So you have worked long and hard at building your business. You started by working an ordinary job while pursuing your passion on the side. Then slowly but surely your passions started to earn you business. Finally it got to the point where you were ready to leave your job behind and pursue the American dream of owning your OWN business. You worked on hiring some small help, renting an office space, gathering materials, LLC’ing a name for your company. Then finally it became time to own your own website.
People often spend a lot of money on starting up their business, but for some reason, when it comes to their website, they want to find the cheapest bargain available. Why is that?
Ish Laos
Founder of Webstuffguy.com
But how much are you willing to spend? As in any other business, you will most likely get what you pay for. There are all sorts of factors that play into what a company or freelancer will charge for a website. We break it down for you below.
Are We Redesigning Your Website or Starting From Scratch?
You may already have a website that has aged badly or are just ready for a fresh, updated look. Or you may not have a website at all. This plays a small roll in pricing. If you already have a website, then your website designer is able to pull content and imagery from your old site. This saves a little time when all is said and done and could be the difference of a couple of hundred of dollars. Note that not all web design companies in Atlanta share this philosophy.
How Big Will Your Website Be?
Are you asking for the average 8-10 page website? Will it be a simple one-page site (aka a landing page)? Or are we talking about a much larger website? This is another factor that plays into the pricing. The more pages your website will require, the more work and time it will require to complete. So the size of the site plays a factor.
How Experienced is Your Website Designer?
Are you trying to save money by finding a freelance website designer? You may save yourself a couple of hundred dollars by going this route, but you also sacrifice a lot more to go with it. Is this freelancer forced to be a good communicator or do they really not care since they didn’t charge you a whole lot anyway? Does quality matter? If so, going with a larger company may be the better option for you.
Are You Building the Website Yourself?
We see the commercials all the time from companies such as Wix.com, Godaddy and many other “do-it-yourself” websites. While this may sound like a good option to some, most business owners end up abandoning these projects for many reasons. Here are a few:
- It ended up being much more work than they anticipated
- It’s too difficult to understand and they don’t have time to learn a new skill
- They start realizing that they simply don’t have the time to build their own site
- They start realizing all the limitations associated with these “do-it-yourself” website builders
- They didn’t realize how difficult it is to break off the contract they signed up for
Many people think that yes they have saved a lot of money by going with these types of website builders only to end up abandoning it and calling for a professional. We’ve seen it before many times. So tread lightly.
These are all key factors that play into how much you’ll be spending for a website. At the end of the day, you’ll find such a wide array of pricing options. Some freelancers who are just starting out and are looking for work may charge a couple hundred dollars while large scale companies may charge $5-10,000 for a website. So be sure to do your research and go with your gut instinct. And remember- you get what you pay for in the end.