How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website?

Posted on September 12, 2023 in Blog

Aside from building your team, your website might be your organization’s most important investment. Websites often serve as the face of your brand and organize information, products and resources to meet the needs of customers worldwide. The cost to develop a website is a key decision point for brands looking to grow; here’s what to know.

The Average Cost to Build a Website in 2023

The average cost to design, build and launch a custom website varies from $12,000 to $150,000. That’s a huge range, but it reflects the vastly different needs of small businesses, growing ecommerce brands and enterprise-scale organizations.

Perhaps the most significant cost associated with a new site is who builds it. Working with an experienced web design and development company ensures a high-quality site with the features you need, on a reliable platform and delivered with the resources to educate your team to make the most of your investment.

Like any product, there is a wide range of website offerings to choose from. The total cost varies based on several factors, including:

Software – Website builders like Squarespace and Wix offer a DIY website solution but lack the custom website features larger organizations are looking for. Depending on your industry or market, expect to pay anywhere between $150 to $1,500 per month.
Domain registration – Plan on renewing your domain registration as a part of your website project – your domain will cost $20-50 per year. Nothing to sweat here!
Hosting – Where is your site going to live? Webhosting usually costs $5-100 a month, although some services are considerably more expensive. In most cases, inexpensive plans cover up to 15,000 site sessions per month, and you won’t be paying big bucks until you’re over 250,000 sessions per month.
Plugins – Also known as apps or add-ons, plugins are pre-packed bits of code that provide essential functions as a part of your website, such as inventory management or SEO. These typically cost between $5-50 per month, although many have dynamic pricing structures based on site traffic or conversions.
Other fees – Ecommerce or service-based brands often run into transaction fees if they accept payment online. These fees are usually just a few cents per transaction, but they are additional costs on top of credit card processing fees. Make sure you crunch the numbers to see which platforms offer the most competitive rates and fee structures.

Why Do Websites Cost So Much?

Even if a strong and reliable digital presence is crucial for your business, money is still money. Website building costs often consume a fair-sized chunk of your marketing budget, and those funds could be used to support other projects.

Leaders need to know that the cost of developing a website is worth it.

Website Return on Investment

Website ROI statistics can be challenging to unpack because different organizations, industries and consumers use websites differently. An eccommerce company can measure a new website’s return on investment by tracking sales increases, average revenue per transaction or other key performance indicators. For service brands, tracking the value of form submissions or site traffic gets slightly fuzzy.

These digital marketing ROI benchmarks may help you gauge success:

An ROI of 5:1 is considered rock solid in digital marketing. That’s $5 in revenue for every $1 spent on marketing.
Websites built with sound SEO best practices typically offer an ROI of 22:1.
Bounce rate increases by 32% when page load speed goes from one to three seconds – fast websites are worth every penny!

5 Questions to Ask Your Team Before Building a New Website

Not sure if you’re ready to make the switch? Even if clients are dead set on a new website, we often start the process by posing a few important questions for their team to consider.

What problems or limitations on my current site will the new website need to solve?
How would a successful new website impact business in the next 1-3 years?
What marketing or operational projects are we sacrificing to build the new website?
How will the new website inform or reinforce our brand as a whole?
Do we have the resources in-house to maximize the value of the new site in the future or will we need monthly/quarterly help?

Our digital strategists can facilitate that discussion and help you make the right decision – even if that means holding off on a website until your organization is ready.

Let’s Build Something, Together

One of the most important decisions of any project is who you’ll work with. For nearly 30 years, Oneupweb has helped organizations of all sizes in dozens of industries grow their digital footprint effectively. We bring a fully integrated team of developers, designers, SEOs and media production experts to the project, plus the post-launch materials that position your team to keep the momentum going. Ready to get started? Get in touch or call 231-922-9977 today!