Editor’s Note: We’ve updated our most popular blog post for 2013, learn how much a website costs to build in 2013.
How Much Does A Website Cost?
When we first wrote this article a few years ago, businesses were just getting into social media and mobile so we left out those channels and focused on website design and development. In this updated article we’ve taken a more holistic view by including advice on social media and mobile in order to provide a more comprehensive look at the opportunities to expand your businesses reach.
“How Much Does A Website Cost?” Almost every potential client asks this question.
But the real question should be “How much does a web presence cost and how do I determine which online channels (social media, mobile, etc.) do I need for my business?”
I’ll get to the answer in a roundabout way but first some obligatory back-story. Over the past 16 years we have developed hundreds of online projects with budgets ranging from $1000 to $100,000. We have also worked on Fortune 500 company websites in conjunction with other development companies. These budgets have ranged from $100,000 to $1,000,000. For websites of this scope the team can consist of 10 or more people working full-time for six months or longer.
One of my mentors once told me “You have to feed the ducks where they are quacking.” This means that you need to know where your customers are and what their browsing habits are. Once you know this, you can determine what channels and methods will be the most effective to reach them. The rapid rise of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and mobile browsers provide more opportunities for you to expand your reach and visibility of your brand.
Online success just doesn’t happen, it is the result of the careful execution of a methodology or process. Our design methodology is based on 16 years of experience, starting with a website for FootLocker.com back in 1996. Our methodology has evolved over time, to make the process more streamlined and flexible.
Here is our basic approach:
1. Discovery
2. Strategy
3. Interface Design
4. Integration
5. Testing
6. Launch/Maintain
This simple 6-step process can be modified to fit a smaller project by reducing the amount of effort spent on various steps. For example the “Discovery” process can involve just one simple phone call with the client to learn about their brand and goals or it can involve several all-day meetings. The “Strategy” process can involve a short document that addresses a holistic strategy or it can involve weeks of research into the target audiences, your competition and recommended communication channels. Each step in this process is flexible and can be modified to fit a target project budget and requirements.
Flexible process = Flexible Effort = Flexible Cost.
So, how much does a web presence cost?
It depends on what you are trying to build. Here are some of the key elements that we need to consider:
- Online Marketing Strategy: Do you have one? Don’t think that “if we build it they will come”. It’s important to have an understanding of marketing channels and how your business will use them. How much does social media factor into your business? What is the importance of mobile access to your target audience?
- Branding/Logo: Have you already developed your logo and branding? Do you have an online style guide for your brand?
- Interface Design: How long will it take to arrive at the look-and-feel that you envision for your business? Is it going to be design-by-committee or is there one decision maker?
- Features and Functionality: This is the “meat” of the project: what features do you want (online portfolio, media downloads, blog, a mobile app etc.)? What functions do you need (ecommerce, interactive forms, etc.)? Just because e-commerce, search and membership are commonplace on the web does not mean that these are easy to develop. There are a lot of pre-built (open source) solutions but they invariably have to be customized and that effort can be time-intensive.
- Hosting: This is usually a small cost but still an important part of the process. Will your hosting company allow us to easily configure the options we need for your website?
- Testing / QA (Quality Assurance): The more complex your website, the more testing is required. Also which browsers and versions do you want to be compatible with your website? If you want it to work on older browser versions or be optimized for mobile that could take a lot of additional time to test and troubleshoot.
The above list illustrates that there is a wide difference in requirements for web projects and many questions that need to be answered through the Discovery and Strategy phases.
More Requirements = More Complexity = Higher Costs.
So how much does a web presence cost?
When we estimate a project we try to get a good understanding of the project requirements and then estimate the number of hours required for the 6 primary tasks:
1. Discovery: Understanding the brand, the business and the goals.
2. Strategy: Developing a strategy to reach the target audiences and drive conversions.
3. Interface Design: Design for all graphics and page layouts, may also include a separate design for mobile browsers or apps.
4. Integration: Hosting setup, database setup, application design and programming, testing, technical project management.
5. Testing: Testing, testing, testing.
6. Launch/Maintain: Post-launch – determine a realistic maintenance plan or communication schedule.
All of these tasks require some Project Management time. A project without a decent Project Manager is doomed to failure. The Project Manager is the primary point of contact with the client and our internal team. We have found that between 15% to 30% of a project budget ends up being project management hours, depending on how much handholding the client requires, how technically savvy and responsive the client is, how the client makes internal decisions, among other factors.
Other tasks like logo design, copywriting, marketing strategy, photography, etc., can also be added to the requirements if needed.
Once we have estimated the number of hours for each task we multiply that by our hourly rate, which (at the time of this article) is $120/ hour for most services. We then provide the final project estimate to the client and if accepted, our in-house team strives to keep the project within the approved budget. During development, if there is danger of the project exceeding the budget due to unforeseen circumstances or new client requests, the issue is brought to the client’s attention so that the budget can be adjusted or compromises made.
Note about our rates: If you search for website design and development services you will find a wide range of fees. Offshore companies may have rates as low as $20/hour. Students fresh out of school may charge $15/ hour, while boutique development companies’ fees may range from $100 – $150/ hour, and larger firms can charge $250 and more per hour. Keep in mind that there is a world of difference between the experience of a $20/hour resource and a $120/ hour resource. Our rate is based on what we believe is reasonable for the bulk of our clientele which are small to mid-sized, Los Angeles-based businesses. Our methodology has been tailored to deliver design and development services based on that cost.
So, how much does a web presence cost?
