How to budget for your website
What to expect from a professional
It’s clear that every business needs a website but if you are running your business and don’t have the time or know how to build a website, a professional designer is your best option. Having a person or team thst dedicates all of their work time to working on websites will not only make getting your new website up faster, but with far less issues. Not to mention it will look great.
Figure out your needs
Make a short list of everything you absolutely need on your website. Not including the obvious business information and contact links.
Here’s some examples.
- Portfolio
- Store
- Advertising integration
- SEO
- Custom email
- Forums
- Front end accounts (Allowig visitors to sign up and sign in)
Each of these things can affect your overall design cost. Websites that incorporate a store will take much more developing time for the designer. And depending on your designer this can be a major price difference compared to a standard website, especially if they charge an hourly rate.
Luckily, we include all of thse options with all of our sites at no extra cost and never charge hourly rates. 👍
Average cost for a full featured website: $3,200 Our average: $1,500
Average cost for a standard business website: $1,250 Our average: $600
Find the right designer
Finding a person or agency that can showcase your brand in the right way can be difficult. There are hundreds and thousands of designers and agency’s out there waiting for you.
It’s important to find a designer that has the same core beliefs as your brand. You’re probably going to be working with this designer for a while after they build your site, so if you aren’t a great mutual fit you should not buy from them.
This is why we have a simple application process that lets us get to know you and your brand when you want to hire us. We want to ensure a great mutual benefit and relationship with our clientele. You should have the same mindset when searching for your designer.
Updates, maintenance, and hosting
Once you’ve figured out who is designing your website and for what cost, it’s important to find out if you want to have them or someone else host and update your website.
You have a few options here.
- Do it yourself $10/month plus lots of time editing and updating website yourself
- With the designer $100/month with limited updates
- With Shelby Company (us!) $40/month with unlimited updates and fast hosting.
All averages found by About.com. We are a web design agency that believes in authentic human goodness, you can see what we offer here. 💙
