One of the very first questions most people ask when they are looking to have a website developed for their business is the cost of the development. This is a very difficult question to answer and if you go by asking different web design agencies for pricing, you will get different answers and this makes it even more confusing. It is very difficult to give a definitive answer on how much a website costs but we can help you understand what influences the pricing of web design.
Why Does The Price Vary Between Design Agencies?
A lot of factors come into play when it comes to how much web design agencies will charge for the design of a website.
Experience: Web Design agencies that have been in business for five years or longer have a lot of experience than start-ups and as such will charge more for their services. Apart from offering experience, established agencies are more likely going to understand the web, have tools and have the best website development strategies that their start-up counterparts. Web design tools are freely available now and anyone can put up a website and put it online. Getting a website online is not a very difficult task. The hard part is the creation of a clear online strategy and developing a website that will bring in conversions. This kind of service is something developed over a number of years and comes at a price.
Overhead: The bigger the size of web design agency, the more overhead there’s going to be. Things like rentals, salaries for their staff, etc influences their pricing as they need to charge more to stay afloat. Overhead comes in the form of rent, computers, software, and salaries. The more the overhead, the more expensive the websites are going to be.
Why Web Design Pricing Varies For Different Projects?
Building a website is much like building a house. Costs vary depending on the size and amenities. A four-bedroom house with top of the range finishes is going to cost more than the two-bedroom house. Yes, they are both houses, but they are very different. Websites work the same way and here are a few ways that website design pricing can vary within a single company:
Website Size: How big is your website? Is it just one page? Five pages? Ten? Fifty? That makes a huge difference. Setting up and laying out five pages takes much less time than setting up fifty.
Website Functionality: What does your website need to do? Is it simply an extension of your brand, a place for customers to find your phone number and call? Or does it need to do more? Will you be selling products? Do you need a member portal? An online directory? An online community? All of these require advanced functionality, additional plugins or coding.
Web Page Design: Not all designs are created equal. If you hire someone for K2,500 they will probably work with a template, and make sure your requirements and content fit within that template. This will usually work out well if you are just starting out and need something simple to give you an online presence. However, if you are looking to have something that is unique, time and experience will play a massive role as this kind of task needs some who understands both design and client needs.
Web Design Strategy: Does your website have a strategy and a goal? It should. If your first thought when you think of web design is how the website will look, then you are already off track. Every website should solve a problem. Your customers have a problem, and your website offers that solution. How do we plan for that? How do we make sure it’s working? Planning an effective strategy for your website, one that will turn your site visitors into customers, isn’t as simple as putting your bio online. Don’t expect to pay little and get a website that converts.
Understand that when it comes to web design pricing, you are paying for the knowledge and expertise to know how to plan and execute a website strategy that works. And that isn’t cheap.