Are you researching website agencies to build a website for your business in 2023, or maybe next year in 2024?
You might be wondering what the cost will be to build, maintain and market your new business website.
Before reaching out to a web agency for a proposal, it is important to have a basic understanding of the products and services you require to get an accurate quote. This will save you time and money throughout all phases of your project and have the added bonus of helping you filter out ridiculously cheap and overly expensive quotes.
We frequently work on development projects that range from $5,000 to $100,000, which puts us in a unique position of being able to offer guidance on how to request and review website development proposals.
How Much Does Website Design Cost?
There are many factors that go into pricing a website, but the most important typically revolve around page content, design requirements, and custom functionality. Let’s discuss a few options:
Average cost of basic websites
Most basic website design services through web design agencies are going to come in around $4,000 to $8,000.
We offer template-based, basic website design services starting at $5,000. At this price point, we are afforded 50 hours to work on your project. This allows us to help you pick out a template, integrate the design into WordPress, build out 5-10 web pages, set up a contact form, create 301 redirects, fix any mobile issues in the design, train you on simple edits, and launch your website.
However, if you’d prefer a custom design that is started from scratch, we’d be happy to help with that as well. It is a more time-consuming service, so expect the quote to come in at $10,000 to $20,000 for a custom website design.
Average cost of complex websites
Most complex websites require a lot of custom functionality. It is impossible to really know what to estimate for a complex website until you get all the details, but it isn’t uncommon for a complicated website development to be priced between $10,000 and $100,000 from web design agencies.
How Much Does Custom Multimedia Cost?
The inclusion of multimedia in your website can help engage visitors while showing the utility of a complicated concept, product, or service. The time required to plan, design, develop, test, and launch each piece of multimedia depends on numerous factors, but typically costs around $800-$5,000 each.
We handle multimedia design and development on a time and materials basis.
Here is an example of an animated infographic:
How Much Does Ecommerce Development Cost?
There are many factors that go into pricing an ecommerce website, but the most important typically revolve around product data and custom functionality.
Average cost of basic ecommerce websites
Most ecommerce development agencies will have starting prices of $6,000 for a basic ecommerce website built in Shopify or WooCommerce.
We offer custom ecommerce development starting at $6,000. At this price point, we are afforded 60 hours to work on your project which includes picking out a website template, integrating it into your ecommerce platform, building out 5-10 web pages, importing your prepared product data, setting up a contact form, creating 301 redirects, training you on basic administrative tasks, and launching your storefront.
If you’d prefer a custom-designed ecommerce website, which starts with the creation of design mockups, expect a starting price of $20,000. It takes a lot of time to create design mockups of an ecommerce website’s homepage, category page, and product page to then have developed into a custom theme within WordPress or Shopify.
Average cost of complex ecommerce websites
For complex projects, where your product data isn’t in good condition, you need extensive data migration, or you have custom functionality requirements, expect pricing a starting price of $20,000. The sky is the limit though – we’ve seen quotes from other ecommerce agencies around $200,000 to $500,000 for highly complicated projects.
How Much Does a Domain Name Cost?
If your desired .com domain name is available, expect to pay around $15/year to register it to your business.
A domain name is a unique, easy-to-remember address used to access websites, such as webcitz.com. There are hundreds of domain name extensions, such as .com, .net, .org.
If you are looking to buy a domain name, try to select one that is short, easy to pronounce, easy to spell, doesn’t contain numbers or hyphens. It also helps if it ends in .com, since that is what most people expect.
How Much Does an SSL Certificate Cost?
If your hosting provider supports Let’s Encrypt, the cost for an SSL Certificate should be $0.00/year.
If your hosting provider doesn’t support Let’s Encrypt, or you want a specific certificate, expect to pay around $95/year.
All 256-bit SSL Certificates provide the same level of encryption, regardless of the cost. Typically, the only reason to pay a higher price for an SSL Certificate is to obtain a warranty from the vendor against defects or to receive a recognizable digital seal to use as a trust signal.
An SSL Certificate is a digital certificate that authenticates the identity of a website and secures connections from a web server to a client browser. When a certificate is successfully installed on your server, the application protocol (also known as HTTP) will change to HTTPS in the URL bar, where the ‘S’ stands for secure.
Everyone. All websites should be served through the HTTPS application protocol, regardless of the website’s purpose.
How Much Does Web Hosting Cost?
There are many types of web hosting options, including shared, VPS, cloud, and dedicated. The most common is shared web hosting because it is the lowest cost and the easiest to use.
If your website is built on a SaaS service, such as Shopify or BigCommerce, you won’t need to worry about web hosting unless you are building private apps.
Average cost of shared web hosting
Most shared web hosting services that are truthfully geared toward providing performance, security and support will cost between $20-$50/month.
There are web hosting providers that advertise web hosting as low as $1.99/month, but they typically lack performance or technical support, which will result in lost conversions and wasted resources.
If you are a non-profit, we offer free non-profit web hosting services if your organization meets the requirements.
Average cost of VPS and cloud web hosting
Most VPS providers charge between $50-$200/month for a virtual server. Most cloud hosting providers charge based on hourly usage, which can equate to $50-$1000+/month.
The cost typically depends on the quality and quantity of server hardware in your plan, as well as any software subscriptions you require.
Additionally, plan to spend another $100-200/month to hire a server management company to secure and support your operating system and server software.
Average cost of dedicated web servers
Most dedicated servers cost between $200-$1500/month, depending on the hardware and software selections.
Additionally, plan to spend another $100-200/month to hire a server management company to secure and support your dedicated server.
How Do Web Development Agencies Add Value?
Most website development agencies place a high value on their reputation, which should have a direct impact on factors such as communication, availability, professionalism, and security.
Additionally, most agencies are staffed with large teams of designers, developers, and marketers who work together to solve complicated issues, resulting in less billable time on your account compared to a freelancer who has to learn every technology.
When working with a reputable agency, you shouldn’t experience endless games of phone tag, long delays for simple updates, or being “ghosted” for weeks.
The higher hourly rate charged by an agency, in comparison to a freelancer, should result in improved quality of work and less risk from interruption in service or gaps in knowledge.
Related: 18 Qualities of a Great Website Designer.