How Much Does a Website Cost? A Comprehensive Guide for Small Businesses

If you’re a small business looking to create a new website or upgrade your existing website, you’re probably wondering how much it will cost and the options available for different budgets.

The good news is that there are plenty of great options catering to small businesses like yours. To help you make an informed decision, we’ve created this comprehensive guide to provide all the answers you’re looking for in establishing a practical budget for your website design and development.

1. What Factors Determine the Cost of a Website? Understanding the Pricing Structure
2. Is It Possible to Get a High-Quality Website on a Limited Budget?
3. What Are the Average Costs of Different Website Components: Design, Development, Hosting, etc.?
4. DIY vs. Professional Website Development: Which Option Is More Cost-Effective?
5. Are There Affordable Alternatives to Custom Web Design? Exploring Template-Based Solutions
6. Can I Get an eCommerce Website on a Budget? Cost-Effective Solutions for Online Selling
7. How to Avoid Overpaying for Web Design Services: Tips for Negotiating Pricing
8. What to Look for in a Web Design Package: Essential Features and Services
9. Understanding the Cost-Benefit Ratio of Website Upgrades and Redesigns
10. Is Hiring a Freelancer or an Agency a Better Choice for Affordable Website Development?

1. What Factors Determine the Cost of a Website? Understanding the Pricing Structure

There are several factors that affect the total cost of a website. They include:

• How simple or complicated the website is
  ​Are you looking for a basic portfolio site to showcase your company’s products and services, or do you need a full-fledged eCommerce site with custom-designed features, multi-lingual versions, subscription plug-ins, etc?

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• Template or custom design
  Would a customisable template design be good enough or do you need a unique web design coded from scratch? For the former, you just need an experienced web designer but for the latter, you will need either a web developer with graphic design skills, or a graphic designer AND a web developer.

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• Freelancers or agencies
  Both options offer different advantages at different price points. An experienced freelancer might deliver better value for money if it’s a relatively simple website and you don’t mind managing the project yourself. An agency, on the other hand, would allow you to focus on running your business while providing expert recommendations and guidance on top of project management.

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• Additional Services
  Finally, you also need to factor in the additional costs of website maintenance such as domain and web hosting, content creation (copywriting and graphic design), SEO, and technical maintenance.

The more precise you can be in your website requirements, the more accurate the estimates will be from potential service providers. Having a clear project brief also ensures you’ll find the most compatible and experienced talents or agencies to work with.

2. Is It Possible to Get a High-Quality Website on a Limited Budget?

​Absolutely! We know how important it is to stretch our resources in a tough economy, especially for small businesses. That said, you don’t have to compromise on design     quality and functionality just to stay on budget.

Website builders these days offer a diverse range of professional web design templates that are customisable, affordable, and mobile-optimised. Wix and Squarespace, for example, offer flexible subscription plans for different business needs at below $50 a month.

Their templates are fairly easy to customise and set up, but you’ll need to invest time and effort to learn the ropes. Going the DIY route is a great option if you enjoy tinkering with websites. On the other hand, cost-effectiveness is relative. Is your time best spent on creating and maintaining your website or on growing your business?

If the latter, then working with an agency such as SBWD might deliver more value in the long run. Established agencies will have the technical and marketing expertise to advise you on the best solution to achieve your desired results within your budget range. The upfront cost might be a bit higher, but it’s worth getting a professional website done right.

3. What Are the Average Costs of Different Website Components: Design, Development, Hosting, etc.?

Great question! Knowing what each component costs will allow you to create a practical budget based on your priorities. Let’s break it down.

• Design: The aesthetics of your website is a critical aspect of your web visitors’ browsing experience. DIY templates by website builders such as Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress range from free to $100 (one-time fee), while custom-designed websites can range from $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the design complexity. Freelance web designers charge between $50 to $150 per hour vs. agencies that typically start at $100 per hour and more.
  
  
  • ​​​Development: For custom-designed websites, you’ll need to factor in the cost of building the site. Prices depend on the features and functionality of the site:
  • Basic 5-page site: $1,000 to $5,000
  • eCommerce store: $5,000 to $50,000 or more
  • Fully custom web application: $10,000 to $500,000 or beyond
  • Freelance developers typically charge $60 to $200 per hour, while development agencies charge $125 per hour upwards
    
    
• Content creation: Depending on the amount and type of content you need and the frequency, you’ll need to budget for copywriting, images, and graphic design. Hiring a freelance writer or graphic designer could set you back at $50 to $200 per hour, depending on their experience and specialisation. Alternatively, you could create the content yourself, if you have the time and skills for it.

