Website Development Cost in 2023: A Complete Guide
A website is a core part of any business or organization. It helps to build a strong online presence. A well-designed website attracts new customers, increases brand awareness, and provides valuable information to existing customers.
Websites are businesses’ most powerful marketing channels, but developing them is not a one-time investment.
Website development cost is a major concern for many small or medium businesses. It is often the deciding factor whether they will have their website developed.
So, whether you are a small business owner or a large organization, this guide will help you understand every aspect of the costs associated with website development.
We understand how frustrating it is to get a clear estimate if you plan to develop a website or hire a team of professionals; this guide has you covered!
Let’s get straight to the point.
Website Development Cost Estimations
The average website development cost can range from $500 to $50,000 or more. It varies depending on several factors, including the complexity of the website, the design and functionality, and the technology used.
Among these price ranges, there are three types of websites.
Small business websites with minimal functionalities will range between $500 and $10,000.
Average websites, like corporate websites with more custom features, will cost $12,000 to $25,000.
A complex website like an eCommerce site with highly advanced functionalities will cost more than $30,000 to $65,000.
Now, it’s clear that various factors affect the final cost of website development. The type of website, the process of website development done by an agency or a freelancer, or any customization involved in your project.
So, let’s see some of the factors that affect the actual website development cost in detail.
Factors that Determine the Website Development Cost
A few significant factors are listed here to determine the average cost of building a website. It includes:
Types of Website
Landing Page
- A single-page website intended to promote or sell something.
- A separate page is created on an existing multi-page website to promote or sell something.
Landing page websites are ideal for small businesses where it’s needed to keep users focused, display contact details, an ‘About us’ page, and call to certain actions such as buying something or downloading anything. However, some sites broadcast information and news.
The average cost of the landing page varies from $500 to $3,000 for the development of complex animation.
Personal Blog
Blog websites are not very complex. You might consider it to be used as a personal blog or informative web page.
They have a lot of content usually used to share news and advice with their potential customers. Blog websites need integration with a content management system.
The cost to develop a personal blog site ranges from $500 to $5000. Bloggers can use simple designs for development and save costs, but they should not compromise content quality. They should consider the SEO aspect in design and development.
eCommerce
The website lists products or services online and focuses on receiving payments in exchange for it. It is ideal for a store or compound platform that sells to a huge number of customers and for suppliers who sell their products online.
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the price could be anywhere from $3,000 to $65,000 or more.
A huge chunk of these costs comes from development requirements like payment system integration, security, mobile compatibility, custom templates, and more.
Some classic examples of eCommerce websites include Nike, Amazon and eBay.
Also Read: A Complete Guide on eCommerce Website Cost
Enterprise
Enterprise websites transmit business values to clients online. It focuses on promoting brands and increasing customer loyalty. They communicate the company’s goal clearly and exhibit their portfolio.
The common structure included in this website is the homepage, about us, contact us, blog, services, or products page. There could be a number of pages in blogs, services, and products because it has to cover a lot of ground.
The cost of enterprise website development ranges from $12,000 to $25,000.
Business websites have specific requirements for security, maintenance, and more which can affect the overall cost.
Examples of corporate websites are Apple and BMW.
| Website Type | Approx Cost |
|---|---|
| Landing Page | $500 to $3,000 |
| Blog Website | $500 to $5,000 |
| Ecommerce Website | $3,000 to $65,000 or more |
| Enterprise Website | $12,000 to $25,000 |
Types of Complexity in Website Development
Basic Complexity
The basic complexity works for business websites with minimal functionality. It is the website upto 15 pages with CMS integration, a straightforward database, and custom animations on the front.
It also requires a minimum number of specialists, and the time required to develop is around 2 months.
The approximate cost is $500 to $30,000. Examples of basic complexity websites are landing pages, blogs, and portfolio websites.
Average Complexity
The average complexity websites are large corporate websites and cloud software products. These types of websites are engaging and gain 100k to 1M visitors per month as they produce content regularly.
It is quite complex and includes upto 50 pages with custom UI/UX design, 3rd party integrations, custom animations, and SEO.
Average complexity requires a project manager and an expert team of designers & developers. The time required is about 4 to 6 months, and the development cost is $30,000 to $65,000.
Examples of average-complexity websites are NEWS websites and large corporate websites.
