How much does it cost to make a website for a small business

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How much does it cost to make a website for a small business?

Put very simply, it all comes down to the amount of work required for this specific activity.

If you have come to read this guide, you are probably considering, as an entrepreneur, the opportunity to land on the Web with your business.

There are two factors then that you need to consider that determine the amount and timing of the work involved in creating a professional website:

• The size of the site.
• The complexity of its functions.

It seems quite natural, therefore, to think that a company website of a few pages, aiming to give the essential information about the company’s products and services, with a pleasant and professional appearance and standard design options will cost less than a site with many pages, highly customized and with architecture and graphics built ad hoc on the client’s directives.

In practical terms, the cost of creating a website for a small business could be less than 1,500 euros as well as more than 10,000 euros.

This is an estimate made in broad terms, let’s try to go into a little more detail to get a more realistic estimate of how much it costs to design a new website for your business.

Hire a professional or go the DIY route?

I have already covered this topic an article showing the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a professional to build a website or attempting the DIY route.

In this post, however, I will address the topic from the perspective of the costs involved in building a website, a reality you will have to face regardless of the solution you choose.

OPTION 1: Hire a professional to create a website

If you are an entrepreneur, you will be very busy running your business.

Also, if technology is not your thing, then you are obligated to hire someone to create your site for you.

My advice is to hire a professional in the field.

Simple as that.

But how to choose? Who to rely on?

There are hundreds of professionals and agencies on the web ready to do your web project.

But the huge supply can be confusing.

If you’ve searched online for sites of web designers, web developers, and web agencies, you’ve probably found little or no clarity about the services offered (which ones do you really need?) and their costs.

They range from extremely cheap prices of a few hundred euros to much, much higher costs. Undoubtedly you need more information to make your choice.

Costs that impact the creation of a website

There are some aspects you need to know about that have a major impact on the costs of a website.

Can you accept being offered a ‘standard’ design or do you want to create a new and unique one?

How many pages should your new corporate site have?

What graphic layout should it be designed with?

Do you want custom graphics? Do you need a logo?

Is there any particular function your site needs to have?

Do you want the text content to be quality, written by a professional in the field?

These are discriminating factors that affect costs, let’s look at them in detail.

Website design or development?

They are often used as synonyms but in reality they are not.

It is important to understand the difference because the impact in terms of hours required to carry out these two activities has a direct impact on costs.

The design or if you prefer, the design of a website is about a project that starts from scratch and grows and develops according to the directives of the client entrepreneur.

It is a bit like working with an architect to create the design of your new home.

Development, on the other hand, is the practical implementation of the project from an existing design; it is like working with a construction company to build your house.

This highlights a difference in final costs: if you want the site to be built with a custom design, it will cost you much more than if you accept designs that are presented to you that are not entirely unique even if they are partially customizable.

And that is no small difference in terms of time and money.

Number of pages and graphic layout

Another element that affects costs is the number of pages of the website you want to create.

Typically a professional will present you with some designs that also have as a cost discriminator, the number of pages.

Of course you can also accept a design for a 10-page site and add five more as you go along, just know that this will cost extra.

How much? Let’s say more or less 100€ extra per page.

Graphic layout is another major cost.

Websites are built from templates, in Italian theme, outline or template.

Nowadays most agencies and professionals in the field do not develop the code themselves but buy them from specialized firms.

This is all to cut down the cost for the end user.

A good template gives 50-60% of the final result.

The companies and professionals who make the websites then make the changes to the code, the customizations necessary to meet your wishes as an end customer.

The more customizations required, the higher the cost.

Custom images, logos and graphics

Images, animations, and graphic effects can give your site a unique look, but it all comes at a cost.

Consider that sophisticated visual effects require editing software and the talents of a graphic design and effects specialist.

Even simple ‘effect’ images have a cost, and you can’t get them from the Web without running into serious problems involving copyright and royalties.

Logo customization has its own cost impact.

If your business is already established you probably won’t have to incur this cost, but if you are the creator of a startup, know that the logo is a cost since its creation must involve an expert in this field.

And it is a cost you cannot avoid.

A logo is a nice addition to any business and consequently, to any website because it increases the trust/credibility factor toward your company.

Programming and code

If your site is built with WordPress, which is the worldwide industry standard, the developer can use plugins that provide the exact functionality you want.

Other times, making your site perform exactly what you want requires code changes and consequently, testing and testing to correct errors in development.

In a perfect world, everything would be ‘plug and play’ and everything would work on the first try but that is rarely the case.

Usually a fair amount of tweaking and testing is required to make everything work as expected.

Also in some cases, you have to use plugins that provide ‘premium’ functionality at additional cost.

