How Much Does Web Design Cost?
Keeping It Reasonable
One way to keep web design costs low is to use materials that are in digital form. Scanning images and documents is time consuming and expensive.
Another good idea is to have some copy text ready. Knowing the amount and kind of content you have early on helps your designer know right away what kinds of layouts he might use. Also, the more of your site's content is ready, the more work your designer can do early on before needing to wait for content delivery.
Here are the three most common questions asked of any web designer:
- How much does a web designer charge?
- How much should I expect to pay for website design?
- How much will it cost to have a web site built?
The short answer about web design pricing is, "It depends." Further discussion can be found below. The easiest thing to do however, is to contact me with your ideas. These will be brought to my personal attention, and you will be able to get a firm and fair quote quickly.
Like any project, website design can be done economically, or it can be done with a lot of flashy bells and whistles. Bells and whistles cost more. I quote each web design project based on your requirements.
My best analogy is to compare a website design to a home. An architect or builder would have a rough time answering the stand-alone question, "How much would it cost to build a house?" Even if you told him how many rooms it should have, much more information is required before he can estimate the cost. There is a bare minumum set of requirements, but a home with only these wouldn't be very accomodating. Then there is the option to go high-end. The words luxurious and lavish start popping up around every corner. This isn't right for most people either, as the cost and time involved are very great. Somewhere in between is usually best. The perfect home needs to be one that fits your budget, while still suiting your personality and allowing you to feel good about doing a little entertaining.
If I ever saw a builder that offered to build a customized five room house for a fixed price, I'd steer clear. The same holds true for a customized five page website, for similar reasons.
Affordable Web Design
A lot of web designers don't like to mention web design pricing, and as a web designer it's easy to understand why. A website is an investment, much like a home. It is a home, really. A home for your business, organization, or anything else you might want to make available to the world. Like any home, there are many factors to consider that are going to affect the bottom line. And believe it or not, there are some people out there who just want the lowest price, with no regard to quality or support after the job is done.
One thing you'll come to like about me, is that I don't mince words. For those shopping around on price only, I will not be the lowest bidder. The lowest bidder usually cuts corners, and isn't often in business for long. Another thing you'll enjoy about working with me, is that you will know how much you're paying right from the start. Unless you make changes in the scope of the project, the quote you receive is the price you pay.
I quote on a per-project basis. Once we've discussed what your needs are, I decide how much work is involved and price accordingly. I never charge by the page, and I don't like charging by the hour. I may, however, charge by the hour for unscheduled maintenance, copywriting outside the scope of a project, and any work added on or changed by the client after we have already agreed upon the scope of the project.
For a quality site though, one that looks right and works right, for honesty and reliability, and for a company you can trust to be around for a long time to come, you'll find that my pricing is extremely competitive.
How Much Website Do You Need?
You might need a simple site, with a few pages to display your company information and answer questions that your customers or associates commonly have. Some marketing information to pre-sell your customers, contact information, and that's about it. This type of site is usually called a brochure site, and is typically the least expensive kind, as it takes a relatively short time to produce.
If the site will require more programming and/or software, perhaps the use of a blog, or a members area, or e-commerce, these things take more time to work into a design. They need to be customized and tested, and of course the cost will reflect this.
After a brochure site, blogs and forums are found at the next cost level, followed closely by CMS driven sites (where you can add, update and change your own pages by loggin in). The most expensive types of websites to have designed and built, generally speaking, are sites which have customized interactivity or e-commerce sites.
Can I Afford A Website?
I know this sounds cliche, but the fact is that you cannot afford not to have a website. With more and more potential customers online every day, the days of customers finding you in the yellow pages are all but over. People expect to be able to look you up online, at least to find out a little information, even if they heard about you from a friend or colleague's recommendation. A website truly has become a necessity in today's business world.
The Bottom Line
Your organization needs to be represented on the web in a professional manner, while still standing apart from the competition. Contact me, and we'll work together to make that happen in the best way possible while staying within your budget.