WHAT DOES A
WEBSITE COST? http://ivacademy.ru/
You
probably came here in the process of doing research. Are you a small business
looking to build a website? Or maybe you’re a non-profit, looking to redesign
your website in order to more effectively communicate your mission? Or, are you
the marketing director for a multi-million dollar organization looking to
improve customer relations and increase revenues?
We worked
with all of the above, helping to build websites and implement online marketing
plans for organizations of all sizes. We’ve been professionally developing
websites for over a decade and we love to educate the business (and consumer)
market at large about what it takes to build a website and, perhaps most
importantly…
LET’S
DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF WEBSITE IS RIGHT FOR YOU
Websites
Prices For Small Sized Businesses, Websites Prices For Medium Sized Businesses,
Websites Prices For Large Sized Businesses, Websites Prices For an Individual
Website Prices, For Ecommerce Businesses
WHAT IT
COSTS TO BUILD A WEBSITE
BASIC
WEBSITE $500 – $5,000 this is pricing guidelines if you are talking to a web
development company.
ADVANCED
WEBSITE $7,500 – $30,000- With this level includes a tool that allows you to
update your website yourself if a company builds it for you.
CUSTOM
WEBSITE -$15,000 – $100,000+ finally, something totally custom. A larger site,
with advanced functionality to custom fit your needs.
Like the
businesses they represent, websites are not all created equal. Websites serve
various purposes, feature different technology and therefore they can vary
greatly in cost as the level of design and functionality increases and becomes
more complex to suit your company’s needs. At IVAcademy our hourly rate is $120.
We offer special discounts for partner companies, non-profits, and in select
cases partner projects. All of our pricing is based on this hourly rate, our
overall costs (wages + overhead) and the long-term costs of properly
communicating and supporting our clients.
WEBSITE
PRICES BREAKDOWN
Basic
Website Prices- $500 – $5,000 -For Small Businesses and Individuals. With
advances in business models, content management systems, and software there are
now (and really there have been) some amazing tools online some include ivacademy.ru
among many. These tools are amazing. As a development agency it’s sometimes
scary to see how far things have come. However, it’s important to note – these
tools are often complicated and our (general) audience is still not comfortable
learning and using these tools. Similar to the above – these sites are highly
configurable, but still require some coding, graphic design, and other
knowledge to cull out of them a custom, attractive look.
IF YOU HIRE
A DEVELOPER: $2,000 – $5,000 -A basic designed website, acts primarily as an
online brochure, establishing a necessary presence online to answer your
customers’ questions “do you exist?”, “are you professional?” and “what do you
do?” A basic website can be created in the $500 – $5,000 range. This website
may or may not allow you to interact in a 2-way conversation with your audience
(social networking, blog), transact business directly through your site (ecommerce),
or enable you to manipulate and update the pages and content within your site
without hiring a web programmer/designer to do it for you (Content Management
System does enable this for more $$$).
This gets
complicated to further elaborate on why this may or may not be included. For
us, the complexities of using and designing around a content management system
(or tool that allows you to update your own website) is usually a bit more time
consuming then coding HTML from scratch – additionally there are a lot of
customer service, content, and small testing requirements that eat up time and
budgets for all projects – but which make up a significant fraction of smaller
projects.
A basic
website site will serve to help brand and market your company, showcase your
products and services and inspire sales as a lead generating tool. The design
of your website will, most likely, be templated at such low costs. This means
that your site probably mirrors that of other sites on the web. With our firm,
these sites will be responsive using the latest standards to allow your site to
look the same on nearly every computer/device and will be Search Engine
Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search engine ranking success.
But not all
firms code the same and have search engine optimization or online marketing as
a top priority. Also, web analytics are provided with every site we build to
track and ensure your web success.
Advanced
Website Prices- $7,500 – $30,000 For Medium Sized Businesses
Previously
our pricing was in the $3,000- $8,500 – for this line item (previously called
Content Management System). We’ve since increased our pricing. We’ve gotten
very good at tracking the total money needs of a project – throughout the
lifetime of our relationship with clients. And this means we have to cover
costs for phone calls, the sales process, meeting space, the actual work (OF
COURSE!), and then after launch support.
Depending
on the level of aesthetic design that is requested as well as additional
features Content Management System (CMS) websites will run at a on average
around $7,500. These websites are created with both functionality and design in
mind, as you will receive both custom art design and the ability to manage and
update all content, images, and text contained within the pages of your site
(infinite number of pages possible). With a CMS capable website, your site will
have endless possibilities.
