Be Prepared When Searching for a Web Development Company

As a business owner, you know by now that a web presence in today’s world is a necessity. You could go the cheap route and grab an inexpensive design template with a built-in content management system for a couple hundred dollars. But how well will that templated design represent your company? First impressions are often made on the web and if a potential customer comes across your website and doesn’t connect with it, they will probably stay a potential customer. Here are the main things you need to think about before setting out to get quotes on website development.

Before heading into an initial consult or sales meeting with a web design company, we suggest you map out your needs. The representative will help you make decisions about certain features that you may or may not need, but it’s best to walk in with a basic understanding of what you’re looking for. Here we have outlined the most common website features and the price ranges you can expect to pay for them.

The Basics

Domain Management: A domain name is basically your website address (e.g. www.inConcertWeb.com). Use inConcert’s Domain Search at the bottom of our website to check availability of your desired domain name. Domain Management will usually cost about $15-$35 annually.

Hosting: In order for your website to be seen, it must be hosted on a server. Depending on your needs, the pricing for hosting varies. Monthly costs for hosting are estimated at the following prices: basic hosting: $10-$50, eCommerce: $25-$250, or if you need a dedicated server, the price will jump up to anywhere between $150-$1,000+. Be aware that if you go with the cheapest hosting company, you might be saving money, but you will not get much for technical assistance if you are to ever need it.

Design: For a custom website design, it is best you seek out an experienced designer or firm that can offer you up-to-date graphics that will give your web presence the ideal look. To save money, you could always ask if they have template options that they can customize for your company, just remember that a custom design will usually represent your company better. Be prepared to pay a designer anywhere between $75-$150 per hour.

Coding and Buildout: The coding stage of your site is where it receives all of its functionality. You’ll want to make sure that you choose a web developer that is up-to-date on coding standards and will produce a website that validates properly. Website coding will be charged at an average of $100-$150 per hour. If your site requires programming in more advanced applications such as Flash, be prepared to pay a bit more.

Common Add-ons

Content Development: Professionally written content is key to getting your website found by search engines. Hiring an expert content writer will definitely help with your search engine rankings because they know how to write for your keywords. Content development can run anywhere between $75-$100 per hour.

Content Management System: This is one of the most beneficial website add-ons that you can purchase. A Content Management System (CMS) allows you to make site edits at your own convenience. If you find a major error within your website content and it’s 12:00 in the morning, you can immediately login to your administrative panel and make the changes yourself! Installation of a Content Management system can be anywhere between $85-$100 per hour. Be aware that installing a CMS into an existing website will take more time than installing one into one that is in the process of being coded.

Blog: Though many business owners think they don’t need a blog, it’s because they don’t understand what it does. Blogs are extremely beneficial to your business and are absolutely worth the extra money if you can afford it. A blog installation will cost you $300-$500 if it follows the same design template as your current site.

These are the very basic figures that you will need to work into your website cost. There are endless possibilities with additional features such as photo galleries, rotators, newsletter signups, etc. All of these prices really depend upon what firm you are going with and the complexity of the add-on. We hope you found this article to be helpful in your search for a web design resource. For questions about our pricing, please contact us.

Some information in this article was adopted from Mikal E. Belicove’s post “The Cost of Quality” on Entrepeneur Magazine’s website.