News by Host Much

Web Design - A Pricing Guide

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Why Not Use A Website Builder?

There are many tools like website builders to help the average person create a website on their own, but should you? I'll answer this question with a question:

Do you change your own car oil?

To do so, you remove the oil pan screw, drain the oil, replace the screw, replace the oil. Simple right?

Although, changing car oil is a simple task, most people take their car in to have the oil change by a skilled professional. So why would you take something as complex as a website and try to build it yourself? With your own two hands? With a website builder, you force your business into a point and click cookie cutter model that is geared for simplicity of use, not customers, leads and sales. You need someone knowledgeable that will understand conversions, check and repair both coding and marketing issues, keep up with maintenance and upselling. You know, do the dirty work for you.

Please check out our video on The Basics of Web Design for more information on why you should have Host Much design your website for you.

How Much Does Web Design Cost?

How much does it really cost to have a professional web design firm like Host Much, custom-build your website with security features and all the other important elements, bells and whistles?

Our design fee is typically $75 per hour. Although, a company website (even for a small business) could potentially cost between $5,000 and $10,000, with $7,000 being the average cost to set up, design, build, database, refactor, test and create content. However, we do offer a discount of $40/hr on design work to our Elite Web Hosting Customers.

Okay, But How Much Will You Charge Me Total?

Depending on your project, we have two options:

1. Flat Fee Web Design

Basic websites starting at $1750+. We can layout your needs, create a wishlist and come up with a cost effective solution for your budget. A plug n' play starter website for personal or small business use.

2. Hourly Rate

While the cost to actually develop the entire website could range from $100/hr to $180/hr based on the complexity of the website (i.e., custom functions, templates, frameworks, databasing) and the specific needs for content creation, layout and other programming, the average hourly rate is approximately $75. Multiply that by the average development hours of 80 and you get $6,000 for the average project.

Here’s a basic web design price list:

• Setup: $175
• Project Scope, Domain, Web Hosting, SSL, Template, Layout,
• Design and building: $5,000
• HTML, CSS, Javascript, Databasing, Programming, Testing, Modifications
• Content creation: $500
• Most clients need us to create their content.
• Client training: $525
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• Total:   $6,200

* An out of the box template website will usually cost $750, and a custom website design will usually cost a minimum of $5,000 but can go upwards of $10,000 depending on project complexity. Content creation will also vary from $500 to upwards of $5,000 depending on how much content the client wants us to create for them.

Conclusion

Websites are complex. They do not have a one price fits all. Timeframes vary. Plan for $75 an hour on development. Create a features list and allow several hours of development time per feature. Detail your project so you can receive an accurate quote on hours. If $75 per hour seems too high for your website budget and you think you should just do-it-yourself, you're wrong. What's your free time worth to you? You should negotiate a flat rate discount based on the functionality that your site requires and have a skilled professional do the job for you.

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