Have you been thinking about creating a website for your company, but don’t know how much money you should spend on it?

Good news!

In this blog, I will go over the different aspects a website has, and how much you should spend based on the outcome you want for your website.

So, let’s start with the basics:

Are Websites Worth the Money?

Yes!

In today’s digital economy, e-commerce and internet traffic is the front line of new business opportunities.
Therefore, having a functioning, interactive, and professional website is the first step for any successful small business.

First, you need to ask yourself, WHY?

Why do you want to have a website? What will be the purpose of your new website?

  • Showcase Your Work or Expertise
  • Build Your Reputation
  • Generating Online Leads (most important one!
  • Sell Online
  • Educate your Customer or Lead (Nurture Sales)
  • Because everyone has it. (I hope this is not your reason)

Whatever the reason is, let’s jump to today’s question:

How much should you spend on a new website?

Simple!

If the goal of a website is to make you more money, then you should spend proportionally.

We won’t lie to you. Nowadays, you can create your own website for free!

Well not exactly, like the old saying,


“There’s no free lunch.”

You will still have to pay for the domain, hosting, and other things.

Here are some of the basic website expenses you should consider:

  • Domain names are around $15 per year
  • Hosting ranges from $85 to about $250 per year
  • Maintenance of the website ranges from $0 to about $1,000 a month
  • SSL certificate is about $50 per year

Simply remember that your website spending needs should reflect what your business hopes to get out of your website.

Now let’s see the different price ranges for a website design:

“Free” or DIY Website Design Pricing

There are many sites that advertise free website designs and templates, but there’s always a hook.

They either advertise themselves, or you need to start paying a small monthly fee.

Some of the things you need to consider are:

  • How tech-savvy are you?
  • How much is your time worth?
  • What kind of site do you need?

We understand that starting a business also means having a tight budget.

Most small business owners forget to set a budget for their website design.

If this is your case, there are some characteristics that your website must have so it can make your company grow.

Start with these 3 helpful web design tips and 5 Things a Successful Small Business Website Needs

Rising the number…

$500 Website Design or Freelance Web Design Pricing

With $500 you can contract an oversea freelancer to build a website for you.

Just keep in mind that hiring a freelancer will not guarantee you that the website will be good enough for your company to grow.

Just remember, the amount of money you spend is how much it will reflect on your website.

Now let’s get into the thousands…

Between $2,000 and $5,000 Website Design Pricing – Small Website Design Agency

This is the perfect range for a truly small business or startup company. A small website design agency have a lot of expertise in design, content, and user experience. These skills come handy to have a successful website.

A small agency can create and if you hire them monthly, make your website grow, and become more popular.

Small agencies will be able to keep your company’s website up-to-date with new technology.

Between $10,000 and $30,000 Website Design Pricing – Boutique Website Design Agency

Agencies in this range are usually good at making websites for businesses in specialized industries that are ready to bring in new leads and increase sales. They typically have a lot of experience in their field, strong design and content team, and a well-defined process.

While they may offer better service or create a better website than the smaller agencies, they still may have limitations in terms of expertise for more advanced or custom products.

$40,000 and up Website Design Pricing – Medium to Large Website Design Agency

Now we’re talking about a serious investment!

A mid-sized agency will dig deep into the details of your company, starting with a robust discovery process and/or branding exercise to fully define and develop all your website’s needs and functions. The agency will have a team large enough and specialized enough to customize your website and define success. These projects can take many months and go through many revisions to get everything just right.

A half-million-dollar budget for a website will include unique and custom functions for a serious and invested audience.

A website project of this size may also use a customized Software as a Service (SaaS) that requires high-level technical knowledge – and costs some serious dollars. At this budget amount, you’ll have a dedicated team committed to the project for years of innovation, development and implementation.

In Conclusion

Defining what your business needs are and what do you want your website to accomplish is the most critical factor.

In an ideal world, your website budget should be as high as your business can afford while still making a profit -said the marketing agency wink wink

Ok, now being serious…

Finding that happy medium between spending and revenue is the tricky part of webpage spending.

Many industry consultants recommend spending between 10-12% of gross revenue on marketing and advertising – this number should include your website costs.

When asking yourself if you should start a website, the question should NOT be:

“How little can I get away with spending?”

But rather:

“What does my business need, to grow and expand”?

Keep in mind

If your company has no website, building from the ground up may be more expensive.

If you already have a website, find out if it’s time for a website redesign?

There is no debate that functional websites reign king in business marketing. Ease of use, blogs, mobile device accessibility, direct contact, and other quirks are some of the basic characteristics all websites need to draw more business but may be higher in cost.

What road will you decide to take?

Share your comments below.

 

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