What is the Average Cost of Website Design for Small Businesses?

In today’s digitally creative economy, every business should have a website to ensure marketing success.

Approximately half of all consumers research local businesses online. Here lies your opportunity to showcase that you can provide what buyers need by answering the questions people are asking online.

Still, many small business owners fail to build a good website for a variety of reasons including time, budget, or lack of expertise. As a retailers or service provider, you have an opportunity to  leverage such oversights as an opportunity to outperform the competition by building a professionally designed website.

Learn more about the average cost of website design for small businesses below.

Average Cost of Website Design for Small Businesses

Whether conducting sales in person, online, or a combination of the two, a website serves as a digital storefront. Accordingly, it makes good business sense to invest in professional web design.

The cost to develop a website varies depending on the features of the asset. Typically, the average cost of website design for small businesses ranges between $2,000 and $15,000.

However it is important to note that some websites include advanced features while others require custom-built components. Extra features add complexity to a website and as a result increase the cost of website design and development. Here is an example of a web design cost calculator that shows how various elements contribute to development expenses.

Every business is unique—business owners have different needs. However, most websites have several common features that contribute to the cost of development, including:

• Domain registration
• Website hosting
• Security certificates (SSL)
• Site design
• Number of web pages
• Added functions
• Content management

Small business website design may span anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars to build inspirational sites that function as needed.

Understanding the Various Cost Factors of Website Design

The cost of various website components varies. For example, domain name registration can cost as little as one dollar to as much as $12 per year.

A domain name is the online address of a business. Choosing a good domain name is one of the key steps to building a great small business website. Typically, a business owner will purchase a domain that matches the name of their company.

Website hosting might cost between $20 and $300 per year depending on the provider, and their service/support options. A hosted website resides on a computer called a server, which makes web pages available on the internet 24 hours a day.

Secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate pricing varies from free to $1,500 per year. SSL certificates are protection for websites and site visitors. Leasing an SSL certificate is optional. However, the security feature adds credibility to your website.

Some companies require a simple, straightforward design while others require a high-end, complex layout. Design alone can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $15,000. Furthermore, additional web pages can add anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 to website development costs.

Page count also makes a difference in website cost. A service provider may need as little as ten web pages. Meanwhile, an e-commerce store may need more than 100 pages. In the end, it takes time to develop additional web pages, even if the programmer uses identical layouts with different information.

Finally, additional functions can cause the cost of a website to vary. A website owner may require a range of features, such as online payments, user profiles, or other customized functions. Additional features and or functionality can contribute anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000 to the cost of website development.

Online Marketing Is Essential for Success

It isn’t enough to build a web page and expect to generate traffic. As with any other asset, website owners must use marketing practices to attract potential business. At VujaDay Creative Digital Agency, we tell our clients that we can build the best website on the Internet, but if nobody can find it on the web, who cares!

Content is the marketing tool of choice in the digital world. Accordingly, active marketers require a content management system (CMS).

CMS tools such as WordPress are valuable marketing tools. Integrating a CMS into a website can add anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000 to website development costs.

Building Your Website

Some business owners believe that they can save money by creating a DIY website. In theory, this belief makes perfect sense.

The cost for a self-service website may range anywhere from free to under $1000. Meanwhile, the average cost of professional website design starts between $3,000 – $5000.

A several thousand dollar price differential makes self-service website building seem like a cost-effective option. However, any inexperienced website builder will quickly learn the downside of DIY web development.

DIY web developers must learn how to use a website builder. Furthermore, they must also learn basic web design and search engine optimization (SEO) practices. Effective SEO practices are essential for helping customers to find a website.

Ultimately, It takes considerable time to learn how to build a website correctly. Furthermore, it takes more time to maintain a website, learn how to troubleshoot website problems, and make it searchable on the web.

What DIY web developers save in website design costs they more than pay for in time. As a business owner, you may end up paying for a website twice because the DIY provider didn’t deliver the first time around. Moreover, unless a business owner already understands the intricacies of web design, they’ll need to settle for a basic, plain web presence that doesn’t illustrate what they do for customers.

Website design and development is a full-time job. Most business owners find that they cannot afford to take time off to learn how to design a web page.

Professional web design services create attractive, engaging, and functional websites. The average cost of a website designer is well worth the investment. In time, a professional web page enables business owners to recoup their investment many times over.

Website Cost of Ownership

Ongoing fees also contribute to the cost of a website. Every website generates routine expenses. Investing in ongoing maintenance is critical for maintaining website performance.

Each year, website owners must re-lease their domain name and SSL certificate. Website owners must also re-lease e-commerce functions and maintenance services monthly. Executed properly, however, a professionally designed website more than covers ongoing expenses.

A Website Designer That Understands Your Needs

Hopefully, you now have better insight into the average cost of website design for small businesses. What you need now is a website designer that can meet the unique needs of your enterprise.

At VujaDay Creative Digital Agency, we understand how important it is for businesses to build relationships with their ideal clients or consumers. We promote innovation and creativity to help businesses build those relationships. More importantly, we help companies differentiate themselves from competitors.

Contact VujaDay Creative Digital Agency today at (267) 784-0279 or connect with us online to learn more about developing a plan to help your business grow.