Website Development Cost: A Complete Guide in 2024

Factors Influencing Website Development Costs

A number of variables that can be broadly categorized into three divisions determine the typical cost of developing a website: hosting, size, and complexity. You may think of website development as being similar to building a house, where the costs are determined by the materials, design, and ideal location.

A website’s purpose plays a major role in determining how much it costs. The development costs of an online store with hundreds of product names and a landing page for a promotional campaign varies greatly since they demand substantially different amounts of work and resources.

Generally speaking, a website’s size need to correspond with the size of the company. This suggests that a small business might not be better off investing in a large, feature-rich website. Conversely, if a major company has a single landing page or a template-based website with an off-the-shelf design, it could appear suspect.

Hosting

When a client requests that a website be created entirely from scratch, the developers typically take care of additional tasks like registering a domain name, choosing a hosting company and a suitable plan, acquiring an SSL certificate, and so forth. A website’s continuous operation depends on a dependable hosting company that provides scalable services. Although it may be pricey, a premium, easily remembered domain name is important for increasing brand awareness and drawing in new clients.

Size

The number of pages, content, and structure of a website are all determined by its size. These elements also affect how much storage space is needed to host the website and how much that will cost.

Size and complexity also dictate if you can design a website alone, with or without freelance assistance, or if you need to engage a specialist team.

Complexity

A far more varied range of factors contribute to the total cost of a website, which is referred to as its complexity. The selection of technology is the most significant factor among them. Put another way, the construction of a website will grow more costly and time-consuming the more features that are required.

A website’s price will rise, frequently significantly, if it needs sophisticated features and integrations. Web developers must put in extra hours and purchase more plugins, modules, and other features in order to implement functionalities.

In order to handle cutting edge technologies, complex functionality also requires developers with high skill levels. They charge more per hour and are harder to come by than intermediate and junior web developers.

Don’t forget about the extra expenses associated with website promotion and upkeep. Even though these costs are categorized as “post-development,” you should account for them when determining how much it will cost to create a website.

So, How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website?

Different website kinds typically have particular size and complexity combinations. These are a few well-liked website categories, along with an estimate of their costs from Upwork.

The price range for a small business website with up to 16 pages is between $2 and $7,000.

Up to 75 pages on a large business website will run you between $10,000 and $35,000.

The price to create an e-commerce website is $5,000 for a store with 100 products, and it may go up to $55,000 for a store with 1,000 products.

The overall cost can be divided into multiple categories of expenses based on the phases of the project’s development. Among them are:

  • UX/UI and design costs.
  • coding and development expenses.
  • Costs associated with quality control and testing.
  • Upkeep and continuous assistance fees.
  • domain and hosting costs.

All of these tasks should ideally be carried out by specialized professionals, which is what happens when you assemble a committed team. Thus, the team should include the right amount of these experts, as shown by the above list: web developer, copywriter, content manager, SEO professional, QA and testing specialist, and web designer.

Since each stage of the website building process affects the quality of the finished product, each should have a sufficient budget. Here are some ballpark estimates for each step:

  1. UX/UI design. This step typically takes one or two weeks and costs between $700 and $4,000.
  2. development of the front end. The expected time and cost for this step might range from two weeks and $1,000 to six weeks and $12,500, depending on a number of factors.
  3. Back-end programming. This step could take up to eight weeks and cost $12,500 if your website has a lot of unique code and third-party service connections, such payment processing systems. Fortunately, normal figures are typically substantially lower, at roughly $4,000. and three weeks.
  4. creation of an admin panel and CMS. A useful system of content management and administration is required for every website. Your website must be tailored to your company’s requirements, even if it makes use of a third-party content management system like WordPress or Drupal. A customized content management system (CMS) can be created in three to eight weeks and cost an additional $3,000 to $9,000.
  5. Testing and quality assurance. Testing the website’s security and usability across a range of platforms—especially on different mobile devices—is essential. Both manually and automatically testing with specific tools are options for this process. Depending on the size of the website and the quantity of tests, the entire cost of quality assurance and security testing will be between $500 and $5,000, as QA engineers typically charge $25 per hour.

Additional costs for project management, content production, SEO and promotion, hosting, and other services are included in the overall cost of website development.

Your website should effectively utilize current trends to draw visitors and provide enhanced usability, such as:

  • design using mobile first.
  • creation of responsive websites.
  • Apps that are progressive (PWAs).
  • optimized for voice searches.
  • Integration of chatbots and AI.

