How Much Should a Small Business Website Cost?
In current times it is critical that a business invests in a well-designed website. The company’s success can be primarily from a modern website that displays perfectly across all devices, ranks high on search engines, and delivers great content and information. Whether you create the website yourself or have a professional complete the project for you, here are some important factors to consider.
Domain Name
You need a domain name like www.mycompanyname.com, so your website can be routed and identified. You can buy a brand new domain name for just about $15 / year depending on the domain registrar company. If you want an aged domain name, which already exists then be prepared to pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Some aged domains have even been sold in the millions.
Hosting
In order for your website to be seen by millions of people online, you have to choose a virtual host (server) so that your website can be accessed. There are three types of host servers available.
Shared host – Cost effective, Great for small informative business websites
Private host – Good performance, great for small eCommerce websites
Dedicated server – High price, extremely fast, Great for big corporations
Your website developer should help you choose the best option, have in mind that the hosting fees are typically not included in the design and development fees.
Standard fees for hosting
Shared hosting: Spend as little as $3.95/month.
Virtual private hosting: Expect to spend at least $29.99/month.
Dedicated server hosting: Expect to invest roughly $99.99/month.
Before we jump to the numbers it is important to define the main difference between web design and web development.
Website Design
Web design is the process of designing a website in a graphic form. Think web design as the process of transforming an idea, or a story, into a visually appealing design. Just like an architect creates a layout plan of a house before construction, a web designer creates the website layout before a web developer can start coding it. Web designers use graphics software like Photoshop, Affinity Designer, Sketch, Gimp, Adobe Illustrator, etc. to create the website layout and overall design.
Web development
Web developers turn website designs into a live website by using web languages and software tools to develop the design and functionality of a website. Web developers are categorized by front-end and back-end developers. Front-end developers use 3 main languages; HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and implement CMS (Content Mangement Systems) to easily allow users to make changes to the website without any coding skills. Back-end developers use programming languages like Ruby, PHP, Java, etc to create website implementations and features like logins signups, e-commerce infrastructure, carts, checkouts, user management, data management, etc.
Web Design + Web Development = Awesome Website
The website’s design and development is the most important part of website creation. During website design, the visual materials such as colors, photos, videos, and content need to be established. After web design, web development takes over the project, and factors like SEO, UX/UI, languages or frameworks to use are discussed to select the right technology for your organization’s particular needs. Keep in mind that by providing photos, videos, and content you are reducing the overall cost of the project.
Depending on the size of your company or specific budget, the cost of a website will vary depending on many factors like the number of pages, functionality, technology, etc. An informative small business website can range anywhere from $1,300 – $2,500. The ideal range for most small business websites is anywhere from $2,500 – $5,000 and should support blog implementation, social media integration, Extensive SEO, Google Analytics, and a robust framework capable of expanding as the business grow. Above $5000 price websites is for larger websites that require robust implementations like e-commerce functionality, login, signup, checkout, payment getaways, etc. which require a larger time investment from a design and development perspective.
Depending on what you decided along the way, plan to invest in a well-made website that will give you back what you spent and more.