Affordable Website Design – How Much Should a Website Cost?

It is imperative in today’s day and age that businesses have a website. In spite of this, according to Forbes, only seventy-one percent of businesses had a website in 2023.[1] This means that twenty-nine percent did not. This is very harmful for businesses without a web presence as seventy-six percent of consumers report that they look at a business’ website before visiting its location.[2] Putting these stats together means that companies with a website increase their chances of looking like this:

While those who are holding out, due to a belief that this new-fangled internet thing is just a fad, are more likely to wind up looking like this:

We’re assuming that you prefer to look like the former and not the latter. This means that your business needs a website. One of the most common questions we receive from businesses of all sizes is “how much should a website cost?” Knowing what to look for in a developer can help a small business owner to keep the process affordable. We are, therefore, writing this guide to help you better determine appropriate pricing when you are talking to website designers and developers. If you would like to discuss our services then contact us online or by telephone today. We work with companies throughout the United States.

Deciding how much to pay for a website starts with determining what your business needs are

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It is common for people to ask how much a website should cost or how affordable one should be. Quite often, however, this question gets asked in a bit of a vacuum. It is important to remember that the cost of a website which will meet one business’ needs will be different from that of a site which meets another business’ needs. This is no different than saying that a married couple with several children may pay more for housing than a single person since they need more bedrooms. Deciding how much to pay for a website, therefore, starts with determining what your business needs. This section of our guide is devoted to helping you figure what it is you actually need and how a web developer can help you to determine those needs.

Focusing solely on what you actually need from a website will help to keep costs down

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Two primary drivers will determine the final cost of a website. These are the size of the site itself (meaning the number of pages) as well as functionality included in the website. Examples of added functionality, which increase costs, can include e-commerce options, online scheduling, and more. By making sure that you only incorporate pages and functions, which will actually be used, you can help to keep your costs down. Adding pages which aren’t viewed or functions which aren’t used, by contrast, will unnecessarily increase the cost. While this may sound like a “duh” type of statement, it is common for people to include options or content in their website which adds no value to the business. Doing so only increases their costs.

The best way to ensure that you are only paying for what you actually need is to ask yourself “will this actually be used?” As an example, it is common for clients to inquire about incorporating text/chat functionality into a new website so that potential customers can chat with them in real time. When we ask, however, if our client or one of their employees will actually be available to engage in such chats during all business hours, they often say “no.” When we ask our clients if it’s worth it to include chat functionality, just so their customers would see a chat box which says “unavailable,” our clients often believe it would not be worth it. Adding such functionality would, therefore, lead to an increased expense while adding no value to the business. If, on the other hand, the client had an employee who would always be available to respond to chats or texts, then adding this functionality may actually be worth it. This is just one example of how the need for a feature can be determined by looking at whether you will actually use the feature.

Your web developer should assist you with determining what you actually need from the website

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An experienced web developer will take the time to learn about your business and your overall goals. This includes finding out about your current situation and how you hope to grow and expand in the future. This, in turn, will allow your developer to make suggestions about what may or may not be best for your business. As an example, when building a website for a storage unit company, we suggested the ability to allow people to register for their storage unit online and to set up recurring payments. Likewise, when building a website for an accounting firm, we may suggest including an online portal where their clients can access documents. There have also been instances in which a client called us thinking that they wanted certain functionality, but we helped them to realize that their customers would be unlikely to use it. These are examples of how we help customers to determine what is, and what is not, needed in a website so that they are only paying for what they actually need.

Another key portion of making sure that you are paying for what you need is to build your website with the future in mind. It is common for us to have conversations with a client in which it is determined that certain functionality or additional web pages may be needed in the future. If this is the case, it is important that we build out their product in a way that these items can be added in the future. Suppose, for example, it is best for someone to begin with a “starter” website which only consists of a few pages. We will build the website in a way which can be added upon in the event that they wish to upgrade to something larger in the future. This avoids the expense of throwing out what we built with the starter site and building the subsequent product from scratch. So, while any product should be built based on your current needs, it is important that future expansion be kept in mind.

Unfortunately, there are many web developers who will simply try to sell business owners all the “bells and whistles” so that they can charge the highest possible price. There are a few things to look out for to make sure that this isn’t happening to your business when you’re choosing a developer. First, when a developer is making suggestions in regard to adding functionality, they should actually be able to articulate how that functionality will help your business. Simply stating that others in your industry have such functionality should not be considered an appropriate answer by the developer. Also, if you initially tell the developer what it is you want from the website, and they offer no feedback as to whether some things may be a waste of money, then this should be a red flag. Avoid the developers who simply listen to what you want and say “OK” without regarding input. These are just a few ways in which you can make sure that a designer is not charging you for content or functionality which will go unused.

Website pricing will be based on the number of pages and functionality required to meet your business needs

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Once your business needs have been determined then a web developer can determine the number of pages your website will need as well as what functionality to include. This, in turn, can allow the developer to provide you with a quote. It’s important to understand why size and functionality will determine the price. It’s also important to understand the fact that your developer should be able to articulate a set structure which they follow when coming up with the price which they quote you. This section of our guide will discuss each of these issues in turn.

Why the combination of size and included features should determine the price of a website

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Understanding why adding additional sections to a website, as well as additional functionality impacts the price, is straightforward. More sections/content and more functionality will equal more work for the developer. It is important to understand, however, that these costs can be kept down. This occurs when your developer works with you to determine what it is you actually need for your website instead of trying to “oversell” you. It is common for clients to contact us believing that they want or need certain functionality, and then realize that it would be unnecessary after we discuss their options. Also, there are simply times when less is more. Such times occur when extra functionality or additional website size may make the user experience confusing for your potential customers. If a developer begins the conversation by immediately trying to sell you their largest option, then this should be a red flag.

