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Something that we know is on the mind of lots of small businesses starting out is money.
We want to be transparent with you about this and break it down for you so that you’re aware of how much it *actually* costs to build and maintain your website. We know what it’s like to be a small business owner, you’ve got your hands full and you might not have the time to research such things before making purchases. Which is why we’re going to do it for you!
During the first couple of years of your business, money is something you HAVE to be careful about and spend wisely. When it comes to growth hacking tools and resources, there’s usually a way to get around this by opting for the free trials of things or doing extensive research online. But the same can’t be said with websites.
Websites are an important part of building your digital presence, whether it’s an e-commerce website or just a website to help your customers learn more about your products and services and provide them with information.
Think of your website as digital real estate.
It’s like building a physical shop or buying a storefront. Everyone has one these days! But is your storefront an outdated store that everyone only goes to because they are out of options? Or is it the shiny new kid on the block with all the latest equipment and products?
Just like a physical store, you’d need to put in money for your digital branding assets, hosting and renting out your domain (setting up your location), and buying any plugins and integrations (the furniture and equipment). So yes! Your website needs the same amount of attention too! (except it’s much cheaper to build and maintain a website in the long run).
A well designed and developed website is an absolute must.
Take a minute and picture it – your own piece of digital real estate… What does it look like? And more importantly, are your ideal customers constantly walking in through the door?
As a business owner, you need to have a website that follows the three Fs:
Depending on the features you want for your website and whether it’s a custom or WordPress website, the price of your website will vary. Not all agencies or freelance website developers will be able to give you the same price range, so we’d advise you to do your research on other agencies or freelancers before settling on the first one you found.
The most common features of building a website are:
Each of these is priced differently because the people working on them have different skill sets. And they might need to use tools or resources that are more expensive to obtain and work with, and might require less or more effort accordingly.
Price Range: $0.99-$12.00/mo
Cheapest: Hostinger priced at $0.99/mo
Best Value: GoDaddy priced at $1.00/mo
Your domain name is like the online “address” for your website, so make sure you’re able to buy the exact name of your business, or something very close to it. If the domain name is already taken, you could approach the current owners of the domain name to purchase it, but that could turn out to be very pricey.
PS: Sometimes websites offer free domains when you purchase their web hosting, so keep a lookout for a steal like this!
Price Range: $0.99-$15.00/mo
Cheapest: Hostinger priced at $0.99/mo
Best Value: BlueHost priced at $2.95/mo
Website hosting is where your website receives its “power” from. Website hosting companies power your site and make it available online. As a small business, you might “share” a server with other businesses, which makes it cheaper for everyone. However, it might limit your server resources and slow things down. So unless you need more server space (which you can purchase on request), shared hosting is a great cost-effective option.
Price Range: $7.27-$250/year
Cheapest: Comodo SSL priced at $7.27/year
Best Value: Comodo SSL priced at $7.27/year
An SSL certificate is considered a signal of trust, it’s become a crucial part of improving your business credibility and improving the experience for your customer. It lets your customers know that your website is secure and safe to access. SSL certificates protect customer data from hackers and can be beneficial to your business’s reputation. In most cases, companies offer free SSL certificates when you purchase their hosting services or a domain name through them.
Price Range:
The cost of website design and development varies not only from business to business but based on your personal tastes too. If you want a simple website that’s just the landing page, then it’s not going to cost as much. But if you want something a little fancier, with customized design elements, more pages, integrations and payment gateways it’s going to cost more.
Do your research if you want to outsource your website design and development and make sure you’re paying for a service that is worthwhile. Your local digital agency might be more affordable and could provide you with a more customized website, so check for any web design and development agencies or freelancers in your area first (support local <3!). If you want to find out if we’re a good fit, you can book a free appointment with us to receive a quote for a website you have in mind!
Price Range: $110 to $1250/year
Once your website is complete, you’ll need to maintain it as well. You need to make sure all the features are working correctly along with speed and content optimization and minor bug fixes and plugin updates. Again, this ranges from business to business, so please do your research before settling on one.
It’s important to make sure you find an agency that actually cares about the growth of your business and will do active work in finding new ways to incorporate innovation into your website.
PS: We offer hosting services for $10 a month with a 6-month package at $60 and an annual package at $110 (get 1 month free!). We also offer a “Web care package” which is hosting and maintenance at $60/mo with 6-month and annual packages (1 free month off the annual option).
Price range: $150-$250
Website content is the text that’s actually going to be on your website. Usually, agencies offer this as a package with their design and development, but it’s always better to ask them and make sure it’s included to avoid any confusion. Remember to always make sure your content is optimized for SEO. This is usually a standard amongst all agencies nowadays, but it’s still something you need to check up on just to be sure.
We’ve got a whole blog on SEO for you to check out if you want to learn more about it. But the bottom line is that you absolutely need SEO if you want your business to show up to your customers on their search engines and attract converting customers.
In total, a complete website (without maintenance) can cost anywhere from $1150 to $8000+ based on what you need. A website is a big investment and it’s an extension of you and your business. So you need to do your research and make sure your hard-earned money is going to good use. Find a company that has the same business values as you and actually cares about your clients. You’re guaranteed to receive a great finished product!
If you have any questions about our web design and development services or any questions about building your own website, feel free to schedule an appointment with us and we’d love to see how we can help!
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