4 out of 5 inquiries from new customers begin with some form of the question, \u201cHow much does a website cost?\u201d<\/p>\n
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I think they would be most happy if we could open up the magic website price book and provide them with a useful answer. Instead, we usually say \u2026 \u201cWell, that depends upon the type of website you would like to build.\u201d\u00a0 (How\u2019s that for helpful?)<\/p>\n
Actually, it is helpful because such a question begins a discussion that allows both parties to thumbnail out the actual scope of the project at hand.<\/p>\n
Here is my firm\u2019s approach to collecting the information necessary to provide initial pricing estimates.\u00a0 It is a four quadrant model that includes: scale, features & functionality, content development, and interactivity.<\/p>\n
Scale<\/strong> \u2013<\/p>\n How many sections and pages are we thinking about here?\u00a0 Is it a redesign of your current site whereby the size of the site might grow by a foreseeable percentage?\u00a0 Is there a competing site that does a good job capturing the information we\u2019re hoping to capture?\u00a0 Have you jotted out a preliminary sitemap?\u00a0 The more thoughts the client can provide on the scale of the site, the quicker we can provide helpful budgetary information.<\/p>\n Features & Functionality<\/strong> \u2013<\/p>\n Basically this means \u201cwhat do you want visitors to be able to do on your site?\u201d \u2013 and \u2013 \u201cwhat type of management control and integration are you looking for on the back end?\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Front end features are usually more obvious.\u00a0 Are you looking for basic forms, links, and a search feature?\u00a0 Do you want to post jobs, manage news & events, and host a forum?\u00a0 Is ecommerce involved? (If so, get ready for a good many more questions.)\u00a0 Back end features are typically not as thought through.\u00a0 What degree of content management are you looking for?\u00a0 Does the site need to integrate with any other software, servers, databases?\u00a0 One atypical feature request can easily add 50% to the cost of a web project.<\/p>\n Content Development<\/strong> \u2013<\/p>\n Content covers both the copy (words on the page) and the images (photos, illustrations, video).\u00a0 Will the client be providing final website copy?\u00a0 Or, will you be in need of copywriting and\/or copyediting services?\u00a0 To what degree?\u00a0 Is there any video production needed for the website?\u00a0 Will we be using stock photography, client-provided photography, or custom photography?<\/p>\n Interactivity<\/strong> \u2013<\/p>\n How much interactivity are we wanting to incorporate into the website?\u00a0 Hold all other parts equal (scale, features, content), a website with a high degree of interactivity (transitions, multimedia presentations, flash integration) can easily cost 2-3 times more than a basic static website.<\/p>\n To make the \u201chow much?\u201d question even more interesting, the \u201chow much\u201d often depends upon \u201cwho\u201d you\u2019re asking.<\/p>\n As you move across the scale from part timers\/freelancers\/students\/friends to very-large-agencies, the cost of a similarly scoped project will increase exponentially.\u00a0 Experience, team size, and overhead all get factored in and influence the pricing.\u00a0 On the plus side, you do usually get what you pay for.\u00a0 Not always.\u00a0 Usually.\u00a0 Also, it\u2019s sometimes comforting to know that your web resource will be reliable and won\u2019t be moving\/leaving the industry\/graduating\/you-name-it any time soon.<\/p>\n Technologies used to create your website certainly influence price.\u00a0 Microsoft licensing costs can add up.\u00a0 Open source web technology provides a major value, though is not welcome in all organizations.<\/p>\n Lastly, certainly not least, is the degree of search engine optimization effort that is provided with your website.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If a web partner is going to invest the time and effort to identify how people find your business and then incorporate that knowledge into the architecture of the website, be prepared to see at least a few thousand dollars added to the cost of the project.<\/p>\n Some sites cost $1,200.\u00a0 Others $300,000.\u00a0 Still others $2MM.\u00a0\u00a0 There\u2019s no one price for a website, only a series of trade-offs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4 out of 5 inquiries from new customers begin with some form of the question, \u201cHow much does a website cost?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[243,241],"tags":[259,258,257,212],"class_list":["post-1055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web-inspiration","category-web-design-corner","tag-charge","tag-cost","tag-price","tag-web-design"],"yoast_head":"\n