How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website?

The average website cost may be surprising for anyone who is related to IT sphere. It may seem so easy, but there are a lot of issues that supposed to be considered while counting the cost of website development. But don't you worry, in this article we're going to talk not only about the cost, but also how to reduce it.

What do you need to know before developing a website?

1. Your limits

So, the first thought that need to come to your mind are: in which time the website should be completely developed? Depending on different website types the process of building can take from one week to several month. If you want to make the website faster, than it is usually made, you will have to pay in addition.

Your other limit could be the budget of development. We need to say, that with small budget and big ideas there is nothing good to come, because only non-professional companies can promise you "a great site for less than $50". So the best decision is to simplify the idea for now and order a good-quality website.

2. The idea and how to explain it

Continuing about the idea, we've clarified, that having a small budget is better to wait with crazy decisions. But if you have the money for crazy decision you need to know how to explain the Project Manager correctly, so there is no misunderstandings and everyone is satisfied at the end. It is better to write down or even draw (if you can) all of the features you want to be implemented by the development team.

But remember, while choosing the features, don't try to make your site the strange mixture of EVERYTHING you like, keep it simple!

3. Who will be in charge of your site?

There is three options:

• you or someone in your company

This option requires deep knowledges not only in website constructions and developing but also in content-management.

• the company-developer

This is probably the best option, because only the programmers, who developed the site know the code the best. It is possible only when the company requires support services, so when you hire someone to build a website make sure, the company can provide you with further support.

• other company - supporter

The best decision if your company developer do not have a support team.

Types of websites

Different website types require different website development pricing.

1. Landing page or promo site

What can be included in the site development:

• Template design or unique design;
• Photo Gallery Module;
• Creation of site sections;
• Social networks buttons;
• Administration panel;
• Marketing texts on the site;
• Optimization of your site for Google search;
• Integration with CRM systems;
• Animation effects on the site and etc.

Average cost of making a website - from $100.

Time - from two weeks.

2. Blog/news site

What can be included in the site development:

• Unique site design;
• SEO optimization for search engines;
• Limited powers for other authors;
• Structured Google data for articles;
• Micro-markup - star rating in the issuance of Google;
• Ability to send an article for accelerated indexing;
• Automatic plug-in in articles;
• Possibility of registration of users (authors);
• Connection of the Disqus comment module and etc.

Avarage cost to develop a website - from $200.

Time - from two weeks.

3. Corporate site

What can be included in the site development:

• Unique design according to the company's brand-book;
• Development in corporate style of the company;
• Unlimited number of admin users;
• Different user rights for management;
• Full SEO optimization of the site for Google;
• Calculator for calculating the service for your niche;
• Adjustment of banner and contextual advertising;
• Blog creation for company news;
• Website promotion in search engines and etc.

Average cost to create a website - from $300.

Time - from three weeks.

4. Catalog

What can be included in the site development:

• Full optimization of the site for Google search;
• Unique site design drawn from scratch;
• Unique texts on sections of catalog categories;
• Filling with the agreed content of the site pages;
• Component of photogallery on the site;
• The ability to register and manage users;
• Unlimited number of products/services in the catalog;
• Setting up contextual and banner advertising and etc.

Average cost to develop a website - from $350.

Time - from one month.

5. Internet shop

What can be included in the site development:

• Unique design;
• Integration with the 1C system;
• Analytics connect from Google and Yandex;
• Integration with CRM systems;
• Possibility of bulk loading of goods;
• Possibility of ordering in one click;
• Payment by Visa / Master Card;
• Full optimization for Google search;
• Setting up contextual advertising Adwords;
• Microformat "Star rating" in the search;
• Microformat of goods for the issuance of the price of Google search;
• Authorization on the site through social networks and any additional functionality.

Avarage website development cost - from $400.

Time - from two weeks.

Steps to build a website

When we've clarified how much to develop a website let's consider another option - building websites by your own. It may sound to you a bit tricky especially if you are a freshman in web designing and don't know a lot of how to make your own website. However, it is really complex for you to build a large internet shop or corporate site, so here you will need a help of experienced web professionals (like, Artjoker) to implement your digital dreams to life. But what if you need a small promo website for a business or a simple landing page, you can actually design it yourself. There are five steps to sum up all key processes of best way to build a website.

Step 1. Host your site and register a domain name

Web hosting is like rent for your website - you need a piece of virtual space to display images, pages and other documents placed on the site. Web hosting doesn't work without a web server, where website resources are put to be available for users through the Web.

To make your website eye-catching, create a friendly URL that users will be able tp quickly type. The average domain names cost is between 8 and 35 dollars. Domain name is one of branding key elements, so keep it bright!

Step 2. Plan your website

Here is the time to make a decision of what type of website is yours, what its sitemap looks like and all things about content.

Step 3: Design and build website

This is the most tough part of the building of a website - you should be aware about how to create a website.

Step 4: Publishing the website

It's high time to summarize the knowledge of how to build a website for a small business. Do it with those tools that come with your hosting service or standard File Transfer Protocol Software, that is supported by most providers.

Step 5: Promoting your website

Use SEO or bring your website to its target audience by word of mouth, using email marketing, social media and other forms of advertising which seem to be more traditional.

Step 6: Maintain website

You already know how to build a business website, now you need to maintain it regularly to keep your site advanced. If it is already in production, it doesn't mean that you are done with development.