How Much Does It Cost To Build And Maintain A Website For Business?

Curious about how much does it cost to build a website?

Here’s a short answer: a template website to satisfy the most straightforward business needs costs from $500 to $1,200. Yet, you have to do much of the work yourself. A custom website tailored for your brand will cost from $5,000 to $200,000, based on the task’s complexity and vendor’s prices.

Now, let’s break down the info and decide which option will be better for your needs.

Factors that influence website price

Perhaps the hourly rate is the first and foremost important factor in a website’s cost.

It is not a secret that development rates vary based on region. Thus, you may pay a developer $35/hour in Eastern Europe and $100/hour in Canada or United States.

Another essential thing to consider is the type of website.

If you want to start with basic functionality, don’t need a custom design, and prefer basic marketing functionality, like analytics and tracking, you may consider buying a template. Resources like Wix, Template Monsters, and WordPress offer many free or near-to-free templates to satisfy much of your business needs.

Another thing, if you prefer a custom website. Then, you have to invest money into research, market analysis, discussions, custom design, front-end and back-end features, launch, testing, onboarding, and maintenance.

The next thing to consider is complexity.

Even if you decide to have a custom-built website, the cost of building will depend much on the complexity of the features. Let’s consider a typical e-commerce store trading in furniture. You may present your products as high-quality pictures, which will be great.

Yet, you may add an augmented reality feature, allowing your clients to try how the piece of furniture will fit within their interior. For that, a visitor should be able to upload a picture of their room on your website. Or, you might also build an app that will allow you to use the functionality from mobile.

Thus, you must consider numerous factors to build a primary budget for your website. Here’s a little roadmap to help you not to skip something important.

How do calculate the website cost correctly?

First, you have to DYOR or do your own research. It is very important, no matter what way you choose: buying a template or building a custom website.

Check with your competitors, read some articles, and learn customer trends.

Second, shortlist the minimum number of features and design preferences. Then you may decide if you’ll build a custom website or if a template will suffice.

If, for example, you want a website with no specific features, just reliable, easy to maintain, and use, you may use a ready-made solution from resources like WordPress. Such big manes as New York Times and Play Station use WordPress to build and maintain their website.

Yet, if you have a complex idea that requires additional development, hire a dedicated team since template platforms may lack the features you need. For example, you want a website to predict cryptocurrency trends. Then you’ll need some machine learning and AI to handle that.

Also, remember that any site needs maintenance, and businesses often skip this vital step, which leads to losses. Therefore, consider the maintenance fees from your vendor or platform when calculating the website cost.

Summing up

According to Forbes, “there is no right or wrong way to build a website.” All you need to do is choose wisely depending on your business service, vision, and needs. Also, don’t be afraid to make a mistake. No progress is possible without experimentation.