What should a small business website cost in 2018?
Many people looking for web services struggle to find what a small business website costs. Most website designers and agencies don’t post pricing because a website cost can vary greatly depending on the project. In this article, we breakdown all the costs associated with paying someone to design and develop a small business website. Our analysis is based on a website with the following characteristics:
- Informational website (not an e-commerce website)
- Built on the WordPress platform
- Website cost estimates are based on freelance web designers & digital agencies
It’s important to note that we believe the industry rates are high and overpriced. If you’re looking for a quality website at an affordable price, check out our web design pricing. But without further ado, let’s get started.
How much does a website domain and hosting cost?
If you’re creating a new website from scratch, there are two components you’ll need. The first is a website domain. A website domain is your website’s address. For example, our website domain is www.zreuxwebdesign.com. The second piece of the website puzzle is hosting. Hosting is essentially where your website lives. In a way, your website is very much like an apartment. You pay rent for space (hosting) and people can find your place from your address (domain). Both of these components are typically paid on a yearly subscription basis.
How much do webpages, copywriting, images and logos cost?
Webpages, copywriting and images can make up a large portion of a new website’s cost. Answering the following questions will give you a better idea of your total website cost.
The total cost of a website is highly dependent on the number of webpages needed. The cost of a 5-page website will differ greatly from a 30-page website. Most small business websites need about 4-6 webpages. How many pages does your website need?
- Webpage cost = $75 to $125 per page
Do you need the text content to be professionally written for each page? Paying someone to write the text content is also referred to as Copywriting Services.
- Copywriting cost = $50 to $100 per hour
Do you have your own images or would you like to purchase new ones?
- Images cost = $10 to $50 per image
Do you have a logo or do you need to buy one? There are some good logo builders which allow you to build your own logo. Or you can pay a professional designer to create one specifically for your small business.
- Online logo builder cost = Free to $75
- Personalized logo cost = $100 to $400
How much do search engine optimized webpages cost?
There are many ways to help your website gain more traffic but the most common is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a comprehensive approach to increase traffic through search engines like Google & Bing. In order to have a successful SEO strategy your website must be optimized and developed properly to meet SEO standards. Therefore, a common website service is Search Engine Optimized Pages. Some web design agencies will include this service when developing the website while others will charge extra (we include it).
- Search Engine Optimized Pages cost = Free to $100 per page
How much does website security cost?
When building a new website, it’s crucial to implement website security and backup features. Adding website security measures to your site is a must in today’s age.
There are lots of free website security plugins but premium security is also an option. It’s also important to implement regular website backups. Therefore, if your website gets hacked you can easily resolve this issue by restoring your most recent backup.
- Website security cost = Free to $150 per year
- Website backups cost = Free to $100 per year
How much does website maintenance cost?
After your website launches it’s imperative to keep your website maintained. Website maintenance includes things like software updates, plugin updates, security monitoring and automated backups. It also includes any updates you wish to make to your website.
- Website maintenance package cost = $50 to $600 per month
What’s the best estimate for a small business website cost?
As you can see, a small business website cost is not one size fits all. Our best estimate for the cost of a small business website is between $1,000 to $10,000. This is highly dependent on a website’s complexity, purpose and quality. Zreux Web Design offers small business websites starting at $1,499.
Contact us to get started today!
What website cost have you seen for small business websites? We would love to get your feedback! If you enjoyed this post, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Thank you!