A website is a brand’s number one digital asset. It’s the hub for a company’s inbound marketing – the primary touchpoint for potential customers to know more about what you do. Websites are necessary for successful conversions, so all businesses must have a high-quality site that communicates its value to visitors. Today, website creation is much easier, thanks to website builders that allow even those who don’t know how to code to make a site from scratch. But if you want an impressive website with custom features to really wow your target market, you’ll need to look at hiring web designers to make sure your needs are met. This route is more expensive than DIY, and you can expect to pay anywhere between $1000 to $100,000, depending on the complexity of the site and the number of features you want added on. The price can get steep, but it’s worth the returns that a well-crafted website can generate.
How to Design a Website
There are two options when designing a website: doing it yourself or hiring a website designer. Here are some of the things you can expect from each.
Designing the Website Yourself
You don’t have to be a web developer to design a website. With website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify, you can create a fully functional site by choosing templates, dragging and dropping features, and installing plug-ins. It’s now possible to make more advanced websites this way, though there are still a lot of limitations when it comes to the number of customizations you can perform, and functionalities you can add.
Hiring a Website Designer
Hiring a website designer takes away a lot of the work that designing, and maintaining websites require. Of course, you’ll have to hire the right person by asking appropriate interview questions for web designers, then work with them as the site is conceptualized and developed. However, most of the responsibility falls on the designer who is able to custom-make the look and features of your website as you’d like.
How Much Does It Cost to Design a Website?
The cost for website design ranges anywhere between $1000 and $100,000. For small businesses, this is realistically capped at around $10,000, while it can go up to about $50,000 for medium businesses and up to $100,000 for large corporations or sites that require more sophisticated features
Factors That Affect Website Design Costs
Several factors affect the cost of website design. These include:
Website Size
The more pages your site has, the more expensive it will be to design and develop it. The price spikes even further when pages have advanced capabilities, such as those typical of e-commerce sites: scrolling, search, variations, etc.
Appearance
Your website’s style can affect the cost of website design services. More labor-intensive designs (e.g. those that are more interactive) will be more expensive, while simpler designs won’t break the bank. The key is to know what you want your pages to look like so that you can get a clear estimate for execution.
Copywriting
Websites need an optimized copy that’ll not just help you communicate effectively with your customers, but will raise your online searchability. You may have to spend a little bit more if you require additional services such as copywriting in your website design. Not all website designers can do this, so you may even have to outsource this extra task.
Mobile Optimization
Your website must be optimized for mobile since a lot of people open these pages on their smartphones. Mobile optimization often incurs extra fees since it needs separate development.
Custom Features
To make website maintenance easier for you, you may want to have custom features added such as smart searches, third-party integrations, data management functions, e-commerce add-ons, etc. Depending on the complexity of building these functionalities, the price may go up.
Revisions
Some website designers charge fees when you need your website design or functions revised. This can be a fixed cost or billed separately, depending on the revision. We suggest you take note of these costs, before hiring developers!
SEO
Search engine optimization is now a necessity for any online entity as it boosts your website’s visibility, making it easier to reach your target market. Adding SEO capabilities is often an extra service and will cost you a bit more to have done.
How to Find the Best Website Designer
Hiring a website designer on Guru is your best bet to get the website of your dreams—the kind that will look and work exactly the way you envision it. Though it’ll cost more than going the DIY route, your custom-made site will surely attract and keep more people, generating returns that’ll pay back your investment in no time! Post your web design job today.
