How Much Should a Web Site Cost

How Much Should a Web Site Cost?

Determining how much a web site should cost is one of the most frequently asked but rarely answered questions in the web design world. Even now, with millions of web sites online, there exists no magic formula for calculating either the cost of a new web site or the cost of a redesign.

Historical Perspective: How Much Should a Web Site Cost?

Like other goods and services, the cost associated with designing, developing and building a web site has changed over time. The following chart provides a timeline of historical dates compared to web site cost.

The basis for the chart was a small business (under 25 employees) located in a small city that wanted a professional web site having 15 pages, Web hosting and email, a domain name, and a aesthetic quality level of around 7/10.

Time Period - Expected Cost

1995 – 1997  $7,500 to $12,000
1998 – 2000 $6,000 to $10,000
2000 – 2004  $2,500 to $4,500
2004 – 2008 $2,000 to $7,500

The above data demonstrates a significant decrease in the base cost of a web site over the last decade. The reason for this drop in web site cost is driven by two factors.

First, there exist substantially more competitors in the web design market today, perhaps as many as ten times more than a decade ago. Second, modern tools have made it easier for Web designers to create great looking web sites.

These factors have also led to some unforeseen results. Most notably, in the last five years, the cost of web sites has become more disparate. After further analysis, we believe these trends can be explained through the increasing demand for cost effective web sites along with the drive for higher-end, interactive Web designs.

In other words, as web sites become standard for all businesses, the competition grows to produce higher-quality, low-cost Web designs. By the same token, with more Internet competition, a company now needs to work harder to differentiate its web site from those of its competitors. Often this involves adding better content, Flash designs, online videos, and interactive applications.

Web Site Components and Costs

With a historical perspective in place, it is important to examine each of the components that go into determining how much a web site should cost. On average, the following figures can be applied to estimating the cost of a web site:

Service: Domain Name

Cost: $9/year

Service: Hosting

Cost: $75 to $200 a year (depending on traffic & website features)
Service: Web design and graphics development time

Cost: 60 to 150 hours (based on our experience for a 15 page Website)
Service: Web site Maintenance

Cost: $500 to $1250 a year (depending on number of updates required)

To completely answer the question “How much should a web site cost” it is also useful to review specific Web design and web site development projects.

Informational or Small Business Web Site Cost::

• 8 to 16 Web pages
• Custom graphics
• Stock photos
• Little or no flash
• Web forms sending to email accounts

Project duration: 30 to 75 days (not assuming a consistent 8 hour a day)
Web site cost range: $2,000 to $6,000

Corporate (100 or more employees) Web Site Cost:

• 25 to 75 Web pages
• Heavy use of flash
• High quality design work on all Web pages
• Content management system
• Extra components: Intranet, calendars, web site search

Project duration: 60 to 90 days
Web site cost range: $10,000 to $25,000

Ecommerce Web Site Cost:

• 100 to 1000 products
• Shopping cart
• Payment gateway integration
• Product descriptions and images
• Sales tax and shipping calculation
• Customer and administrative control panel

Project duration: 60 to 120 days
Web site cost range: $5,000 to $15,000

Database Driven Web Site or Web Application:

• Dynamic Web pages 20 to 2,000
• Administrative control panel for web site management
• Advanced programming skill sets required
• Interactivity with web site visitor
• Enterprise database (MS SQL Server or MySQL)

Project duration: 90 to 180 days
Web site cost range: $6,000 to $35,000

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