Let’s walk through a few brief client scenarios to help you get an understanding of costs:
Client #1: XYZ Associates
This small, professional services business needs a website primarily for marketing purposes. They have an offline brand/logo and some website design ideas. They will provide the content for their website which consists of text, headshots, logo and a video of their CEO. They provide a short list of websites they like during a meeting that our Project Manager and Art Director have with them in our/their offices. They don’t require any databases but we will hook up a 3rd-party email management tool for them so they can collect client inquiries and send out email blasts. We will also link to their company Facebook page and place Facebook “like” links on pages of their website. There will be approximately 8-10 pages in total.
Estimate is as follows:
Interface Design: 18 hours
Programming: 24 hours – HTML, PHP and CSS
Project Management: 12 hours
Total: 54 hours = $6,480
Deliverables: Following is a semi-complete list of the deliverables from our team:
- Planning document that lists creative and website goals
- Content checklist and schedule
- Access to our project management tool (if desired)
- 2 home page design options that get modified based on client input to arrive at one approved design
- Design for website pages (based on the home page design) and all associated graphics
- Programming for the website and integration of 3rd-party email management tool
- Integration of all client content
- Integration of Google Analytics
- Upload to client’s hosting server and setup of email addresses
- Testing (QA) and Launch
- Proactive submission of site to the major search engines
- At the end of the project we provide the client with a complete copy of all our original files on CD (.PSDs, HTML, etc.)
This type of project accounts for about a third of the projects we do. Post-launch, these companies often come back to us for content updates and enhancements. We bill these at our regular hourly rates or fraction thereof. Clients who require regular edits can save money by getting one of our Retainer Plans that offer discounted rates and provide priority service.
Client #2: E-commerce Website
This mid-sized business needs a marketing website and e-commerce for their product line. They have an offline brand/logo and some design ideas. They will provide the content for their website which consists of text, headshots, logo, product photos and PDF downloads. They provide a short list of websites they like during a meeting that our Project Manager, Art Director and Tech Director have with them in our/their offices. They have a merchant account.
The Sales Manager of this company also wants to blog about new products in order to promote items and improve SEO.
Estimate is as follows:
Interface Design: 24 hours
Programming: 60 hours – HTML, PHP and CSS plus integration and customization of online shopping and Blog.
Project Management: 24 hours
You can expect to pay a little more for the hosting and an SSL certificate
Total: 108 hours = $12,960
Deliverables: Same as Client #1, but add a few hours for training on the e-commerce solution. Also, for this budget, we will typically upload a few sample products into the store but the client will be responsible for uploading the bulk of the products.
Client #3: Membership Website with CMS (Content Management System)
This business needs a marketing website for a new brand. They also need membership and email marketing components. They will provide the content for their website which consists of text and video clips. They provide a short list of websites they like during a meeting that our Project Manager, Art Director and Tech Director have with them in our/their offices.
Estimate is as follows:
Branding design and online style guide: 36 hours
Interface Design: 60 hours – will include some animation design
Programming: 120 hours – HTML, PHP and CSS plus integration and customization of WordPress or Drupal or similar CMS and membership modules.
Email template design and programming: 16 hours
Project Management: 48 hours
You can expect to pay a little more for the hosting and an SSL certificate
Total: 280 hours = $33,600
Deliverables: Same as client one above but add a few hours for training on the CMS solution.
Cost of Website Add-ons
There are a thousand add-ons you can use to enhance your website. The estimates below reflect the general requirements we have seen, however there are many factors that can push these estimates higher. If you don’t see your add-on here just give us a call and we can provide an estimate.
- Custom Content Management Systems: for clients who want to manage their own content we integrate and customize content management systems (CMS). We work with PHP-based open-source CMS solutions like WordPress and Drupal. Costs for integrating and customizing can range from $4,000 to $20,000+.
- Custom Blog: Many clients want a WordPress blog within their website customized to their website branding and design. This ranges from $1,250 – $3,000.
- Email Marketing Campaigns: Clients that want to gather emails and send out branded email blasts for announcements or newsletters require an email management tool. We integrate the 3rd-party tools (Graphicmail, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, etc.) and create an email marketing template design, we can even manage your email blast. $720 and up.
- Branding/Identity Development: We are often asked to develop logo’s for clients. We start by generating about 6 rough logo concepts. If one of these is chosen we go through several rounds of edits to arrive at a final version. $1,200 – $3,200 and up.
- Style Guides: An online styleguide is important because it establishes brand consistency and provides a guide for all your print collateral and online marketing. Basic styleguide for an existing logo $1,440.
- Targeted Landing Pages: Landing pages are pages that promote a specific product or service. They are usually part of an email, social media, or banner ad campaign. We can design and create these pages starting at $720.
- SEO: We work with several SEO experts. They usually start with an analysis of your goals, audience and online competition. An SEO strategy document is created that outlines their recommendations. Many times they will recommend a combination of website and social media to achieve maximum visibility. Based on your budget, we prioritize and integrate the appropriate SEO. $200 for SEO strategy.
- Mobile Optimization: We can take your current websites and streamline it for display on mobile devices. We can also create mobile-only websites. $3,000 and up
- Mobile apps: If it makes sense for your business, we can design a mobile app that can help support and promote your business. $15,000 and up.
So that’s how much a web presence costs.
One final note: If this website will be a significant part of your business please don’t skimp on the design and development. If you’d expect to pay $100,000 for a brick and mortar retail shop (inventory, interior design, furniture, rent, utilities, staff, equipment, insurance, etc) – then don’t balk at paying reasonable rates for the creation of your online business.
Feel free to send us your requirements or call 310-754-3807, and we’ll get back to you quickly to let you know how much your website will cost.
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