What Should A Website Cost?
Well… How Much Already?
The conversation usually goes something like this:
- “I want a really simple site, just one page, how much does that cost?”
- “I want a good looking website, but nothing too fancy, how much does that cost?”
This is likend to saying, I want a car with 4 tires how much would that cost? If you are in the market for a website, or to update your current website, the first two questions that need to be answered are these:
- “What is your budget?”
- “What are your goals and expectations for your website?”
The budget is the most important question you need to answer. Back to the car analogy, if your budget for a car is $5,000 the car dealer is going to show you used Chevy’s and Ford’s as opposed to the brand new BMW.
Okay.. so really what does a website cost?
The cost of a website and all of the variables that go into web development are too much for a blog, however we are going to layout what a website should NOT cost.
A Website should not cost $500. There are people who do find a company to build a website for $500, $600, $700 dollars or so, but by and large they are not happy with the results. A brand new web developer, the teach yourself web design in 21 day types who charge $50 an hour, cannot put together a professionally branded website, optimized, coded to standards, SEO’d, and marketed in 10 hours.
A good rule of thumb when getting quotes for your web project is to toss out the highest bid, and the lowest bid right off the bat, and settle on pricing somewhere in the middle. With that being said it is very important to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. If you receive a quote from a professional web company for $4000, and another company in the same caliber quotes you $2000, chances are something has been lost in translation during the quoting process.
Remember when you have settled on a web development firm for your project, documentation is key for both parties. It is important to have a list of your responsibilities such as providing content, photos, and associated deadlines, it is also important for the development team to outline exactly what you will receive, when you will receive it, what functionality you can expect such as contact forms, slideshows, etc.
Remember, if it is not documented in the agreement, do not expect it in the final product. One last thing to watch out for, is for web developers who do not give you access to your website. Make SURE that your website is registered in your name or your companies name, and NOT registered in the name of the developer.
If you have questions about your web project, please do not hesitate to give us a call, or send us an email.
