If you are thinking about getting a new website for your business, you must be wondering how much should you be paying to create a website. Is it possible to have a functional website no matter how much is your budget? There are thousands of options available, and that can make you confused, especially if you are just starting. You want to know what you should really be paying for getting a website and how you can save some money by skipping unnecessary elements.
Before you move on to know different options and charges, you should know that some website and web application development companies charge on the basis of the number of pages, and some charge on the basis of overall complexity. You need to plan and decide what will be best for your unique situation. So, let’s start exploring our options and cost for website development.
Website Building Platforms:
You can call this DIY of website development. This might not seem very appealing to business professionals who keeps busy managing their work. Also, if you discuss the idea with a web developer, they would never suggest you go for this option. However, there are cases where you can use this option, especially if you are very low on the budget. For a DIY website, you don’t need to have any coding or web development skills. All you need is a laptop and internet connectivity. With that alone, you can access one of several available website builder platforms.
These DIY platforms typically allow you to suggest that you write down what you want to do with your website, and they would recommend some relevant options according to the goals and features you would like to see on your website. You can get suggestions from the platform about what you should be having on your website. And still, if you are unsure what you want, you can check your competitors or other websites for inspiration.
Cost & Delivery:
The cost that you would be paying at a DIY website is something around 20-40 USD/month. And the main cost that you would be paying is your time. Yes, you have to invest your time to build a website on these free platforms.
Most website builder platforms offer a drag-and-drop feature to help users build their websites easily. It’s easy to build and, above all, very cost-effective, and that’s the main reason anyone would use these free platforms. However, they offer limited customization options, and that takes a user to other better options.
Freelance Websites Developers:
Let’s move to talk about the cost of freelance website development. This is probably the most common way for small businesses and startups. This is probably because when you hire a freelancer, they balance really well the cost and the quality of the final product. This can be a middle ground between absolutely doing everything yourself and not doing anything at all. With this option, you rarely get any ongoing support and maintenance. Plus, you have no guarantee that you will be doing a good job for your website.
Cost & Delivery:
Freelancers might charge you somewhere around $100-$900 depending on the features and functionalities of your website. More to this, you need your domain and hosting. This will add $5-$10 / Month to the cost.
To create a website might take twelve-fourteen weeks from beginning to launch. This includes two-three weeks of initial research and planning, five-six weeks of design, three weeks of initial development, and two weeks for modifications and further customization. However, it could take longer, depending on the website’s complexity and requirements.
Now, let’s head towards a slightly expensive but more reliable option for this topic, and that is create a website, web app development companies.
Custom Website Development Agencies:
Custom website design and development agencies are more or less specialized agencies with a few different areas of expertise, and they typically operate with a smaller team. Also, they have multiple team members who handle different parts of the project. This is a two advantage; first, it reduces the development time; second, every component/area is executed from the expert in specific areas and skills. This allows you to let them handle all of the strategic design and technical work.
Working with a custom website development companies might seem expensive to many people. However, it can still be cost-effective for small and mid-sized companies. The cost usually starts from 10000 USD, and the project typically begins from the discovery phase so they can design and build a product that can actually help you to gain more customers. Eventually, it will be a cost-effective deal for your business. They might offer you a complimentary service as well, such as design, marketing, or maintenance in some cases.
If we look at the cons of custom development agencies, they do exist as well. in some cases, you might need a longer delivery time since they work in a more systematic way, and their schedule sometimes doesn’t allow an urgent project completion. Apparently, the cost to create a website is also greater than the two aforementioned ways. Roughly, the cost of a custom website development starts from 800 USD and can go up as much as your requirements go. Most of the companies allow you to pay a 50% deposit at the beginning, and you keep paying in proportion along with the project progress. Once the project is finalized, you are required to pay the full amount to the company. Here, another important point to be noted is the cost of development can be higher when you work with agencies within the US, whereas the cost of development outside the US can be relatively lesser.
Cost & Delivery:
- Agencies in the US cost around $800 onward for website development, where the delivery time typically goes around 12 to 24 weeks, depending on the availability and schedule.
- Agencies outside the US can charge you roughly around $500 to $3000, depending on the requirements and functionalities. Delivery time can range from 12-24 weeks, depending on the availability and schedule.
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