Difficult Complexity
Complex websites need multifunctional integration, robust design, and cloud systems. It includes the best UI/UX design, multiple and large databases, complex interactions & calculations, and a huge maintenance team.
However, a team of the best professionals is required to deliver complex value. It takes around 6 to 12 months as advanced features demand more development time and higher costs.
The average cost of the development is from $80,000 to $300,000. Not only development costs but maintenance charges will also rise.
Examples of complex website development are LinkedIn and Reddit.
| Complexity Type | Development Cost | Approx. Time |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $500 to $30,000 | around 2 months |
| Average | $30,000 to $65,000 | 4 to 6 months |
| Difficult | $80,000 to $300,000 | 6 to 12 months |
Different Types of Development Approach
- Website Builders – Simple websites
- A templated-based CMS – For simple and average websites
- Custom development – For all types of development, especially complex website
Builder-Based Website Development
Website Builders are user-friendly platforms that allow you to build a website without the need for any coding or technical knowledge.
You just need to use a drag-and-drop editor to edit, remove and manage the landing elements, layout, and other things. Pick up the element you want on your site and add relevant content.
Based on the Builder’s functionality, the cost of building a website ranges between $500 to $20,000 annually. The additional cost is mainly to access the premium plugins and features, access to modify the design, implement SEO, and ease of use.
Good examples of website builders are Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly.
These platforms work excellently and offer a cost-effective way to develop basic websites with no complex functionality, such as personal portfolios or small business sites.These websites are very difficult to migrate to other platforms when you are in growth stage.
Template-Based Website Development
A templated-based CMS is a platform that offers you pre-designed templates that are ready to use for developing websites.
Unlike website builders, they offer advanced features and customization options, such as custom themes and plugins. You can add the code to customize the design of your website.
The most popular and cost-effective templated-based platforms and their subscription costs:
| Website Builder | Cost, per month |
|---|---|
| WordPress |
$5 per month (Best for personal use) $10 per month (Best for freelancers) |
| Joomla |
$99 per year (Personal) $199 per year (Business) $399 per year (Agency) |
| Drupal | Free |
| Shopify |
$24 per month (Basic) $90 per month (Shopify) $365 per month (Advanced) |
These platforms are ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that don’t require custom development but need robust and secure websites.
59.9% of CMS websites are made with WordPress because they are user-friendly and have cost-effective plans.
You can also use WordPress website builders like Elementor. It provides a similar experience to the above-mentioned website builders within WordPress.
Choosing a platform depends on your final goal, whether you want to develop an online store using Shopify or just a simple blog website.
Custom Website Development
Custom development gives you complete control over your website’s functionality and design. It is perfect for developing complex websites with custom requirements, such as ecommerce store sites, custom web applications, and enterprise websites.
Every website type is different and needs extraordinary features and integrations, so the cost of developing it is usually higher.
The cost of custom website development starts from $30,000 to $300,000. It involves hiring a team of developers to create it from scratch.
Custom website development is the most flexible and expensive option. But it is the best choice for a business that needs unique and fully-functional websites.
Also Read: Custom Website vs. Template: What Should You Choose?
Types of Development Team
Another factor defining the cost of website development is the type of team. When creating a website, you have three prime options: Hiring in-house, freelancers, or outsourcing with an agency.
Let’s break it down.
Build an In-House Team
The cost of a website team depends on the size of the team and every new employee you hire. Building an in-house team gives you more control over the project as you work directly with them. But it is an expensive option as you employ a group of people to complete the task.
The average cost of getting a website developed is around $90,000. However, building an in-house team will cost you around $500,000 annually. You have to maintain the team’s salary, taxes, accounting costs, office space, and maintenance.
Hire Freelancers
Hiring freelancers is a great option for small projects as they have expertise in their domain. They are more cost-effective than in-house or agency options.
A freelance website developer can take upto $10,000 for the work, and a designer for $500 to $5000. So by covering all these high costs, you can get a complex website for around $20,000.
But you might lack the resources you will get from a large team as they limit what they can do. And it’s hard to build a long-term relationship with a freelancer. You can’t rely on them compared to outsourcing it to an agency option.
Hire an Outsourcing Agency
Agencies have years of experience and resources to handle complex projects. They will be a great option if you are looking for a quality website.
They charge you a little more than freelancers but way less than local agencies might do. They deliver better values compared to other two options.
