The website of a business has a major say in how people perceive their organization. Ones that take a long time to load or have clunky UI (user interface) lose almost every potential customer that visits. Websites that feel easy to interact/shop with have a chance of blowing up fast!
If you are new to this, the first question on your mind would be, ‘How much will it cost me?’
Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-word answer for that. You can find platforms that can launch a website free of cost, whereas an adept web development company will ask thousands of dollars for the same.
Read this blog to know which route to take and an approximate of how much you’ll end up spending.
The Myth Vs. The Reality.
The Myth: While it would be a dream come true for many business owners, there is no fixed amount for every website. The cost of the website is like the cost of a car. You cannot know the exact value till you decide on the features and model you want.
The Reality: The cost is split up into many services. Some are essential, but you could live without the others to save money. Another point where the cost differs is the quality of these services, as the good ones cost more.
Note: The prices seen below are variable, depending on the service you go with. It exists to give a decent idea of the price range.
Basic Features & Cost
These are the essential purchases without which your website won’t work at all.
Domain name- This is the name that people enter in the URL to reach your website. Register the domain name you think best suits your business. You have the option to choose from extensions like .com, .org, .net, etc. with .com being the most popular. Most domains activate for a year that you’ll need to renew before it expires.
Cost: $0 to $60 (charged annually)
Website Hosting- It hosts the website of your business. This space stores all data and reproduces the same whenever anyone visits your website. Many platforms offer to host (some even for free!), however, choose carefully as many of your website’s active functions depend on the hosting service.
Cost: $0 to $500 (charged annually)
Website Building- After you host your website and link your domain, you are free to design it. Here’s where most people get confused- you can do this yourself (using two ways) or hire a professional. The latter takes all your worries away at a relatively expensive cost. They either charge a fixed amount or per hour. This option results in beautiful tailor-made websites that your customers could grow to love. One way you can DIY this is below and the other is towards the end of this blog.
Cost: $0 to $20,000 (one-time charge)
Maintenance Charges- These charges are essential to keep your website up to date. Depending on the scope, it can include graphics, technical maintenance, security, tracking, etc.
Cost: $10 to $6000+ (charged annually)
Website Builders & Cost
Website builders give you the ability to create a website not knowing how to code. Here are a few popular ones to monitor.
WordPress- With a whopping 64+ million websites, WordPress is the most popular site builder on the internet. It is open-source which means you will have access to a plethora of templates and plugins to make your journey easier. The downside is that you will have to hire someone to personalize the website to your taste.
Cost: $4 to $45 (per month) with an option to use for free
WIX- It has one of the best editors which distinguishes it from its competitors. This makes it highly user friendly and an instant favorite. Unfortunately, despite its big bank of templates, it isn’t possible to switch them after launch.
Cost: $14 to $39 (per month) with an option to use for free
Squarespace- One of the best template libraries allows you to choose a modern and aesthetically pleasing design for your website. It’s great for creatives, but you could hit a brick wall for customization without professional help.
Cost: $12 to $40 (per month) with a free trial
Additional Features & Cost
Your website can run without them, but these features exist to shift some work off your hands. Here are a few to help you understand.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate- Your website can function without it, but we suggest otherwise. This certificate establishes a secure connection, protecting both you and your user from cybercriminals.
Cost: $0 to $60 (charged annually)
Plugins and Add-ons- Consider them as slight improvements to your existing web building system. These programs run on the host site builder without hindering its functionality.
Cost: $0 to $200 (initial charge)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)- It’s the process to enhance the number and quality of visitors that come to your website. Good SEO practices directly boost sales.
Cost: $0 to $100 (charged per hour)
eCommerce Function- This is the feature used to sell your product/service from your website. If you don’t have something to sell, you do not require this at all.
Cost: $0 to $20,000 (initial charge)
Where Can You Cut Costs?
We at Tech9logy.com understand if you don’t have a tremendous budget for your website. There are places where you can save money, but it will affect the quality of the final product, making it look unprofessional. We don’t suggest using these as long-term solutions, so shift to a better setup as soon as you can.
Free Domains- Platforms like wix.com offer free domains in their free plans with the condition that it will use its name in it. Example: accountname.wixsite.com.
Shared Hosting- Instead of hosting a private space, your website will share that space with others. The downside? It could lead to slower load times. Here’s how your website’s load times affect conversion rate.
Building it Yourself- If you have the time and patience to dedicate yourself, you can save big on building your website. W3schools is a website where you can learn to code for free and then use it to do the coding yourself. Its disadvantage is that it could take years to learn to code at a level to make a professional-looking website.
Conclusion
Our suggestion? Don’t boot quality and spend (in the limit) wherever you can. Hire a Web Development Company like us that can help build the website you dream about.
Contact us at Tech9logy Creators to discuss your project.
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