What is a Website’s Cost?

If you have ever been looking for a professional website or purchased one for yourself, chances are good that you may have been surprised by the price. When you work with a good web development company, a well-coded and well-designed customized website can be between $5,000 and $10,000. However, for an even larger project, the website development costs can jump to $15,000 or more, depending on the project type. Of course, you will also want to ensure that your website is completely responsive as well. It might seem silly to spend this amount of money on an item that you can’t touch, but there are many reasons why a good website design is imperative.

People in the USA tend to look for services and products online instead of asking around for a number of reasons. Subsequently, the market responds by improving websites’ usability and adding new functions. In 2021, it’s impossible to run a modern business without a functional website that communicates your company mission and gives your visitor every opportunity to find information, request consultations, make and track orders, etc. All the above only becomes available if you engage a reputed web development company to create your business website.

You might be wondering, “How much do websites cost?” In this article, we want to break down website development prices and the value of each cost associated with it. When you understand the effort and time that goes into website design, you will better understand how to make informed decisions about your company’s online presence.

Breaking Down Website Development Cost For Your Convenience and Understanding

You do not need to be a professional website developer to know that a custom website with 50 pages will have higher website development costs than a website with only 10 pages. This is especially true for e-commerce websites. The costs will also vary depending on what service you offer. For today’s case study, let’s assume that the website we are developing is for a small business with locations in Denver and Philadelphia.

The website’s quality will be a little higher than average. This website will have a strong design and respond quickly on both computers and mobile devices. This website will be medium size – about 15 to 20 pages. It will be a simple website, but it will have the potential to be found in Google if it is properly optimized. Let’s take a look at the web developing prices that are associated with the design of this website.

The Sales Executive

• The sales executive in the website development agency is the one who sells the website to a client. This individual has several in-person meetings with the client, visiting the client’s office, preparing offers, and working with the client through the finalization of the agreement. The sales executive brings the client’s project to the studio and will receive compensation for this. Generally, the sales executive receives a percentage of the value of the contract, along with a base salary. Indeed says that this annual salary is about $64,000 a year, along with commission. Our studios in Philadelphia and Denver offer a comparable salary for our salespeople. Considering our website case study, the sales executive must make at least two to three contracts per month. All of that affect website development price.

The Project Manager

• After you have signed the contract with the sales executive, you will now work with the project manager. The project manager is a link between you and the other team members in the company. Your relationship with the project manager is very important because the project manager knows everything about your company and your needs. This individual will also be the representative for the web development team and help this team understand your needs and your wants. In the world of website design, a project manager is extremely valuable. If the project manager’s salary is a little lower than the salesperson, then the project manager will need to have about 10 to 15 projects going at one time.

Project manager costs: $1,000 to $1,500 

Text, Photos, and Content in General

• Having the right content on your website is extremely important. This is because the design of your website depends on the content that is on the site. Of course, you can give this work to a copywriter who can learn all of the information about your company and industry. However, this is not cheap, and you can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $100 for one piece of good content. You will need at least 10 articles on your website, sometimes more.

Another one of the website development costs is photographs. We have mentioned in previous articles that the relevance and the quality of your images will affect people’s perceptions of you and your business. Hiring a professional photographer is an important aspect of good website design. This photographer can also create a stock of photos that you can use later on. This will add to your web development pricing.

Website content costs: $1,500 to $2,000 

Website Designer

•  A website designer is responsible for designing the way that your website is laid out. However, a good designer is expensive to have, especially in the metro areas of Denver and Philadelphia. It is obvious that if a good designer laid out your website, but it is even more obvious if a poor designer laid out your website. Good web design services can be a costly addition to website development price. It is important to choose the right designer to give your company a strong image and help people have good perceptions of your company. An experienced designer can help you create a design that goes with your business. A design for an e-commerce website will be different than a website that is designed for a non-profit company.

A good website designer can create a stunning design while considering the adjustments that need to go into a responsive website. The salary of a good website designer can be about $80,000 to $100,000 each year in Denver, Philadelphia, or Austin. It can take about two to three days for a designer to create the main page of your website. However, you will most likely want to see several versions of the design. The templates for the internal pages must be created and followed up with different corrections. You can expect the designer to take about three weeks to design one website alone.

Cost of website designer: $4,500 to $5,000 

In order to provide your company with the image and perception that you know it needs, you will need an experienced designer working with your website.

Website Programmers

• The website programmers are some of the most expensive parts of the web development process. We apply web development with Python programming language for its flexibility and adaptiveness. After the design of the website is complete, the programmers can analyze the features of the website as well as the requests from the customer. This helps the programmers to make a template of the design that will run smoothly, no matter what device the individual is using. Each page will go through this process, and only the repeating elements on each page can be duplicated. After the programmers have completed the design, then a back-end developer will be able to connect the pages to the Content Management System (CMS). Then the developer can connect the site to the source that hosts it before bringing the site to life.
• For the average website in our case study to be functional and responsive across all types of devices, a team of two programmers will usually need about a month. This is one of the biggest parts of the website development price. According to Google, an experienced programmer earns about $100,000 each year. This means that web programmers significantly add to the cost of website development.

Costs of web programmers: $6,000 to $8,000 

Website Tester

• A good web design agency will have a professional website tester who can test the completed site. The tester views the website on different browsers, platforms, and devices to find all of the bugs. While not every bug can be immediately found, this process can make a good dent in the number of bugs. This can help increase your chances of a smooth site launch.

Cost of testing: $500 to $1,000 

Taxes and Other Costs

• A professional web development studio must have Internet access, as well as phones, an office, computers, furniture, and other office supplies. Companies will also have costs for ads, sponsorships, partnerships, and other things. Taxes on offices can also run high, especially in more built-up areas. Of course, the company will also want to build other taxes into the website development price as well, such as the business’s overall taxes.

Cost of taxes and other costs: 30 to 50 percent of project

Leadership and Profits

Uniting all the moving parts of website development from the top is the managerial team. This team does not work for free. Their salaries must also be taken into account. The company’s goal after all of its costs is to turn a profit that can then be reinvested into the company. These costs will add another 20% to the total costs.

Summing Up the Average Costs of Development

Now you know the answer to the question, “How much does web development cost?” These are estimates, and each project will be unique, but this holds value. The average cost of website development applies to web development companies that can offer the type of team described above. Others may be solo-developers who offer cheaper services. However, cost of web development price is only one of the many aspects to consider when you are getting a website for your company. This company may be more affordable, but if this type of developer is sourcing work to others, you will have less control over the results of your website. A quality website is important, and the right web development company can help you get there.

On the other hand, there are large corporations that do not put much effort into creating a unique website. This type of company uses templates to create a “cookie-cutter” website. The price might be cheaper, but you do not know what you are buying. A template such as WordPress can work, but your website may not look as professional as other types of competitors’ websites. The right web development and design services are crucial for your company’s success.

It is your decision where the money from your company goes, but now you have a good understanding of the average cost of web development. This can help you make a better decision about hiring a developing company such as Direct Line Development. We are located in Austin, TX, Denver, CO, and Philadelphia, PA. We hope you enjoyed learning about everything that goes into web development cost and creation of a quality website that will attract customers and help your business grow. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment, and a member of our staff will be happy to get back to you as soon as possible!