For example, if you are spending $100 per hour for development in the US, you will have to spend $35 per hour only by outsourcing it.
| Team Type | Development Cost |
|---|---|
| In-house | $90,000 |
| Freelancer | $20,000 |
| Outsource agency | $40,000 |
UI/UX Design
UI/UX design plays a crucial role in the success of your website. An attractive website design impresses your potential customers, which spells the success of the product/service.
The web development cost here depends on the graphics, mockups, wireframes, and illustrations designed on the site.
However, the average cost of UI/UX will range from $500 to $10,000 and more. The cost will also rise if you add extra elements of design.
Tools used for UI/UX designing are Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, InVision, and Zeplin.
Other Costs of Website Development
Your site is live, and you don’t need to think about more costs, right?
No! When developing a website, you must also consider the hidden cost involved in every web development process. It includes website maintenance and website marketing.
So let’s break down what it entails.
Website Maintenance
For any business, it’s important to invest in regular site maintenance. This annual investment ensures your website remains functional and secure.
Let’s take a look at detailed descriptions of what includes in the website maintenance costs.
Website Hosting
Website hosting comes with a wide price range of $24 to $10,000 per year. It helps your website remain live and accessible to end users. Providers have different hosting plans, from shared to dedicated servers.
The shared hosting service is budget-friendly, while dedicated server hosting is a bit expensive. But it’s recommended for complex and corporate websites. If you want both cost-effectiveness and performance, opt for cloud hosting.
Domain
A website’s domain is a recurrent part of the website creation cost. After purchasing a customized domain name, your company should renew the purchase periodically.
If you skip this maintenance cost, your business will lose access to your domain. The costs to acquire domains such as .com, .org, and .net are different, but in most cases, companies pay $5 to $20 per year to renew them.
SSL Certificates
Business owners need to buy an SSL certificate to make it appear safe to users and Internet browsers. Also, they need to renew their certification every year. Websites with these certifications have an ‘s’ after HTTP to ensure authenticity.
You can use a free SSL certificate, but businesses should invest in a paid SSL certificate. With it, companies can gain access to additional features like customer support and greater encryption, and more.
The approximate cost of getting SSL certificates ranges between $10 and $200.
3rd party integrations
3rd party integrations are crucial to enhance the website’s functionality. The cost of developing a website increases with the number of integrations.
Website Marketing
For businesses who want to enhance their sales and revenue, digital marketing is a proven strategy. Let’s take a look at the costs of marketing a website.
Content Marketing
Content writing is an important part of website marketing as it helps to engage your audience and provide valuable information. It refers to the written content on your website, including product descriptions, blog posts, and landing pages.
The cost of content writing can vary depending on the piece’s length and the writer’s experience, but it typically ranges from $0.05 to $0.30 per word. For premium content, the cost can go beyond this.
SEO
SEO refers to the process of optimizing your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results, such as Google, Bing. This can involve a number of tactics, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building.
The cost of SEO can vary depending on the project’s scope and the experience of the agency or freelancer, but it typically ranges from $500 to $5,000 per month.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing can involve creating and sharing content, running advertising campaigns, and managing your social media profiles. Here the use of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to promote your website and engage with your audience.
The cost of social media marketing can vary depending on the platform and the scope of the project, but it typically ranges from $400 to $5,000 per month.
PPC
PPC refers to online advertising where you pay each time someone clicks on one of your ads. This can be a cost-effective way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads, but it requires a careful approach to ensure that you don’t overspend.
The cost of PPC advertising can vary depending on the platform and the competition for the keywords you’re targeting, but it typically ranges from $1 to $50 per click. PPC agencies charge $500 to $5000 per month as their service charge.
Bottom Line
A website is a crucial aspect of a business’s online presence and significantly impacts its success. Therefore, developing a stunning website should be your top priority. The cost of website development can vary greatly based on several factors we have discussed above.
When it comes to website development, it’s recommended to work with an experienced company that is offering you website development services. With our top-notch services and experienced team, we are confident in our ability to deliver a website that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations.
WebyKing has an experienced development team to help you get a website that provides a seamless user experience. Also, it is optimized for search engines and provides a strong return on investment.
FAQs
For a simple, informational website, you can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $50 per month. This would typically cover hosting and a basic website builder.
If you need a more complex website with custom functionality, you could pay anywhere from $500 to $5000 or more per month, depending on the specifics of your project. This would typically include design, development, hosting, and ongoing support and maintenance.