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• Domain and web hosting: If you’re using WordPress or a custom-designed website, you’ll have to pay for web hosting, which averages at $5 to $100 per month depending on your requirements. Domains only cost around $15 per year.

Using a website builder such as Wix or Squarespace offers a convenient and budget-friendly alternative as these platforms include web hosting, access to a wide range of professional design templates, and technical support in their subscription plans. 

But the best choice for you depends on your website goals and business priorities.

4. DIY vs. Professional Website Development: Which Option Is More Cost-Effective?

If you’re feeling torn between managing your web design yourself and leaving it to a professional, we can appreciate the dilemma. It’s a tough choice with equally good arguments for each.

Cost is definitely an important consideration, but it’s just as important to look at the big picture in terms of long-term value and peace of mind. It might help to ask yourself the following questions to help you gain clarity:

• Can you see yourself spending hours configuring a web design template, sourcing for images, creating the web content, and optimising the layout to ensure a positive browsing experience?
• What are your top 3 website goals? This will define how simple or complex the site needs to be. A website to establish online brand presence will be much simpler to set up compared to an eCommerce site that needs to feature tons of products and provide a user-friendly and secure purchase process.
• What matters more to you: a professional website that will keep visitors coming back or sticking to a strict budget?

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If this isn’t your first time using a website builder and you don’t mind it, then DIY could be the perfect solution for you. On the other hand, if it sounds like too much of a hassle, there’s no shame in hiring professionals for the job.

Working with an experienced web designer or agency will free up your time and energy so you can focus on more important aspects of your business.

5. Are There Affordable Alternatives to Custom Web Design? Exploring Template-Based Solutions

If you’re considering template-based website builders as an affordable alternative to custom web design, you’re on the right track! 

Website builders such as Wix and Squarespace are super simple to use and offer beautiful designer templates that are sleek and professional. With a range of paid subscription plans to choose from, you’ll have free access to hundreds of customisable templates with different features included. All you need to do is add text and images and voila!, you’ll have an elegant website ready to share with the world. No technical skills required as these website builders are designed to be intuitive and user-friendly.

For more control and flexibility, WordPress offers much more powerful blogging tools and unlimited third-party plugins to choose from. An impressive 43% of the web is built on WordPress due to its open-source platform and free-to-use website builder, though the free version has limited customisation abilities.

But to really benefit from WordPress, you’ll need to be technically savvy and comfortable with the highly involved process, from configuring the templates to the frequent maintenance and security management. Being open source unfortunately means that the plugins and templates are developed by different third parties and not regulated, which often causes incompatibility issues.

On the upside, WordPress offers thousands of templates by different developers with a staggering range of features and functionalities. These templates vary from free to paid, averaging at $50 to $200.

The best solution for you ultimately depends on your business goals and resources available to manage the website development and maintenance.

6. Can I Get an eCommerce Website on a Budget? Cost-Effective Solutions for Online Selling

It’s never been easier to set up an online store, so yes, you can absolutely get an eCommerce website on a budget! 

If you’re looking to do it yourself, you’ll want to check out Shopify, BigCommerce, and Squarespace for a start. These eCommerce platforms offer subscription plans from $30 to $80 per month with a range of features to get your online store up and running quickly and affordably.

This is a great resource, particularly for new eCommerce businesses, as it lets you start small and focus on growing your customer base and revenue before investing in something more elaborate and upscale.

On the other hand, if you’re fairly tech savvy and want something cost-effective that still gives you full control of your web design and development, WooCommerce might be the ideal solution for you. An open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress, WooCommerce instantly transforms your WordPress site into an eCommerce website with all the tools and features you need to start selling online.

However, if the thought of messing around with anything technical gives you a headache, but you still need a custom-designed eCommerce site, why not consider working with an agency? You might be surprised at the value you’ll get from it. It won’t be as affordable as doing it yourself, but the result will be a high-quality website minus the stress and time commitment.

7. How to Avoid Overpaying for Web Design Services: Tips for Negotiating Pricing

It can be difficult to gauge a reasonable fee for your web design project, but you don’t want to overpay when you can get a better deal.

