One of the most popular questions we are asked is:
“How much does a website cost to build?”
The simplest response is…
“It depends. There is no one size fits all price to web design.”
Flying Orange can help guide you through what factors into overall cost for your website project. Don’t worry, it’s not as painful as you think. Our goal is to help you understand more about the process and what we take into consideration when analyzing for time and costs. We provide options that work with every budget.
Questions about your website project
In order to better design for our clients, we need to determine your website needs. Getting more information will help determine a pricing structure, which could be hourly or a package rate depending on your answers. Some of the questions our free quote request includes:
- Do you have a logo?
- Do you know how many informational pages you may need?
- Do you plan to sell products on your website?
- Do you need special functionality such as an event calendar, contact forms or other additional functionality?
- Do you need content written or images edited?
All of these questions help inform us about your website needs and will lead to addtional questions to be asked/answered. A good web designer will investigate all the specifics before producing a quote for your project.
Do I really need a website quote?
Yes. You absolutely need a quote for a website project so you can understand all of the specifics and details of what you are paying for to have a website built. Whether hourly or packaged, make sure the quote details all of the specifics of the job. If you don’t understand something technical, ask questions of the designer so you know exactly the costs entailed.
Additional website cost considerations
Website cost also includes the following must haves:
- Domain name registration (annual cost)
- Website hosting (monthly, quarterly or annual) – cheapest doesn’t always mean best
In terms of associated e-commerce costs…
- Payment options – credit cards, PayPal, etc. and associated fees
- Shipping – USPS, FedEx/UPS or other carrier for real time shipping rates
- Sales Tax – who do you have to collect from and when?
There may be other costs that need to be considered as well if you want a mailing list/newsletter or other special features that require an outside service or license.
Cost factor: A web designer’s experience
Finally… a web designer’s experience will factor into design costs. The more experience a designer has, theoretically the higher the cost. This does not mean expect sticker shock when you get a website quote, but be aware that their skillset has been honed over a number of years and the old adage “you get what you pay for” really does come into play. Most importantly, check their portfolio, reviews and ask for references.
Back to the original question:
So your question is…
“How much does a website cost cost to build?”
Our longer answer:
“We don’t know yet, but we would be happy to discuss it with you to help you determine the option that will work with your budget. Let’s talk about what you need for your website and discuss all the options available.”
Quotes are free at Flying Orange so let’s get started and talk about your project today!