This year
UPDATE: In reviewing the old information it’s interesting to see where we’ve
come. We decided to knock out our “custom website” line item completely from
the list because almost all of our sites now-a-days contain an element of
custom design. In addition we build ALL of our sites, when we can, with a CMS
(content management system) for clients. Finally, we’ve also started bundling
in writing services – no more waiting years for project launches.
These
websites are built with the idea that you will have a significant number of
changes, additions or updates to be made to your site in the near future.
Instead of being charged hourly rates to make such changes, a CMS system
enables you to do a majority of the basic additions without prior coding or web
designing knowledge. Social
interactivity with your site visitors is possible with a site of this caliber,
as a BLOG will be present within your site enabling you to place posts of
content that you believe is relevant and desired by your audience. Your
audience can choose to respond to your blog posts and each others comments
allowing for 2 dimensional interaction between you, your audience, and within
your audience.
Some
ecommerce and real state listing sites can be created within this price range
depending upon level of functionality and design. Also, sites of this caliber have varying
prices with regard to design elements. These sites do have custom design work,
but more expensive elements like Flash Art creation will affect pricing. Again, with our firm, these sites will be CSS
and XHTML Coded to allow your site to look the same on nearly every computer
and will also be Search Engine Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search
engine ranking success. But not all firms code the same and have SEO as a top
priority. Also, web analytics are provided with every site we build to track
and ensure your web success.
Custom
Website Prices
CUSTOM
WEBSITE | $15,000 – $100,000+
For large
Businesses or businesses that solely drive on the web
If you are
looking for a larger site, with advanced functionality including but not
limited to social networking, blogging, ecommerce, or any other web application
topped off with great design and content that speaks to your audience you
should expect to pay a bit more than the previous two sections. We’ll detail
out some specifics in our additional sections on Ecommerce & Custom
Applications, but this section should serve as a decent place for larger
businesses to start.
Like we said
before, some ecommerce and web applications can be created for less, while most
successful ventures are created for much more.
There are countless sites that have fallen in this price range include
Facebook.com, Orkut.com, and BestBuy.com to name only a few (all GREATLY
exceeding 6-figures). A site within this
price range may be built and hand coded from scratch – and in all cases will
require extreme customization – and coordinating various technologies in order
to work with your company or infrastructure.
That means
your site is unlike any other and requires the attention and expertise of an
experienced web application developer(s) and web site designer(s). A site that
falls into this category requires months of planning, research, consulting,
database design and implementation, software development and integration, site
quality assurance and testing.
I know what
you are thinking, ‘who knew it was so expensive?’ And the only answer I can
give is that web design and creation is like any other craft or trade and
requires a high level of knowledge and expertise.
Why are websites
in this range so expensive? Here’s a few factors to consider, and examples of
scenarios we’ve been in throughout the years that change the cost of a website,
even when functionality may not necessarily be beyond the ordinary:
Tighter
timelines
More
meetings
More people
(and approvals) involved
More
exacting content specifications
More pages
of content to port over or account for
Additional
security concerns
Governmental
or other requirements/regulations must be adhered to (for example 508 compliance
is a beautiful and on some projects required element – accounting for this and
testing for it takes extra time and money)
None of
this is extreme or out-of-the-ordinary, but when needed or required, costs go
up.
GOING
BEYOND A WEBSITE
Ecommerce
Website Prices, E-COMMERCE WEBSITES
For
businesses that sell multiple products online
Over the
years we’ve updated this page and our own pricing many times. We’ve decided to
add two new sections, one for E-Commerce, and one specifically for customer web
applications. E-Commerce Websites are those characterized by the ability to add
products and transact business online – IE accept payment for products, and
facility shipping, correspondence with purchasers, etc.
Similar to
our above breakdown, E-Commerce sites, in and of themselves have many varying
levels of pricing. For example the absolute simplest “e-commerce” site we come
across, and one that actually accounts for most of the requests we get, is
either a single paypal button – or the ability to accept payments/donations
online (most often for a non-profit). Even with such a simple starting point,
there’s a lot of questions to address – what was the existing site built on? Do
you already have an account with paypal? Do you want to keep people on your
website as they make their purchase? And the list goes on. However, when you
start to add products, shipping, transnational email (thank you emails, etc.)
things get a bit more complex. If you’re JUST starting out and are comfortable with
blogging and setting things up – we highly recommend ivacademy.ru for
ecommerce.
