Web design pricing is an art and science at the same time. Regardless of whether you are hiring a freelancer or signing a contract with a digital marketing agency to design and develop a website for your business, you need to understand how web design pricing works. Insights about website costs can help you make the best decision for your business and gain the highest ROI on your website project.
If a designer is assigned to your project, you may expect to be charged on average $60 per hour. However, a skilled freelancer may charge as much as $80 per hour. So, depending on your project size and services required, you should consider a budget of $500 to $10000 for a website. This is a wide range. In this article we review important elements that affect web design pricing the most.
Web Design Essentials
Domain name, hosting services, design services, and SSL certificate are major factors to consider when calculating the cost of having a business website.
- Domain Name can be costly, especially if you need to acquire a prized top-level domain (TLD). However, you can register a domain for an annual subscription of less than a $100.
- Hosting services normally cost separately. Especially if you are building a website yourself or by using WordPress. Hosting fees usually range from $100 to $500, charged annually. More robust and expensive services are required if you expect to get more than 100 thousand site visits per month.
- Website builders vs. Professional designers. If you have sufficient technical skills, you may be able to use DIY programs and save on money. Getting access to premium features of these platforms should cost about $200 per year on average. On the other hand, if you need highly specialized website with customized features, you need to opt in using WordPress or build your site from scratch. Then you need to have access to designers with HTML coding skills. Outsourcing your project to a professional web designer will save a lot of time.
- SSL certificate is a digital identity for your website, an authentication method for security purposes. Through SSL, you are protecting your site users from cyberattacks. If develop your website without SSL, users may receive a message by their web browser that reads “This site may not be secure.” Such an alarming message would be a huge deterrent to enter your site.
7 most significant factors on web design pricing
- Size: larger sites take more time and work to develop and therefore cost more. Normally, the size of a website is measured by the number of its pages. Agencies may have different web design pricing scheme. However, on average a 10-50 pages site should cost about $2500 while a 150-250 pages site may cost up to $10000.
- Copywriting: based on your marketing strategy and your budget, you should consider using copywriting services to capture your brand, product features, and selling points. Optimized content can reach your target audience efficiently. Full-service web design agencies provide search engine optimization (SEO) which will boost your site performance. Depending on the word count on each page, you should expect to pay on average $60 – $300 per page for copywriting services.
- Style: depending on your industry and business type, you may prefer a specific website style. Selling luxury products require a high-end looking website that convey top quality whereas a home repair service provide may need a laidback site that reflects professionalism. Regardless of whether you end up with a simple or sophisticated website, the style should capture your brand and provide a pleasant experience for your customers.
- SEO: it is important for every business to be visible to its potential customers. If you want your website to rank high on search engine results to increase conversions and revenue. It is better to start SEO as early as possible. Bundling SEO with web design is a smart option. Depending on the number of keywords, your SEO costs can range from $2000 to $10000.
- Mobile-friendly and Responsive design: most internet users get online via their smart devices. Having a mobile-friendly site is a must that improves customer impressions. Creating a responsive design is also a cost-effective option that makes your site adapt to different devices. It may cost you $3000 more but your site will run on desktops, mobiles, and tablets seamlessly.
- Custom features: you can always add CMS, E-commerce functionality, and database integration add-ons to your site for extra costs. Depending on the size of your operation you may need to consider a budget of $2000 to $25000 for each of these functionalities.
How companies price their web design services
Web design pricing depends on different factors including the experience of the developing team, type of the website, the scope and size of the project, and features of the website.
- Skill level or experience: marketing agencies decide on web design pricing based on the skill level of their technical team. The more sophisticated features and design would cost higher. Carefully study each company’s portfolio of previous projects to determine whether they can address your needs and their pricing matches their claimed experience level.
- Type of websites to be designed: designing a personal website is less difficult than a business website and therefore less expensive. On the other hand, you need a bigger budget to have websites that require more complex functionality like payment systems and shopping features. Custom-built websites are most expensive.
- The scope and size of the project: building a website from scratch significantly costs more than just updating an existing one. So, the scope of your project determines the range of the expenses on web design and development. If you are paying hourly, it is better to be efficient on creating your demand list and revisions.
- The features required: as we mentioned before, more complex features, custom-built options, and specialized design solutions will cost more. Developing business websites with advanced functionality, tools, and plugins would require more time and resources.
- Prevailing market rates: you can compare freelancing rates with marketing agency pricing to decide which option is more economical. Freelancers charge based on their location, type of services ordered, tools and technology required, and web design type. Receiving quotes from several sources will give you a good idea about market rates. However, it is hard to compare quality and customer services that a company can provide with a freelancer.
- The value of the work to your business: marketing agencies will consider how important the website is to your business before sending you an invoice. For instance, asking for a website that boosts your revenue through direct sales would signal a web developer to charge you more. Also, if you are creating a website for a global enterprise, you should expect to receive a significant higher bill.
Web Design Pricing Schemes
Marketing agencies have different pricing methods for web design services they provide:
- Hourly rate: some developers may prefer to charge based on the total number of hours worked. Bigger projects require more time and therefore cost more.
- Flat rate: when both parties agree on a flat rate, there is a chance that the total cost is overestimated. The estimated value of the project highly depends on the significance of the deliverable to your business.
- Monthly rate: if you need extra services like site maintenance, content creation, and SEO for your business website you should opt in for monthly payments. Monthly rates are effectively recurring flat rates or a retainer for recurring work.
Final words
Do some research and create a clear plan of your expectations. It is important to convey your prospective design and functions with your web designer early.
Web design pricing depends on the scope of your project, customized features, and the options your need for your business website. Also, the experience of your designer is an important factor on how much you end up paying for your website.
Our experts at Lyla are always ready to help you reach your web design goals. We will be by your side on each and every step. Don’t hesitate to contact us.