Even while adding these features will raise the price of developing a website, the advantages outweigh the costs. Among other benefits, they raise efficiency, save operating costs, and enhance customer happiness.

Cost of Website Development by a Vendor Type

Generally speaking, there are three standard solutions available to businesses and individuals who require a personalized website. The first step is to hire a committed team by getting in touch with a web design or software development company. Hiring certain experts on Upwork or other comparable freelance marketplaces is the second option. The final choice is to use your own abilities to create a website. Let’s examine the benefits, drawbacks, and estimated expenses of different strategies.

Hire a Development Team

This is the priciest but most secure way to acquire a personalized website. Web development companies have all the personnel and expertise needed to complete projects of varying degrees of complexity. They are the perfect answer for a busy business owner who has a deadline for finishing the task. These companies offer more services than only design and development, like upkeep, marketing, SEO, content updates, business analysis, and so forth. Web development companies frequently provide all-inclusive packages with discounts for their services.

But the majority of agencies don’t make their rates public. Rather, they make separate cost estimates for each job. In this industry, it is customary to contact multiple providers, explain your needs for a website, and request an estimate. The cost of a web design agency is also influenced by its location. Companies that deal with nearshore development typically charge more, whereas offshore companies provide better deals but come with extra costs.

It should be mentioned that certain organizations frequently turn down or assign low priority to modest projects. Hiring an agency to create a business website can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $150,000 or more overall. This price is well out of reach for the majority of startups and small businesses, who then hunt for less expensive alternatives.

Hire an In-House Team

Hiring an in-house team or a department for your business company is not always viable. On one hand, you will have the same specialists as the hired agency as your employees. On the other hand, you will have to ensure effective management and working conditions. Moreover, the search process, interviewing, and other aspects of hiring are time-consuming. Sometimes, there are just no suitable candidates that match your criteria.

An in-house team is viable if a website is the staple of your business and you do not want to rely on third parties to ensure its operation. For example, it is justified for an online store or a corporate website but may be excessive for a landing page or portfolio. Considering the additional costs of hiring, management, and work environment, an in-house team involves more investments and hustle than hiring a team from an agency.

Hire Freelancers

It is doubtful that you will discover a “jack of all trades” who can handle even a tiny website without additional assistance. A web developer, a UI/UX designer, and a copywriter/content manager are typically required when creating a website and adding content. This option typically indicates that you’ve chosen to use a well-known site builder with customized content management system. Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, WordPress.org, and GoDaddy are among the most popular examples.

The average hourly wages for web designers and developers are $15–30, while the hourly rates for copywriters range from $20–45, per Upwork. This implies that you will pay between $1,500 and $5,000 for a modest business website created by freelancers, while you will pay between $20,000 and $30,000 for a complicated website requiring 1000 hours of effort. This amount is mostly determined by the features that are used, the degree of custom programming, the usage of premium modules, and other factors.

Do It Yourself

If you have some spare time, you may attempt applying your abilities and perseverance to develop your idea into a functional website. Given the magnitude of this task, you must carefully assess your abilities and resources. Working on your website will likely require you to pick up new talents, so take advantage of this excellent opportunity to sharpen your abilities. However, you will only be able to manage a modest, straightforward project, and you will encounter numerous difficulties along the way. You should consider your options thoroughly and determine if you are capable of doing this assignment.

Nowadays, there are a lot of website builders that provide practically anyone with simple, no-code tools. Most basic services are available for free or very inexpensively, but more complex options will cost one-time fees or subscriptions. By doing this, you can avoid paying experts’ fees and use the money you save to purchase a website builder’s premium features and paid functionality. Even with some skill, this is usually the slowest method of creating a website.

If you really want to go all out, you will have to pay roughly $3 per month for web hosting and website builder services at Hostinger, for example. You will pay at least $8 annually for a domain name that ends in.com or.net, but for $1–2 per year, you can get less expensive domains like.xyz or.shop. Numerous features and services are included in the hosting package at no cost. They will be simple, but suitable for straightforward websites.

Strategies for Cost Optimization

You will need to identify ways to cut costs with the least amount of sacrifice to functionality and quality if your budget is tight. Here are a few examples of steps:

List the features and functionalities in order of importance. For the development process to be successful in terms of both budget efficiency and product quality, goals and priorities must be established.

Make use of open-source frameworks and solutions. For a tight budget, there are several web building tools available. Small businesses typically use web builders, theme templates, and CMS plugins to design their websites.

