Why it is hard to tell the cost of a website right away To give the cost of development, the developer should understand what exactly the client wants. For example, a simple online business card costs a lot less than an online shop. These websites have different anatomy and physiology, in other words, structure and functionality. An online business card consists of a few pages. It informs a viewer, collects information on users, and gives an opportunity to contact a sales department. An online shop consists of hundreds or thousands of pages. It helps customers to search goods and compare their prices, checkout, make bucket lists and etc. What does affect the cost of a website development? In this section we will talk about factors that affect the cost of website development. Domain and hosting prices A domain costs from 0 dollars to infinity. You can get free third-level domains. They look like this: your-website.tilda.ws or your-website.wordpress.com. To get a free domain, you need to create a website on some platform, for example, on Tilda. Infinity needs to be understood as the cost of domains from cybersquatter. These guys register cool domains and resell them with huge profit. Hosting also costs from 0 dollars to infinity. For free, you can host websites created with SaaS (software as a service) such as Tilda or Wix. Infinity needs to be understood as the hosting costs of huge projects that organize their own data centers, buy and maintain servers. Fortunately, in most cases, at the first stages of a website’s work, huge expenses are not needed. The cost of content management system (CMS) The prices look the same: for CMS you have to pay from 0 dollars to infinity. In this case, infinity is the cost for developing and supporting exclusive CMS. And you can use popular constructors and open source CMS for free. We have a detailed article about choosing a website engine. Website structure planning Again, the price range is from 0 dollars to an indefinite level. This is the basic stage of website development. Here the semantic core is assembled, a relevance map is compiled. The website structure is built on it. You can assemble the semantic core by yourself. In this case, you will save money at the stage of website creation. There is a risk: a too narrow semantic core will limit traffic and lead to errors in the structure of the resource. CMS setting up This component of web development also costs from 0 dollars and above. The scope of work includes modules and theme setting up, as well as technical SEO or website customization for the requirements of search engines. You can set up a simple online business card or corporate website on WordPress by yourself and for free. And to know what to customize, check out our WordPress triptych:
- WordPress part 1.
- WordPress part 2.
- WordPress part 3.
As a bonus, here is a guide on setting up an online store on WordPress and WooCommerce. But if you are creating an ecommerce website, at least consult with professionals. Online stores, for example, have complex functionality; they are complexly built under the hood. You also can't do without the help of specialists when working with other engines. Therefore, it is much more difficult to find ready-made solutions for implementing and configuring the necessary functionality. Design cost The price range is the same: from 0 dollars to infinity. It is quite possible for micro-businesses and startups to get by with template solutions and not spend any money on design. But if you need a website with a unique design, you have to fork out for designer and developer services. The cost of a unique website design first and foremost, depends on the complexity of interface and design. The reputation and qualifications of a designer also play a role. Functionality implementation It costs from 0 dollars to infinity. Functionality is how a website interacts with a user.
- Template functionality is available for free. For example, you can make a website on WordPress, install and configure any ecommerce plugin and do your trade.
- If you need to expand the template functionality or implement the interaction with a user from scratch, you will have to invest. In this case, the developer finds out the needs of the website owner, approves the terms of reference, implements and integrates the necessary functionality.
Content creation and promotion Do not be surprised, the price range is the same: from 0 dollars to infinity. You can create content and promote a website by yourself. Bootstrapping can be used if you have a lot of time left. If you need to get the result within at least a few months, you should buy the services of professional content-makers and marketers. It is difficult to name a specific price: it depends on the size of a project, as well as your imagination and financial capabilities. Website technical support and administration, user training The price of the issue is from 0 dollars and above. Owners of websites on constructors receive free support. Support for websites with complex functionality and non-standard software solutions need to be paid. Its cost depends on the features of a project. For example, maintaining a WordPress website is relatively inexpensive. The engine is regularly updated, so it’s enough for the administrator to monitor the relevance of plugins and, if necessary, change obsolete modules to similar new ones. Support for a website on a self-written CMS will cost more. You will have to pay for core updates and functional components. How to determine the development cost? At the early stages, experts determine the needs of the future owner of a website. That is, the customer tells in details what the website should be. It is important to get clear and comprehensive replies to the fundamental questions on which the result depends. Here are examples of such questions: “Do you need to make a website from scratch or redesign an existing website?” "What functionality should the website have?" "What should be the appearance; do you need special visual effects such as 3D animation?" After answering fundamental questions, the developer can indicate the basic cost of website creation. This is the price of developing a standard solution without taking into account the nuances of a particular project. To the base cost of a website the price of functionality realization is added. When additional research is needed (for example, a deep usability audit of an existing website or focus group with representatives of target audience), it is additionally paid. When working with the Itha agency, the customer can count on:
- Guaranteed high qualifications of specialists.
- Efficiency.
- Contractual work and related safety.
- Guaranteed results.
Thus, the price of website developing in Itha is made up of the base cost and the cost of additional functions and elements that a particular project needs in addition to standard functionality. So what does the cost of development depend on? The price of development depends on the necessary functionality, design, platform, etc. Therefore, the main conclusion of the article: before contacting developers, you should understand what you need. It’s also better to learn as much as possible about websites and web development, that is, to become at least a minimally qualified customer. Qualification will help to talk with developers in the same language and get the desired outcome based on the results of cooperation.
