In the past decade I’ve successfully developed, designed and helped clients launch websites as simple as 1 page all the way up to 100+ page corporate websites. What I can confidently tell you off the bat is that one pricing principle always applies. It’s this.

Website prices will be higher or lower depending upon your specific website requirements. That’s always a given.

You want a prefabricated single wide trailer or a custom built townhome? Maybe you’re on a budget but still want quality and opt for a nice but frugal starter home? Money not really an object and willing to go all out on the beachside mansion? You can take any of those routes and it’s essentially the exact same choices you’ll have when it comes to websites.

With more than a decade under my belt as a successful website developer and website designer I’ve been asked the “how much is it going to cost” question often as you can imagine. In my early days as a developer and designer that question from a client used to challenge me internally every time I’d hear it.

Not because I was hesitant about answering with an exact dollar figure that may have been perceived as “too much” but simply because I lacked the experience and knowledge on how to answer the question both accurately and in a way that made sense to the client.

Back in 2014 I tackled the “How Much Do eCommerce Websites Cost Question” by writing and publishing our eCommerce Website Costs Guide. It’s also been updated for 2020 and is widely considered the go-to source for eCommerce entrepreneurs and industry professionals alike.

Like that guide this one too is a bit lengthy. My apologies in advance as it’s simply next to impossible to thoroughly cover website cost topics well with short articles.

Variables That Impact Website Costs

Page Count

So… how many pages is this new website of yours going to have? About how many? Are we talking about a basic “brochure type website” that’s pretty simple (2-4 pages or less) or is this a more content rich website with potentially dozens of pages?

With most standard websites you’re just looking at basic pages like about us, home page, contact us page, FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions), along with other staple pages that let your visitors know about you, your services and your business.

Our own complete website design starter package covers the basics mentioned above very well and also affords some serious wiggle room for add-ons and extra features. With all that being said… final page counts are a critical variable in determining how much your website will cost.

When we’re talking about pages we’re also talking about time and simply stated time is money in website development and website design. The more time needed to render great pages and style that content appropriately… the more you’re going to pay. If you’re going to need those extra pages written (text based content) or even proofed and revised, that additional time and work will need to be factored in as well.

Content/Text Ready

Your website will need text (content). The more important question of course is… “Do you have the content “text” ready for your website pages?” Will you need assistance like our copywriting services to draft, write or perhaps simply assist you with writing that content?

To do well with your website you’ll need to have very good page titles and well written pages. You can get by of course with using copy from your print literature but more often than not print does not always translate to great web content. The requirements are a good bit different despite what the average person might assume.

Don’t disservice your site’s visitors with huge walls of unbroken text that’s been simply copy/pasted from your company’s print brochures. Website text should and needs to flow much differently.

Reading print vs. web text content should be accounted for as web reading lends more towards a scanning type behavior. We can most certainly make use of your already existing print copy text but if it’s to be done right you’ll want it revised for web reading. You’ll also want it optimized for search engines (SEO) as well.

The web today is over-saturated with business websites and there are numerous reasons for this over-saturation. Anyone can put a website online nowadays. That mere convenience is blatantly obvious as there are thousands upon thousands more low quality websites out there than high quality ones.

Let that dismal fact serve as your calling card to build a great website that will rival the competition and serve your audience well. In just a few seconds upon landing on your website visitors will have already made some very presumptuous judgments about your business and brand based mostly on the quality of your website. That may not be fair but it’s the reality I assure you.