Website developers should have a set price structure when developing a quote for you or your business

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When a website designer is preparing a quote for you then they should be developing it from a set price structure which they have. By this I mean that they should readily know that “x” costs “y.” As part of our website design services, in our business a ten-page website will cost $3,000. This automatically includes functionality such as push-to-call for mobile devices, a “contact us” form, and more. Other additional functions have a set price attached to them. An online scheduler, for example, would be an extra charge of $500. Similarly, e-commerce functionality (meaning an online store) would be an additional $1,500. All functions and additional pages have a “set price” in this way, meaning we can quickly develop a quote instead of pulling a number out of thin air. If a developer simply pulls a number out of a hat then it is likely they are simply telling you the largest amount which they think they can get you to pay. They may charge someone else less for a similar website. This is why your developer should be able to break down their quote and explain why it is as much as it is.

Unfortunately, there are many website designers who do not follow a set structure and are simply trying to charge as much as they can to a given customer. This is true even though the next customer may be charged less for the same product. We, half-jokingly, say that such “developers” are basing their price on how short they happen to be on the rent for a given month. Such quotes tend to be highly inflated. By asking a potential developer how their price structure works, and requiring them to answer, you can avoid having to deal with unscrupulous companies.

An “affordable” website does not mean it is cheap

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Small business owners sometimes look for the cheapest option when starting a website for their new company. Unfortunately, this can amount to a complete waste of the business owner’s money as the cheapest option may turn out to be something which provides no value to the business. This section of our guide will discuss why a website with the lowest absolute price tag may not be your best option. It will also discuss why affordability should be viewed through the prism of value received for the money invested.

The “cheapest” website may not fit your business needs

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The absolute cheapest option for building a website can easily result in you receiving something which does not fit your business needs. Such websites are likely to be built from a “cookie-cutter” template and are not tailored to your specific business. This, in turn, means several things. First the UI (user-interface) will likely not be designed in a way specifically meant to ensure the greatest engagement from your web visitors. This will result in people leaving your site quickly, and not becoming your customers, since sixty-one percent of website users leave within five seconds if they cannot find what they are looking for^[3]. Also, cheap options are likely to be built without SEO in mind. They will often load slowly (which hurts a website in search) and will often be missing what is known as “structured data,” which is something that Google increasingly looks to. Having a website that your users will quickly leave, even if they do manage to find it, does little to nothing to help your business. This is why having an ultra-cheap option, which doesn’t fit your needs, can amount to a waste of valuable funds.

The “affordability” of a website should be viewed by weighing its cost against the value provided

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If a website provides no value to your business then the amount of money you should have paid for it is:

So when determining whether a potential website for your business is “affordable,” you need to consider how much value you are adding to your business and how much that value costs. This is a website which is likely to resonate with your potential customers, validate your business in the eyes of those who otherwise have not heard about you, and which provides the functionality needed to make life easier for you and your customers. What this entails will vary from business to business. A startup construction company, for example, can often improve their business with a $500 starter website. A large accounting office, by contrast, may need a website of fifteen pages, online scheduling, and a client portal. This can typically run in the area of $5,500. These are both situations where the website would add immense value to the business. In other words, getting what you need at the best possible price is what makes a website “affordable.”

Examples of how much a website might cost

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As mentioned above, all products which we build as part of our website design services are priced through a set structure. Here are a few examples of such costs.

• A single-page “starter” website can be created for $500. This is ideal for brand-new companies in the areas of construction, landscaping, etc. Such a website can include a section which features the company’s services, a gallery of work, a contact form, and more.
• A larger website of up to ten pages can be created for $3,000. Additional pages can be added at a cost of $100 per page.
• An online store (e-commerce functionality) can be added to any website for an additional $1,500.
• An online client portal, for sharing documents and records back and forth, can be added for $1,500.
• Online scheduling can be added for $500.
• Etc.

The cost of larger projects can be determined by adding these costs together. A ten-page website with an online store, for example, would cost $4,500 ($3,000 + $1,500). Additionally, it will be necessary to generate verbiage (written content) for the pages. To determine what type of website would work best for your business, and to receive a quote, contact us today.

Is it worth it to build your own website?

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It is common for small business owners to ask themselves the question “is it worth it to build my own website?” There tends to be a problem, however, in the way that this question is typically asked. This problem is the fact that small business owners often think “If I build it myself, I can save the cost of a web developer.” This logic fails, however, due to the fact that one is only “saving the cost” if they value their own time at zero. The time spent building one’s own website would often be better spent serving existing customers and engaging in other business growth activities. Attempting to build one’s website, therefore, tends to waste valuable time in attempting to create a product which would be far below the quality of what would be created by a developer. So to put it simply, the question of whether it is worth it to build one’s own website can typically be answered “no.”

Another issue to consider if you are going to attempt to build your own website is that it will require ongoing maintenance. This need for maintenance can be highly disruptive to a business that is attempting to create its own web presence. It is vital that such maintenance be performed as failing to do so can result in aspects of the website not working, in security vulnerabilities, and more. This can be very time consuming for a small business who will have to teach themselves web development to take care of a website. Given the amount of time that this would take away from one’s business, it is hard to see how it can be “worth it” to build one’s own product.

Contact our website design team today

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If you would like to get started on a project then contact us today to get started. We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and on providing a high level of service. We look forward to assisting you.

References

^[1] Top Website Statistics For 2024 – Forbes, accessed at https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/website-statistics/ on April 10th, 2024

^[2] 76% of Consumers Look at Online Presence Before Physically Visiting a Business, PR Newswire, accessed at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/76-of-consumers-look-at-online-presence-before-physically-visiting-a-business-301272462.html on April 10th, 2024

^[3] Same as 1