Changes in progress

Most website projects start with basic requirements agreed with the client, a kind of rough draft, which then evolves over time.

The client as the project develops has ideas that arise as a direct result of what he or she sees slowly taking shape.

The classic question ‘but couldn’t you add…’ or ‘I’d like there to be…’ here results in new work, extended lead times as well as additional costs.

Content and Copywriting

Website content is the real treasure of the Web.

Solid, thoughtful and persuasive content is the foundation of any successful website.

If you are launching a website for your new business, you need to budget for quality content.

This is why many agencies and web professionals, turn to experts in writing the so-called copywriters, to write quality content for any niche market.

And this of course comes at an additional cost.

OPTION 2: Try doing it yourself (do it yourself).

If you have a basic knowledge of the web and the technology being used and can work well on your own, or if there are employees in the company with the appropriate knowledge, you can totally build your website ‘on your own’.

The ‘raw materials’ you will need are still expensive although significantly less demanding than the cost of an agency or web consultant.

There are fixed costs.

Hosting, domain name and SSL certificate

Domain name: 10 to 30 euros per year for domain registration and renewal.

The difference lies in the provider you buy this service from.

Also consider well the choice of name: read this article of mine on selecting an effective domain name.

Website hosting: this again depends on the size of the site and the performance you want to achieve.

It ranges from about 100€ per year from providers such as Aruba, BlueHost or HostGator to 300-500€ per year for higher performance hosting offered by companies such as WPengine or SiteGround.

If you are a startup, your website can probably be ‘domiciled’ with a provider using an inexpensive server until traffic begins to climb significantly.

At this stage also evaluate the quality of technical support provided by the provider.

A cheap provider with a large number of users is not always matched by fast and efficient support.

Too bad you only realize this when you have a serious problem that keeps your site (and your business) offline.

SSL certificate: securing your site with an HHTPS protocol is now an established practice even if you don’t plan to sell products or services directly.

Look around when choosing your provider don’t buy more than you actually need.

Be aware that some web hosting companies offer a free SSL certificate as an incentive to host your site on their servers.

Premium theme and plugins

Website theme (template): spend that 70-150 euros needed to purchase a ‘premium’ theme for your website, there are thousands of templates to choose from some free, some paid.

I recommend that you spend some money and get a quality theme.

Don’t skimp here.

I have been using Elegants Themes for years and they are the most widely used themes in the world and have never given me any major problems.

I also point you to ThemeForest which is a service that specializes in selling templates.

Premium Plugins: As mentioned earlier some plugins are free, others have a ‘premium’ version with additional features.

Just as with themes, you get what you pay for. Invest a few extra things to get quality plugins.

There are many free plugins and many of them are functional and don’t create problems but there are also many malicious plugins that don’t work as advertised and will waste a lot of your time.

So be careful sometimes spending that extra 50€ can save you a lot more in terms of time and resources.

Images and learning the tools to use

Photos and images. If you already have high-quality images for your site because maybe you are also a photographer, then you are all set.

But it is more likely that you will need to purchase some images to beautify your site.

The two services I recommend are Adobe and iStockPhoto.

You can find quality, royalty-free images at reasonable prices.

In most cases, you can get everything you need (at least initially) for 20-50 euros.

You can also find sites that offer promotions or a limited number of free images.

The site I recommend is Pixabay.

WARNING: Do not copy and paste images from other sources onto your website unless you are 100% sure you have permission to do so.

You run the risk of being sued for copyright infringement.

Play it safe and purchase the images you need, it is much less expensive than a lawsuit and you will sleep easier.

Also remember that images you find on social media fall under this rule, you cannot use them freely as they are copyrighted.

Education. If working on building websites is not your bread and butter, you will probably need to buy books or take a course or two to learn how to use tools such as Photoshop, or coding languages such as PHP,HTML and CSS, basically the tools needed for website design and development.

Realistically consider spending between 300 and 600 euros for this.

Your time

Obviously the main cost with the do-it-yourself option is your time.

Even for a “simple” site, a business presentation such as a showcase site, don’t be surprised if it takes you 40-80 hours to produce something decent and this is assuming you are already familiar with the tools needed to build a website.

If you are totally unfamiliar with the subject, multiply the estimated time by 2 or 3 times and I am not exaggerating in fact this is an extremely optimistic estimate.

Creating a modern, well-designed website takes much more time than most people think.

But if you have more time than money, especially in dark times such as we are experiencing, the ‘do-it-yourself’ approach is a perfectly viable option.

The cost of website updates, upgrades, maintenance and licensing

Once your website is finished, the job is not done.

Just as when you buy a house, you will have to invest time and money to maintain it.

