Regardless of your business model, establishing an attractive and functional website for your business is essential to succeed in today’s highly digital landscape. But how much will it cost your business to build a website and even maintain it once it’s built?
It depends; a website can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to build to $50,000 for a fully custom advanced website. Building a website can be a lengthy process, with many variable costs to consider. Keep reading to get an idea of what you may need to spend on a website.
There are some essentials to building any website that you will need to consider in your budget. These essentials form the bare bones of getting your site published on the internet.
Website domains
Website domains are the first step to securing your place on the internet and building brand identity. A domain makes it possible for people to find and access your site by establishing a proxy to be found through.
Getting a domain is simple enough; first, you must come up with a domain name for your website. This is important because it is how people will find your site and will always display within the URL. Once you are satisfied with a domain name, all you have to do is make sure no one else owns the domain, and then you can quickly purchase it for your site using a domain name registrar.
There are some factors that influence domain price, mainly if they are a top-level domain (TLD) or a country code top-level domain (ccTLD). TLDs are generally the most desired option because they are so common. TLDs include domain name extensions such as .com and .gov; these are common extensions naturally assumed to be used by site visitors, so they are quite desirable for businesses. A ccTLD has extensions related to a country code, such as .co and .me. These extensions have become popular secondary options for businesses regardless of origin. TLDs are generally more expensive, but it depends on the registrar you purchase them from.
When purchasing a domain from a registrar, be careful to check for any additional fees being added to your total. There are some features included with a domain purchase, and you should double-check the costs of these with the registrar you purchase from. For example, when a domain is registered, the user must provide contact information for the Whois database, a public list of owners of domains. In addition, there are some privacy features that can make your information less accessible, so check the security and privacy features with the registrar and note any additional costs for these.
A domain name can cost between $1 and $25 per year; however, some popular preregistered domains are sold for much larger price tags. The cost primarily depends on which registrar you purchase from. Also, keep in mind that some registrars may offer varying prices per year based on their available plans.
Hosting
Hosting is the next essential feature. Hosting is one of the most significant choices you will need to make for your website. Website hosting provides your website with the resources it needs to run. In addition, web hosting options determine what server your website will run on. This server is where all the content for your website will be stored and allows users to safely and quickly access that content at any time.
Web hosting costs are highly variable depending on the type of server that meets your requirements.
Shared web hosting
Shared hosting is the least expensive managed hosting option. Many shared hosting plans start as low as a few dollars per month and scale up to around $50 per month, depending on how many features you need.
Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting environments are highly flexible, and as a result, the price varies greatly. Shared cloud environments can be offered for as low as around $50 per month, while private cloud servers can cost between $100 and $400 per month. Finally, dedicated cloud servers can potentially cost more than $1500 per month. When considering more powerful hosting options, be aware of how much power your website needs to run and choose a plan that reflects that; you can always scale up or down if needed.
Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting options generally cost between $200 and $400 per month. However, keep in mind that the management of the physical server may require more time and resources than other options or require a longer-term commitment.
SSL certificate
An SSL certificate provides your website with essential security features. An SSL can be provided to you through a domain registrar, hosting company, or even a website builder. Some plans include SSL certificates within their package price, while other plans will require you to purchase one in addition to other features.
There are many different types of SSLs, and so the price varies widely. Depending on the type, SSL certificates can cost as little as $60 per year to $1000 per year.
Website design
The layout and design of a website can vary significantly in cost. Website design costs can include various expenses, such as premade themes, custom UX and UI development, and even custom application development, depending on what you need on your website.
Website design can be budget-friendly when using website builders and premade themes. Sites and hosting providers that offer website builders vary in price from around $10 to a few hundred dollars a month, depending on their capabilities and if you choose to purchase premium features, such as additional themes.
Fully customized website design, application development, and custom UX and UI are much more expensive and longer of a process than the former. Custom website development can cost over $30,000, depending on your projects.
Website content
Once the bare bones of your site are set up, you will need to fill I with content. Every page of your website will likely need written content, and you may also have blogs, how-to guides, or newsfeeds you want updated with content. If your website is small, content may only cost a few hundred dollars. If your website is much larger, expect to spend a few thousand dollars on content.
Additionally, you may need to expand your content budget to include support for SEO and additional content for marketing.