Generally,
most of our clients with e-commerce needs also need guidance, education, and
setup with the following:
Server
Setup
Merchant
Account Setup
Payment
Processor Setup
Shipping
Setup – Including coordination/setup of accounts
Basically
an ecommerce site is like a normal website, on steroids, and most clients need
a knowledgeable and reliable company to not just make the right decisions, but
also to guide and hold their hand along the process.
Custom
Application Prices-$500 – $10,000+ FOR PLANNING AND $? FOR THE END PRICE
For
businesses that need custom work
Our team
worked with our client to design what it would look like, how it would work,
and then launched the new site. Literally we turned man’s dream into a reality
– and created a business out of his idea. Custom web applications can be large,
or small. At IVAcademy, we prefer to start with a project scope.
WHAT DOES A
WEBSITE CO$T? Ready to find out what YOUR website should cost? Low price, top
quality, best customer service… Guaranteed!
CONTACT
IVAcademy FOR A FREE QUOTE
DISCREPANCY
IN PRICING
WHY ARE
SOME WEB DESIGN COMPANIES SO INEXPENSIVE WHILE OTHERS ARE OUTRAGEOUSLY PRICEY?
To wrap up
this whole discussion on pricing I wanted to address something that’s been
coming up more and more – even in this year – why are prices so wildly
different in the web design industry? We had a recent bid on a project where we
were smack in the middle. On the low-end there was a company vying for the
project at $1000. On the high end, $30,000. Then us, smack-dab in the middle.
Our future client would go on to ask us… “What gives? Why are you so much more
expensive than the low-end companies, and so much less expensive than the
high-end companies, and why is there such a massive difference in the first
place?” What is with this industry!!!!!
I suppose
it works a lot like consulting. On the low-end you have people that frankly,
have no idea what they’re doing, didn’t listen enough (or pay attention) and
frankly are just throwing a number at a wall. I know even with razor thin
margins and outsourcing that $5,000 will only allow for about 100 hours worth
of time. And there is NO FREAKING WAY this client was going to get the system
they needed (based on what they communicated to us) within 2 weeks’ worth of
work. I explained as much and they agreed.
And, just
like consultants, you have some operating on large margins, prestige, and a large
(sometimes helpful, sometimes laborious) process that cost more. Is the
$300,000 company twice as good as someone half as expensive? Probably not. At
the end of the day it’s all about satisfying requirements. In my opinion it’s
the company that can do that the best that wins. If the budget is one of those
requirements, then that must be a factor. If on the other hand, budget is high
– and a more important piece of the puzzle is that the new system “work” or
that the future development company properly communicate progress along the way
– then those extra tens of thousands of dollars are well spent.
I can’t
stress this enough, on projects where we see extremely low budget – elements
always get left out – and future support was non-existent. Just 2 months ago
two former clients came to us requesting a copy of their website as the
companies each had gone with had disappeared and taken their website and email
with them. Their email down-age cost them tens of thousands of dollars, and
their website represented more than a $5,000 initial investment and lost
marketing dollars.
In all
between the two of them this other provider ended up costing them nearly
$30,000.
We’re proud
to continue to charge correctly, providing our clients with amazing support and
technical know how. Even years after these clients ended the relationship due
to price, they came back to us and we were around (with backup copies no less)
of their sites, proving that “quality doesn’t cost… it pays“.
Unfortunately,
even 5 years after writing this post we continue to hear story after story
where companies explain – “our web guy was great, but then he disappeared.”
Too often
us web folks are kind, caring people, who are new to business uncomfortable
asking for a fair rate that will allow their company to grow and prosper and
allow for flexibility when emergencies arise. So we charge too little
(IVAcademy did it at one point). Unfortunately that creates an eco-system where
no one is accountable and – eventually – there’s no one there to pick up the
phone or answer an email when shit hits the fan. And believe me, eventually,
the shit always hits the fan.
Not to
mention there are literally hundreds of tiny steps that you – as the purchaser
or client – will never know that need to be done. Making sure analytics code is
correctly installed, making sure goal tracking is setup, submitting the site to
webmaster tools, etc. and if these aren’t done you are receiving a sub-par
product (with potentially sub-par marketing results – learn more about your
sites coding and its effect on your organizations overall marketing) and if
they are done, even the simplest site will still take many hours to fully
setup.
The bottom
line is, like in many industries web design and development is definitely an
area where you get what you pay for.
-Lifetime Support & Much More just
Contact us for more info. +7981 130 8385WHAT DOES A WEBSITE COST? We working helping to build websites and implement online marketing plans for organizations of all sizes.