You will have annual costs for hosting and code maintenance and if you have purchased ‘premium’ plugins, annual costs for user licenses.

If your site as you hope, grows and expands you will likely have to purchase new images and commission new text and video to increase your online marketing.

Your site also requires ongoing technical maintenance to install updates and security patches on WordPress files and plugins and to protect your site from hacking.

Yes, even small business sites are targets for hackers.

If you feel comfortable performing these updates yourself, fine.

But sometimes routine updates disrupt site functionality, and you need to know what to do if and when that happens.

Are you prepared to deal with error messages such as …

Error 500 – Internal server error

Error 403 – Forbidden

and many more of which you can find a short list here?

You also need a backup system so that your website can be restored quickly in case of irreversible hardware or software failure.

I don’t want to scare you, but all these things can really happen and often happen when you least expect them.

If you prefer not to deal with technical maintenance, you can purchase a maintenance plan at a cost of 30-300 euros per month depending on the size of your site and the services you need.

As your business grows and evolves, your website may require additional and more sophisticated features.

If you can implement these technical upgrades yourself, fine.

Otherwise, to hire a competent and experienced web developer you will have to spend 40 to 100 or more euros per hour.

Design and development mistakes to avoid

Faulty technology: I have already stressed the importance of using ‘premium’ templates and plugins to create a quality business website.

Bad, insufficiently tested code leads to security risks, compatibility problems with other plugins, and in essence, instability of the site itself.

Don’t use ‘premium’ components made by little-known companies but always look for well-tested plugins with good support teams.

You will spend a little more but avoid having to constantly fix your site or worse, having to redo it from scratch.

Bad advice and information and incompetent people: If you approach someone for help take information about their skills or expertise and experience.

Avoid contacting the student who makes Web sites to support his or her studies-it could cost you a lot of money to repair the damage and put your image on the Web at risk.

Gaining reputation and trust in your brand takes time and resources but to lose it, all it takes is one mistake.

Pros and cons: professional vs. DIY approach
Hiring a professional: PROs

There is no need to spend hours, days or weeks trying to learn the technology needed to build and manage a website.

If you hire a professional, the result will be a modern, professional website that you will be proud of and that adequately represents your company and brand on the Web.

Visitors will have a good experience on all devices: desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.

The professional can help you manage the site once it is up and running.

He supports you with system problems and data access.

He or she can help you develop text and multimedia content and provide solutions you never would have thought of.

Hiring a professional: AGAINST

Hiring a professional to build a website from scratch or redesign an existing website can cost a few thousand if you go with a web agency and a little less if you hire a freelance consultant.

If technology and the web more generally are not your forte, you will depend somewhat on the web designer and various consultants to manage your site after launch.

Do it yourself: PRO

If you currently have more time than money, building your website yourself may be a viable solution: it will cost you less than hiring a consultant in professional website development or a web agency.

If anything, although I advise against it, you can use a website builder such as Wix or Squarespace to build a simple, decent-looking site in a few days.

These platforms promote themselves as ‘free’ but in reality the free service has significant limitations and issues that you can only solve by paying.

It is acceptable if you develop a personal site but not if you need a site for your business.

Another very negative aspect is that you do not have access to the code, consequently you cannot apply SEO strategies for search engine optimization.

Yes because once you build the site, you will want it to be visited and appear on the Google search results page and drive new customers to your business.

With these platforms you will be very limited in this and very unlikely to get appreciable results.

In addition, you will not be able to change the themes, templates and graphics that will remain as set at the start.

Do-it-yourself: CON.

If you are not up to current design trends, your website may look amateurish and have a negative impact on the way your company is perceived.

Building a website can seem like a monumental task, so it is common to procrastinate for weeks or months on building it if you have to do it yourself.

If the aversion to building your site is great enough, your site may never be built.

It is incredibly time-consuming.

You may have to spend 2-4 hours or more researching how to make something work on your website when an experienced designer or developer can complete that particular task in minutes.

Conclusions

The shortcut I recommend for building a great website is only one: hire someone.

Of course I am biased I do this for a living, but I am also honest.

Creating a modern, professional website that generates leads and sales for your business is very difficult and takes a lot more time and work than most people tend to believe.

If resources are limited, if you are a startup and your business is starting now and the do-it-yourself approach is your only option, do your best.

However, if you can afford it, hiring a consultant or agency to build (or redesign) your website will save you a lot of time, money and headaches and the finished product will be better than you could have done on your own.

After all, if you think about it, it’s the same reason we pay dentists, accountants, and professionals in general: their skill and experience.

They can usually get the job done faster, better than we could do on our own.

If you would like to tell me about your experience with this or ask me any questions on this topic, I will be happy to answer them in the comments.