This is the million dollar question (fortunately, a million quid is not the answer!) The honest answer is “it depends”. It’s kind of like the question, how much is a car.
There are a number of factors that decide whether we’re aiming for a Reliant Robin, or if we’re heading to the Rolls Royce showroom. It’s true that both cars will get you from a to b (most of the time!), but only one will do it with style, turning heads and capturing a jaw dropping gaze.
So what’s the deal?
We’ll keep the car analogy purring along. If you think about the all-sining, all-dancing sites as top of the range sports cars. They’re superfast, always start (load) first time, have all the mod cons, classy features most importantly, wow all those who see them.
Your run-of-the-mill (daily driver) websites might provide a bog standard design and minimum frills, with their bland interiors – you’ll need more than a furry dice and a ‘Steve & Sharon’ window sticker to engage the traffic. Lastly, you’ve got the second hand/used market – with the DIY builders and templates such as Wix & Weebly – unreliable, been around the block and a non starter with (search) engines.
So what do these factors mean for the price of a website? Let’s take a look under the bonnet!
BASIC DIY BROCHURE WEBSITES
£0-500
These sites are typically built using standard templates by web-building drag and drop platforms – this means you might share your ‘design’ with 100 other different businesses. Platforms like Wix, Weebly & Squarespace are popular for DIY site creation.
Whilst it’s possible to create your own eye-catching website using these website builders – it’s not for everyone as it requires a bit of skill, knowhow and a little sprinkling of creativity.
If you’re on a very tight budget (under £500) then consider using a DIY site builder.
CUSTOM BUILT BROCHURE WEBSITES
£750-£5000
Small business brochure websites are great to get your online presence started. These sites typically cost between £750 and £5,000 to build; although designers’ costs vary. They tend to be your online version of a brochure (hence the name) – they will display your services, a bit about the business, meet the team, contact information and any specialities of the business. They’d usually have integration with social media sites, Google Maps and Google Analytics.
Can it be done by a DIYer? Sure, but would you mess with the electrics in your house? Not if you want to avoid shocks – the same is true with web design (no shock).
ECOMMERCE WEBSITES OR CONNECT STYLE WEBSITES
£2,000 – £15,000+
E-commerce websites and custom bespoke connect style websites are perfect for those who want their website to bring in revenue. E-commerce sites need to be slick, fast loading, easy to navigate refined user experience design. The complex cart and order management system is crucial – the easier it is to check out the more sales you’ll receive. Connect sites (booking systems, click and collect options etc) provide a higher level of functionality to your standard brochure site. The cost for webshops start at the £2000 mark. Ready to talk shop? Skip to the bottom.
ALL-SINGING-ALL-DANCING WEBSITES
£10,000 – £50,000+
Bespoke websites that are custom created, fine tuned to the requirements of the individual company. They’re not your run of the mill site as they often require advanced functionality, custom built integration with third party systems.
These websites would be in the region of £10,000 to £50,000+ to build.
Where do you sit?
So, what’s the factors that can affect how a site it priced?
- Size of the site (number of pages)
- Functionality (do you need it to connect to something or do anything fancy?)
- Creative time we need to spend building it
- Amount and quality of content you can provide or whether you need us to create copy for you
Ignoring the DIY builders, websites can start from a few hundred pounds and grow in budget as they grow in needs, according to the above list. The best thing to do, is consider your budget and goals – what do you want your website to accomplish. Make a list and a plan and get in touch to start the ball rolling.
Many ‘web designers’ will use pre-made themes and templates, hacking or adapting them to try and your needs – you’ll see similar sites in their portfolio. We’re not like that. We build your site from scratch without any constraints (no standard assembly lines here) – whatever you can dream, we can create. No DIY nightmares with us.
So for those about to Web, we salute you. Choose Nettl