A common question for business owners is: How much does it cost to have a website?
The short answer is anywhere from about $100 a year to many thousand.
This post will guide you through some of the different factors you need to decide on, and give you an idea of how much they’ll cost. It won’t act as a detailed website cost calculator, but that’s because it’s a very hard number to calculate exactly.
How Much Does It Cost To Have A Website Built For My Business
Before asking “how much does it cost to have a website built for my business,” just remember that every business needs a website. Not only can your site be the go-to resource for your customers, but they’re also an incredible way to promote your brand.
If you don’t have a website, your competitors automatically have an advantage. Plus, every internet search for you will take visitors to third-party review sites.
The bare minimum pricing of a site typically includes the domain name and hosting, but also factors such as these:
- Whether you do everything yourself or hire someone to manage it for you
- If you use a pre-made template or get a custom design
- How many features the website needs
- How much traffic the website will get
- The price of the domain name
Depending on your business needs, there are things you should splurge on, and others you may not need.
How Much Does It Cost to Have a Website Domain?
The domain name is the URL where you’re website is found (ours is CuriousRex.com). The trick here is to find something that is available and isn’t super expensive.
Many things are already taken, and there’s no amount of money you can spend to get it (for example, if your name involves the word “apple,” you’re probably going to need to add more than just “.com” to the end of your URL).
Other domains are available, but they cost a lot to get. This is common among one-word names (if “apple.com” was available, it would probably be thousands of dollars to get – even if the tech company didn’t exist).
Often you can add a word or two to your name to get a better deal (such as “WeAre[name].com”). Or, try a different ending (like “.net” or “.io”).
(Here’s a guide we put together to help you think of business names, and this helps when picking a URL.)
Overall, a reasonable domain should cost you roughly $20 a year.
How Much Does Web Hosting Cost
Hosting is where your website actually lives. The internet seems like a magical place where everything floats in the air, but it all lives on computers somewhere.
This sounds tricky, but it’s really easy. There are many companies that maintain massive servers and offer the service of hosting your website. Also make sure they offer security features, because this is the place where you will block attacks from bad people with keyboards and too much time on their hands.
The price of web hosting primarily depends on how much traffic you have, and how much space your website takes. If you just have a marketing site for a small business, you probably only need to spend $20-$50 a month. But, if you have tons of traffic or host a massive amount of media, your costs are going to increase significantly.
How Much Does Custom Web Design Cost?
Now that you have the domain and the hosting, you need to have your site designed. You essentially have two options here:
- A pre-made template (with minimal modifications)
- A custom design
Let’s talk about the difference between the two, and help you see which is best for you.
Pre-Made Template
The good news about templates is that they can be as cheap as $0, and rarely cost more than a few hundred.
The bad news about templates is that they aren’t necessarily customized to your site, and they aren’t totally unique.
We recommend going with a template when you have a low budget and don’t have a lot of need from your website. This is also a great option if you need a decent website with a fast turnaround.
Overall, if the price is going to be a factor in whether or not you have a website, go for this option. There are even a lot of website builder services that come with pre-installed templates that you choose from. Website builders are usually in the ballpark of $20 a month, and you can often combine that with hosting an other services.
Custom Design
If your website is important to your business, then seriously consider a custom design. Not only can it help you stand out, but a skilled designer will really build the user experience into the site. This is the digital equivalent of trying to skip hiring an architect if you’re building a restaurant out of thin air.
The downside to custom design is that it can be significantly more expensive. For a typical site, the cost usually begins at a few thousand dollars, and it gets more expensive if more pages or functionality are needed (keep in mind, we’re including development costs in that price range).
You can definitely get cheaper options, but this is an area where you often get what you pay for. We’ve talked to too many people who went with the budget option and ended up regretting it.
How Much Does It Cost To Maintain A Website?
When asking how much does it cost to have a website, don’t overlook the price of maintaining it. Ok, you say, how much does it cost to maintain a website? You’re catching on!
All websites need maintenance, but the amount (and price) comes down to the complexity and setup. If you’re using a website builder service, they should include routine maintenance in their cost. If you have a custom setup, make sure to find out how much the developer will charge to maintain it.
The only thing you want to be careful of is ignoring any sort of updates that are needed. That’s where hackers come in.
How Much Time Does It Take To Make My Own Website?
At this point, a lot of business owners start asking: How much does it cost to create a website for a business if I do it myself?
Do you have experience building a website? Do you have experience in graphic design? Those will both speed things up significantly.
If you don’t, and you’re still asking this question, it will probably take quite a bit of time unless you want to use a pre-made template without a lot of edits.
Why Spend On A Website?
A website serves many purposes (beyond just branding). It helps customers find you, it’s a very affordable way to build your brand, it acts as a lead generator, and it has many other benefits.
Money should never be a reason to not have a site – at most, it should determine how advanced of a site you build. So, how much does it cost to have a website? It depends. But, if you need advice specific to your situation, please reach out! We believe in honestly and transparently pointing you in the right direction.