Make use of agile project management. Agile methodology prioritizes quality and client interaction while allowing for a high degree of flexibility and predictability.

Think about outsourcing as an alternative to internal development. In many cases, hiring a specialized staff rather than maintaining an internal department is more economical.

Make advance plans for long-term expenses. Remember that your website will require upkeep, fresh material, and other modifications and enhancements. Long-term plans for web hosting and other subscription-based services are less expensive.

How to Choose a Trustworthy Web Development Partner?

While not the simplest task, it is also not insurmountable. Here, we’ll highlight a few points to consider when looking for reliable specialists rather than just any old development team.

knowledge and proficiency.Find out how long the freelancer or software development company you have chosen has been in business in their field. A well-established business is far more trustworthy than those that just started operating six months ago.

Portfolio and Case Studies.When looking for a software development vendor, you will most likely look at their portfolio first. Reputable experts provide enough details about their work to allow potential clients to fully understand their scope of knowledge. Above all, be sure that at least some of the case studies mention actual clients. If not, think about going on to the next applicant for the position.

Testimonies.Consumer reviews demonstrate how reliable the development partner is. It should raise red flags for you if a freelancer or web development company’s clients post largely or no negative comments. The nicest part about customer testimonials is that they typically include the client’s name, profession, and name of the business they either own or work for. As a result, you can get in touch with them and find out how easy and productive their cooperation was with the web development partner.

inclusion in reputable catalogs such as Business of Apps, GoodFirms, Clutch, etc.This is only beneficial to the businesses. Because these catalogs include consumer testimonies that were obtained directly from the source, they are quite helpful and instructive.

Location. Partners in web development with offices throughout multiple nations are far more trustworthy than those with just one location or none at all. Businesses with multiple locations in a single nation or throughout the globe won’t allow subpar work or inadequate communication to compromise all of their hard work and good name.

Transparency. Keep an eye on the amount of information your potential web development partner shares in private communications and on their website or profile. It wouldn’t hurt to observe how they handle all of the documentation, including agreements and legal papers. This could reveal a lot about their dependability to you.

The price of creating a software or website. An excessively high or low fee for services is always a warning sign that something is fishy. Naturally, a company’s website creation cost can exceed the market average if it has years of experience and has established itself as a worldwide recognized brand. On the other hand, if a business is young and doesn’t have a distinct specialty, it can just indicate that the team plans to exit the market shortly.

As you can see, when selecting your software development vendor, you should consider other factors besides the cost of developing the company’s website. Make an informed choice; those who make a poor choice frequently pay twice.

As a business that has been offering web development and other services for over 15 years, we have put a lot of effort into building our reputation and the success of our clients’ businesses right from the start. We now employ engineers in 21 countries across the Atlantic and have offices in San Francisco, New York, London, and Oslo. We are happy to inform everyone that among our clients are numerous Fortune 500 firms, like Clinique, Harley-Davidson, Melco, Hoosbaa, and many more. We don’t, however, restrict our work to businesses alone. Our website creation costs are affordable for new businesses like yours.

Conclusion

Size, hosting, and complexity are only a few of the numerous variables that affect the typical cost of developing a website. There is, however, much more to discuss. The size of the development team and the degree of experience of each specialist have a significant impact on the overall cost. Building a website with intricate functionality and architecture will require a team of experts rather than just one or two. Consequently, the price of developing a website goes up.

The average cost of developing a website is significantly influenced by the location of development specialists. Software engineers from the US or Europe may earn twice or three times as much per hour as their counterparts from other continents. Expertise is another component in website creation costs. In the job market, experts with a strong background are highly valued, particularly if they are knowledgeable about the specifics of several industries.

Intellectsoft is the perfect vendor for the task if you’re searching for someone you can trust to either construct your website from the ground up or update the one you already have. We have developed and deployed more than 600 digital solutions for companies of various sizes over the course of more than 15 years, ranging from early-stage startups to SMBs and Fortune 500 companies. Please review our most notable instances for customers in a variety of industries, including fintech, healthcare, construction, eCommerce, transportation, and much more, to find out more about what we do.

What is the price of developing a website with Intellectsoft’s assistance?Please get in contact with us and share the details of your project. Our manager of business development will get in touch with you to provide the project estimate and early suggestions. It is only possible to determine the price of website development by using the particular details of your project. Thus, don’t be afraid to get in touch with us if you want a tailored solution for your company at a fair price.

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