We know all too well the importance of websites to business. businesses with websites grow between 15-50% more than similar enterprises that aren’t online.
And approximately 71% of small businesses have a website.
The setback always comes from the Hassel of making a choice between all the options and prices. Given the economic climate. Being clear on cost and getting excellent value for your money is very important.
What you need is a website that is 100% functional and meets your needs. Since there are so many options to choose from and varying prices.
Without the right information to make the decisions to meet your budget. You could also regret your choices after all that money has been spent. And nobody wants that.
The good news is there are ways to reduce that risk. At the end of this blog post, you will not only know your website options. But how much each website cost and which suits your needs best.
The reality is your website is only as expensive as your needs.
All this option has their pros and cons. which we will walk you through, so you can make an informed decision when finally making your choice for a website.
Website options
While there may be so many choices to choose from, they are all technically grouped into three. and these three we will look at so that making your choice will be faster and more effective.
The first on the list is
DIY Website Builders.
Well this is what it is, (Do it yourself…)
this takes away all the hassles attending the other option that we will discuss here.
All you need is an internet connection and a DIY website platform.
No coding is involved.
With these website builders. you can test-run it to see if it is to your liking before committing your money. that way you can secure your investment.
With the website builders, you are only renting their platforms. they take care of everything for you, you get to decide what and what goes into building your site.
though based on what the website platform offers. It is very easy to set up, it takes less than 24 hours to be up and running.
In this category, you have different builders to choose from. the top on the list is (WIX, Square Space, and GoDaddy) depending on your preferred need.
There is no best option, there is just compatibility with your specific needs.
While it is very cost-effective and runs in a matter of hours. planning and strategy are lacking in DIYs- customization is also limited for lower-plan users.
The free trial versions can be very hectic to use but the paid plans are actually very good.
The least amount per month to maintain an ad-free website is about $20-$40 per month. This covers hosting, security, free themes, and built-in features. and if you want to create content it is also free on DIYs
DIYs are the cheapest you can get. but you do not get enough flexibility– website builders are by far the cheapest option. So, if you want to save money you can choose a web builder.
With website Builders, you can get a standard quality website if you make the right picks.
Note that the cheapest options are not always the best and most effective.
WORDPRESS: WordPress is a free open-source platform, it is one of the world’s most widely used site-building software, it’s free and open source so you can change, modify and share in the WordPress community
What this means is that anybody can use it. You can decide to do it yourself depending on how familiar you are with how it works.
WordPress Is different from DIY’s. with WordPress, you are free to make changes to the site files in order to customize the website and add any needed functions. You pay for hosting, themes and plugins.
If you can’t set it up yourself, then you pay for a developer, all this put together will ultimately increase your cost. Using WordPress gives you a lot more control over your website – and your budget.
Due to so many factors, the cost of using WordPress cannot be pinpointed exactly…
But If you are going for WordPress you are looking at a $35-$780 upfront cost and $11-$50 per month on maintenance. This does not include the cost of hiring a developer.
Since some themes and plugins are free you could really run the website at a low cost to yourself.
HIRING A WEB DEVELOPER: This is the most expensive option. but it is your surest option. if you want absolute control over the building and customization of your website. Because this option offers the highest levels of complexity. For clarity, given the fact that the cost of website building varies depending on what you want.. and sometimes because of your business size and budget or the host you choose to use.
The cost you get varies on different levels based on your choice, you can decide to hire a freelancer or an agency. but the overall cost is anything between $5000 and $30,000 to get someone to create your website, this is depending on their experience.
we will look at some of these options.
Ok let’s go…
HIRING FREELANCE DESIGNER: A freelancer is an individual who works solo. They own their own business and would work for you based on their rates. Hiring a freelancer is a balance between cost and quality. You decide on your choice and budget if it suits them they work on It with you. Using freelancers will be more beneficial for you if you already know what you want.
The advantage of hiring a freelance Designer
- It is very cost-effective
- You get quality work
- You are in control of your work as you can follow up on it with the freelancer.
- You have the opportunity of custom options.
The disadvantage of hiring a freelance Designer
- Most of these developers are more focused on the design than the actual purpose of the website (customer generation).
- After the work is done you don’t get maintenance support. Freelancers work on a contract basis.
- You don’t get a guarantee. It’s either you get an excellent job or a job that is beneath your expectation. Either way, you can’t know until the work is done.
If you would hire a freelance developer you would be hoping to pay anything from $500-$10k. This is depending on their experience and your choices.
BOUTIQUE AGENCIES:
These are small specialized agencies with less than 30 workers. they cover different areas of expertise, and in regards to our subject matter, these agencies will give you not just a web design, but a perfect customer-generating website, because the work is divided among team members who are experts in their various areas. So there will be more hands-on your job.
Advantages of Boutique Agencies:
- It is cost-effective for small and mid-sized businesses
- They mostly run complimentary services (carrying out your design marketing)
- They help you through your business discovery phase. these you will hardly get from a freelancer who is more focused on website design.
- Personal attention- You get to communicate with your website designers in person.
Disadvantages of Boutique Agencies
- Given the small size of their team, they may not get to you immediately.
- Hiring a Boutique agency means you need a highly custom website, and it takes time to complete.
If this suits your website needs, then this service would cost anything from $10,000 upward. You can pay in parts depending on your agreement with the agency of your choice.
Conclusion
Website builders (DIYs) are the cheapest and most affordable website options but you don’t get the flexibility you’d get from using other options.
WordPress is free and open source but you pay for hosting, themes and plugins.
Hiring a developer is the most expensive but it comes with all the flexibility and complexity you would want for your website if you have an equal budget.
Website cost overview
Website Builders: $20-$40 per month.
WordPress: $35-$780 upfront cost $11-$50 per month.
Website developers: $5000 and $30,000
Realistically, you don’t want to pay less than $5,000 for a web designer.
otherwise you might end up with a result you are not satisfied with and you would have sent your money on it.
When making your decision on building your website you want to consider all this information and make an informed decision for your business.
Wish you luck in getting that new website. I hope this article was helpful to you.