How Much Does It Cost To Build A New Website

One of the first three questions asked when it comes to a new website is, “how much does it cost to build a new website?”.  The other two questions, by the way, “how long does it take?” and “do you have any websites you have built I can see?“.

Four Pricing Options

First, there are a couple of pricing systems out there when it comes to how much an agency like Hasseman Marketing charges for websites:

• Package Pricing – This is when a web designer will display the cost of a new site based on predetermined restrictions. For example, “5 pages for $1,500″.
• Custom Quote –  This is when a web designer will work with you to discover what your websites end user will actually need and experience on your website.  Together you and your web designer will determine all the unique functionality your site needs for your business model to succeed online.  Then the designer can give you a quote that ensures you aren’t paying for things you don’t need and to make sure you don’t hear, “sorry, that’s not an option in the package you selected.”  This is the approach we take at Hasseman Marketing.
• Renting – This option isn’t nearly as popular as the two above but it is out there.  Let’s say you install swimming pools.  Now, let’s say you decide all you want from your site is for it to generate leads.  In this situation, you can pay rent to have a website that has been built and optimized to rank for “Swimming pool installers in my area“.  The website’s actual owner promises to keep the website up and running and attracting new leads that they will pass on to you.  As long as you pay rent, the site keeps sending you leads.  Stop paying rent, and the leads go to another pool installation professional in your city. These websites generally have URLs (website names) like “www.poolsinakronohio.com“
• DIY – A fourth option is to go straight up do it yourself.  And, if you have the time, this can be a totally doable option if you need a very simple site and aren’t trying to compete for the attention of people on the internet. You can find a good article here on how much a DIY WordPress website might cost you.

How Much Is A Custom Quote Website Going To Cost?

Regardless if this is a new website or a redesign of a website, the quick answer is at least $1,500.  If your site is an e-commerce site, you are looking at a starting price of around $5,000.  But, don’t be surprised when you see these numbers go up to $5,000, $12,000, or even $25,000.

Here’s why.

Several years ago my wife and I built a new house.  We had a design consultation with a custom home builder.  We settled on a floorplan that had a starting price tag of around $120,000.  After making a few adjustments, upgrading the appliances, adding a second bay onto the garage, and adding a row of block to the basement so we would have higher ceiling to make future basement finishing nicer, our $120,000 house was suddenly $250,000.  Needless to say, we changed a couple of things back to spec to get back closer to our budget.

Building a website isn’t much different than building a house.  Instead of using lumber and materials, a website uses code and software.

A basic website might be $1,500.  But, let’s say you want a calendar on your website.  No worries, just a few things to consider.

1. How often is the calendar getting updated?
2. Who is updating it?
3. Where are they updating from?
4. Does it need to have the abiity for website visitors to be able to sync, download, or print it?
5. How do you make it match the look of the website design?

Now, depending on the answer you might be able to use a plug-and-play calendar that takes no extra code writing or configuration.  Or your new calendar might require 3 hours of work to generate the right code.  In a package price situation, you are going to get no calendar or a basic calendar that probably doesn’t do what you want it.  In a custom quote website project, you’ll get the perfect calendar.

Building Doesn’t Make A Website Ready For The World

The other things to consider is the fact that a house isn’t ready to live in once it’s been built.  It needs to be connected to water, sewer, electric, and more.  The same idea is true with a website.  Once it’s built, it really should be connected to Google My Business, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and more.

To get started on a custom quote for your website, talk to your Hasseman Marketing rep or drop us an email today.