What does it cost to have a new website built? | Websites That Work, LLC
What does it cost to have a new website built?
While I definitely do not recommend choosing which web services companies you should work with based solely on price, the cost of a new website is certainly a factor that has to be considered. As small business owners we absolutely must keep a close eye on the budget if we want to stay in business. So, what does it cost to have a new website designed and built? That's a loaded question! There are so many factors that play into the overall cost of a new website that it's hard to stick it all into one box.
There are plenty of web developers who charge a flat rate per site or per page for new website builds. There's nothing wrong with that in some situations, but a cookie cutter website won't work for everyone. If you have specific needs they may fall outside of what's included with preset pricing, and you need to make sure you're clear about that before hiring someone. Regardless of what you pay, if you don't get what you need it's not a good deal.
Things that effect the cost of a new website:
- How many pages. After the homepage, additional pages represent additional time and work for the developer, which they must charge for if they want to stay in business, too. Some pages are simpler than others, which is a major influence on the price for that page. For instance, the contact page should be very simple and straightforward. No frills - we don't want to make it difficult for folks to contact us. As a result, a contact page is usually pretty inexpensive. I include one at no cost with every homepage because I think they are so important.
- Content. Are you providing the content of are you relying on the web developer to provide it. That can be a major chunk of work for a developer because we usually do not know your business and/or industry near as well as you do. And we may not know what your secret sauce is, which I think is so important to establish your own special brand of web authority. My advice is to provide the actual content so it says what you want it to say. Then the developer should take a look at how to enhance that content for SEO purposes after which you should look at it again to make sure it's still saying what you want it to say. That will save you a bundle, get you what you want/need and offer the type of optimization you want for your site, as well.
- Third party stuff. Outside applications and services that need to be synced onto your site are usually not a big deal. But they can also sometimes be a real pain in the keester. It's important that the website designer outlines exactly how a third party app will be handled and how they will charge for that work.
- There are several other what I would call 'consistent' factors such as the configuration of an SSL certificate, the use of a CDN, Schema markup and mobile responsiveness that should be considered into the base price of every new website as far as I'm concerned. For instance, if I build a new site for you and it's hosted on WP Engine, the SSL and CDN configuration is included in the cost. It may not be on a different host. The reason for that is that WP Engine's platform makes many of those tools easy to configure and free, too.
- There are about a million other factors that are unique from site to site that will effect the price of a new website, too. The number of and optimization of images and/or videos, user interaction elements such as forms, search, etc. Other website elements that provide movement or some sort of transformation can be major expenses in some cases. Make sure ALL of these things are thoroughly discussed and a baseline for pricing is established BEFORE hiring a web designer. The last thing you need is a big surprise when it's time to pay.
Get a free website design and build quote
Like a pair of new shoes, one size - or type of website - doesn't fit all. In my opinion, the quote for a new website should be free. Sitting down and outlining the basics of what you need, how to get it for you and a real good idea of what that will cost shouldn't be all that hard. Once a preliminary agreement has been established, the web services person should put together a contract that breaks it all down into any pertinent details. At that point a healthy questions and answers session should get you to where you can make the decision to either hire this person of keep looking. If you should find that you want or need anything beyond the scope of work outlined in the actual agreement, you should expect to pay extra for the developers time just like you would for just about any sort of work you may hire a professional to do for you. For my part, I try very hard to make sure it's all spelled out ahead of time so there are no misunderstandings. And I discount my rate for additional work on a website that I'm already under contract to build. I just think that's the right way to do it.
I hope this article helps explain how a new website build is priced. And I hope that if you want a quote for your new website you'll consider Websites That Work as your online solution. Please share - Thanks!
John Goldshot
Let Us Know How We Can Help:
What does it cost to have a new website built?
While I definitely do not recommend choosing which web services companies you should work with based solely on price, the cost of a new website is certainly a factor that has to be considered. As small business owners we absolutely must keep a close eye on the budget if we want to stay in business. So, what does it cost to have a new website designed and built? That's a loaded question! There are so many factors that play into the overall cost of a new website that it's hard to stick it all into one box.
There are plenty of web developers who charge a flat rate per site or per page for new website builds. There's nothing wrong with that in some situations, but a cookie cutter website won't work for everyone. If you have specific needs they may fall outside of what's included with preset pricing, and you need to make sure you're clear about that before hiring someone. Regardless of what you pay, if you don't get what you need it's not a good deal.
Things that effect the cost of a new website:
- How many pages. After the homepage, additional pages represent additional time and work for the developer, which they must charge for if they want to stay in business, too. Some pages are simpler than others, which is a major influence on the price for that page. For instance, the contact page should be very simple and straightforward. No frills - we don't want to make it difficult for folks to contact us. As a result, a contact page is usually pretty inexpensive. I include one at no cost with every homepage because I think they are so important.
- Content. Are you providing the content of are you relying on the web developer to provide it. That can be a major chunk of work for a developer because we usually do not know your business and/or industry near as well as you do. And we may not know what your secret sauce is, which I think is so important to establish your own special brand of web authority. My advice is to provide the actual content so it says what you want it to say. Then the developer should take a look at how to enhance that content for SEO purposes after which you should look at it again to make sure it's still saying what you want it to say. That will save you a bundle, get you what you want/need and offer the type of optimization you want for your site, as well.
- Third party stuff. Outside applications and services that need to be synced onto your site are usually not a big deal. But they can also sometimes be a real pain in the keester. It's important that the website designer outlines exactly how a third party app will be handled and how they will charge for that work.
- There are several other what I would call 'consistent' factors such as the configuration of an SSL certificate, the use of a CDN, Schema markup and mobile responsiveness that should be considered into the base price of every new website as far as I'm concerned. For instance, if I build a new site for you and it's hosted on WP Engine, the SSL and CDN configuration is included in the cost. It may not be on a different host. The reason for that is that WP Engine's platform makes many of those tools easy to configure and free, too.
- There are about a million other factors that are unique from site to site that will effect the price of a new website, too. The number of and optimization of images and/or videos, user interaction elements such as forms, search, etc. Other website elements that provide movement or some sort of transformation can be major expenses in some cases. Make sure ALL of these things are thoroughly discussed and a baseline for pricing is established BEFORE hiring a web designer. The last thing you need is a big surprise when it's time to pay.
Get a free website design and build quote
Like a pair of new shoes, one size - or type of website - doesn't fit all. In my opinion, the quote for a new website should be free. Sitting down and outlining the basics of what you need, how to get it for you and a real good idea of what that will cost shouldn't be all that hard. Once a preliminary agreement has been established, the web services person should put together a contract that breaks it all down into any pertinent details. At that point a healthy questions and answers session should get you to where you can make the decision to either hire this person of keep looking. If you should find that you want or need anything beyond the scope of work outlined in the actual agreement, you should expect to pay extra for the developers time just like you would for just about any sort of work you may hire a professional to do for you. For my part, I try very hard to make sure it's all spelled out ahead of time so there are no misunderstandings. And I discount my rate for additional work on a website that I'm already under contract to build. I just think that's the right way to do it.
I hope this article helps explain how a new website build is priced. And I hope that if you want a quote for your new website you'll consider Websites That Work as your online solution. Please share - Thanks!
John Goldshot
Let Us Know How We Can Help: