How much should a website cost?
How much should a website cost? That question is like asking how much should a car cost? On one hand, you have the discount lower quality KIAs and on the other, quality and expensive Mercedes Benz, they both get you from point 'A' to point 'B', so why spend more? Well, thats not the whole picture. Like cars, websites and web design/development firms offer different levels of quality, performance and support. In a nutshell, you typically get what you pay for!
When shopping for web designers, you need to look at many different factors such as;
2. Price - Price is going to probably be the first thing you will look at and will probably be the main factor in who you decide to choose. This is a very touchy matter because there really isn't a set or defined rate for web design and development services. Here is a general breakdown for a cost of a 10-15 page, custom designed, standard web page with no heavy programming and development.
3. IT - IT is the technology and back end of the site created. A qualified firm or freelancer will develop your site with the latest and most efficient languages and be valid in all W3 standards. This is typically a problem in inexperienced freelancers or individuals who have not been trained in web development. Poor efforts in this realm could result in bad indexing within search engines and unreliable compliances in various internet browsers.
4. SEO - SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts are essential in quality web sites. Although strong SEO marketing tactics are not common in "standard" web site development, it is extremely beneficial that your website is SEO ready and has the basic elements of SEO incorporated into your website, no matter how standard or basic your website is. When you communicate with a potential web developer, be sure to ask if basic SEO elements will be placed in your site for future compliances.
5. Turnaround time - Turnaround time is the time it takes for your developer to create your web site from beginning to launch. Turnaround time is not a direct factor to the quality of the web site, but it often a factor in the overall cost of your project. Typically, a larger, qualified firm will develop a site quicker, but that is not always the case. Very commonly, slow rate of completeness will come from outsourced firms such as India due to communication barriers. For a basic web site consisting of 10-15 pages, it should be completed in one to two weeks.
6. Support - Support is severely overlooked factor in web development service. When a development firm or freelancer creates your website, you need to insure that they will assist in all aspects of launching and maintaining the site. If you need a change done to your site and you don't have the technical knowhow or software to change it, you should be able to contact your development firm and they will make the changes within 24 hours or in emergency situations, much sooner. Before you deposit any money to your group, make sure you understand the rules of their support policies.
7. Design - Design is the face of your website, clearly. It is what people will see first and will have the strongest impact to your visitors about your company. A lot of weight goes behind a web site's design, a poor design and visual appeal quickly will indicate a poor company. Although a bad design may not always mean a bad company, visitors think that.
Design goes far beyond visual appeal, it digs psychologically into the visitors and reflects the business it represents in a dignified matter. The smallest hole-in-the-wall shop can appear to visitors as a fortune 500. Only qualified firms or designers trained in online marketing and general marketing can effectively harness this power - not cheap, unexperienced freelancers or outsourced designers .
8. Experience - Experience reflects the overall knowledge that the freelancer or firm has. Some freelancers will have loads of experience from previous work, but larger firms can be a sure bet that your website is truly quality work.
Recap
So, there you have it, a quick and easy guide to hiring a web development firm. To sum it all up in one easy sentence; You get what you pay for. A quality website cannot be found for under 3 digits. A website is an invest to yourself, and your company and should be the last thing you should be pinching pennies on.
When shopping for web designers, you need to look at many different factors such as;
- Quality
- Price
- IT
- SEO
- Turnaround time
- Support
- Design
- Experience
2. Price - Price is going to probably be the first thing you will look at and will probably be the main factor in who you decide to choose. This is a very touchy matter because there really isn't a set or defined rate for web design and development services. Here is a general breakdown for a cost of a 10-15 page, custom designed, standard web page with no heavy programming and development.
- Large, highly qualified, experienced firm: $5,000 - $10,000+
- Medium sized, experienced firm: $3,000 - $4,000
- Small, skilled, experienced freelancer: $1,000 - $2,500
- Skilled, unexperienced freelancer: $500 - $750
- New, unexperienced, low quality: $200 - $400
- Indian or similar outsourced: $100 - $400
3. IT - IT is the technology and back end of the site created. A qualified firm or freelancer will develop your site with the latest and most efficient languages and be valid in all W3 standards. This is typically a problem in inexperienced freelancers or individuals who have not been trained in web development. Poor efforts in this realm could result in bad indexing within search engines and unreliable compliances in various internet browsers.
4. SEO - SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts are essential in quality web sites. Although strong SEO marketing tactics are not common in "standard" web site development, it is extremely beneficial that your website is SEO ready and has the basic elements of SEO incorporated into your website, no matter how standard or basic your website is. When you communicate with a potential web developer, be sure to ask if basic SEO elements will be placed in your site for future compliances.
5. Turnaround time - Turnaround time is the time it takes for your developer to create your web site from beginning to launch. Turnaround time is not a direct factor to the quality of the web site, but it often a factor in the overall cost of your project. Typically, a larger, qualified firm will develop a site quicker, but that is not always the case. Very commonly, slow rate of completeness will come from outsourced firms such as India due to communication barriers. For a basic web site consisting of 10-15 pages, it should be completed in one to two weeks.
6. Support - Support is severely overlooked factor in web development service. When a development firm or freelancer creates your website, you need to insure that they will assist in all aspects of launching and maintaining the site. If you need a change done to your site and you don't have the technical knowhow or software to change it, you should be able to contact your development firm and they will make the changes within 24 hours or in emergency situations, much sooner. Before you deposit any money to your group, make sure you understand the rules of their support policies.
7. Design - Design is the face of your website, clearly. It is what people will see first and will have the strongest impact to your visitors about your company. A lot of weight goes behind a web site's design, a poor design and visual appeal quickly will indicate a poor company. Although a bad design may not always mean a bad company, visitors think that.
Design goes far beyond visual appeal, it digs psychologically into the visitors and reflects the business it represents in a dignified matter. The smallest hole-in-the-wall shop can appear to visitors as a fortune 500. Only qualified firms or designers trained in online marketing and general marketing can effectively harness this power - not cheap, unexperienced freelancers or outsourced designers .
8. Experience - Experience reflects the overall knowledge that the freelancer or firm has. Some freelancers will have loads of experience from previous work, but larger firms can be a sure bet that your website is truly quality work.
Recap
So, there you have it, a quick and easy guide to hiring a web development firm. To sum it all up in one easy sentence; You get what you pay for. A quality website cannot be found for under 3 digits. A website is an invest to yourself, and your company and should be the last thing you should be pinching pennies on.
Labels: development, how much should a website cost, websites
