, managed WordPress hosting can be the right choice for you.
SSL Certificate
SSL certificates are now a must. They provide a secure authentication to your clients for your website. They can cost from £65 to £300 per year. A few hosting companies and web designers offer a free SSL certificate with their plans.
Website Theme
OK, so here is where you need to make a decision. DIY website templates versus a bespoke design. Or as mentioned above the ideal hybrid. Hire a designer who can tailor a premium template to suit your business. You can get this done for around £850 - £1000 which is a lot less than a 100% bespoke design.
Ecommerce
If you want to run an online store, you can expect to pay from £2000 to £25000 to add Ecommerce functionality to your website. Plus, do not forget the add-on cost of payment clearance and banking.
SEO
To improve the visibility of your website on search engines, you will have to work on the websites optimisation. These are the areas Google and other search engines look out for and then determine how to rank your website. Such things may include the coding of your website, the history of the domain name, internal and external links, blogs, quality of content, tags, the competitiveness of your sector and more.
Unless you understand the way search engines work and their algorithms this is certainly a strong reason for you to use a web designer. SEO can cost you anything from £100 per month for some basic updates to over £500 a month for high input requirements in a very competitive sector.
Website Content
Content cost depends on how many web pages you’re going to have and the type of content you’re going to feed into your content management system. Generally, you will have to pay £100 for one web page. Blogs, videos, e-books, white papers are charged differently.
Images
If you’re going to have a visually appealing website, you will have to use quality images on your website. Stock images can cost you £15 to £50 per image. And hiring a photographer can cost you £100 to £1000 per photo shoot.
Additional Apps and Integrations
To make your website fully functional, you may need to buy some apps and hire someone to do integrations. Google Analytics and Google Search Console are critical integrations you must get them done. You may also consider buying a social media plugin.
General Website Maintenance
Website maintenance costs money. You can expect to pay £100 per year for a small website and £300 to £600 per year for a mid-size website.
Digital Marketing
This is really hard to quantify and depends upon your business sector, your competition and your needs. Companies spend anything from £500 to £50,000 per month on digital marketing.
Final thoughts
Now that you know – how much does it cost to build a website? It’s time to make a plan to have a website for your business.
Whether you want to outsource web development or do it yourself, you should understand that a fully functional website simply costs money. But it doesn’t have to cost the earth if you are honest and plan. Pozitive Media can out together an affordable package that covers design, build, SEO and maintenance.
NOTE: We claim no right or title to this article which appears in its original form in small biz trends dot com. Author recognized as Sandeep Babu.
For a more precise quote of a professional website that meets your needs, contact the best website designers in Bromley Kent on 0800 292 2921 or go to www.pozitivemedia.com