Check out Clutch and LinkedIn to get an idea of the calibre and average prices of local freelancers and agencies. You could also post your requirements on Upwork and invite bids from freelance web designers and agencies to get an idea of a reasonable budget range.

To ensure that you get an accurate estimate, provide as much detailed information as you can in the project scope—pages needed, features, design style with examples for reference, integrations, type and amount of content, timeline, special requests, etc.

When you’ve received a few promising bids, make sure you evaluate the freelancer or agency’s portfolio and client reviews: this will tell you a lot about their skills, experience, and professionalism. Even though budget is a critical factor, don’t forget to look at the overall package. Their reliability and work ethics are equally important factors to consider.

If you come across promising candidates who are charging more than you can afford, don’t hestitate to negotiate with them. Have a fixed budget in mind? Ask if they’d be willing to reduce their rate. Alternatively, ask for options based on different price levels to find the best solution for both parties.

8. What to Look for in a Web Design Package: Essential Features and Services

There are a number of essential features and services that are a must-have in a web design package, such as:

• Custom and responsive design
  If you’re paying a premium for a freelance web designer or agency to get your website done, it should be both custom-designed and mobile-responsive. The former ensures an original design unique to your brand while the latter makes your site look great on any device, whether it’s a computer or mobile or tablet.

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• Ease of use
  The website should be built on a user-friendly CMS that’s easy to update so you won’t have problems adding new content or modifying it later on. This is especially critical for eCommerce sites where you might need to update your product information frequently.

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• SEO
  This is a primary prerequisite for any website these days: to be optimised for search engines so the site is easily found online. An SEO-optimised site will have clear page titles, meta descriptions, and alt image tags for higher search rankings.

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• Customer support
  You don’t want to be left high and dry if the site breaks or crashes and you have no one to call. Getting the site designed and set-up is just one aspect; you need the assurance of customer support for problems that might arise down the road.

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• Content creation
  Some web design packages also include professional content services to get you started with. This can be a great value-add if you don’t have the time or resources to do it on your own. Personalised web content with strategically worded call-to-action text, engaging blog posts, enticing product descriptions—these types of content play an instrumental role in attracting visitors and converting interest into action.

9. Understanding the Cost-Benefit Ratio of Website Upgrades and Redesigns

Web technology keeps evolving at a rapid pace, which unfortunately requires more frequent updates and redesigns to keep websites looking fresh and offering the best user experience possible.

It’s an expense in terms of time and money, but updated websites deliver huge benefits via positive brand image, ability to drive higher traffic and sales, and customer retention.

While getting the website redesigned might be an added expense, think of it as regular business maintenance. A modern and updated website with improved UX (user experience) translates to better engagement, conversion, and sales. Being mobile responsive ensures you don’t miss out on the mobile audience, while implementing the latest SEO practices will get you better search results and higher quality organic traffic.

To optimise the benefits vs the cost, approach it in a strategic manner:
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• Prioritise key upgrades that drive revenue and brand equity
• Develop a practical roadmap to keep track of the upgrades
• Measure the results of each step and optimise as you go
• Do an ROI analysis to compare the projected sales increase, cost savings, and improved brand equity against the total cost of the redesign

A well-planned website redesign is a long-term growth investment rather than an expense. You’ll have an edge over your competitors for staying relevant and progressive.

10. Is Hiring a Freelancer or an Agency a Better Choice for Affordable Website Development?

While cost considerations will always be an important factor in all purchase decisions, it’s essential to look at the long-term value when weighing the pros and cons of hiring a freelancer vs. an agency for your website development.

For added perspective, ask yourself the following questions:

• How simple or sophisticated does my website need to be?
• Do I have the time and energy to manage the project on my own or should I outsource it to an experienced professional?
• Is speed or budget higher priority?
• Will support and updates be included in the package?
• What level of design quality or sophistication do I need?

A freelancer is ideal if you need a simple site fast and cheap. But to project brand sophistication and credibility, a web agency may be worth the investment. If money is tight, scale back the project size rather than compromise on quality.

Ultimately, you want a solution that delivers the best value for your business. While agencies typically cost more, their experience is best for high-priority complex work, whereas freelancers can work well when a simple affordable site will do.

Looking for a a Sydney-based web design agency for your small business? Get in touch for a web design consult to explore your options, no strings attached!