The Honest Truth About Custom Web Design Costs
The DIY approach to creating a custom web design would have you think that all you need is a domain name, a web hosting package, and a theme (a few hundred dollars). This is fine for a quick splash page introduction to your business, but you’ll soon notice that it doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t make you stand out from your online competition. And when you discover that you need to add more functionality to get your site to run the way you want, the cost skyrockets.
The old adage, “You get what you pay for,” certainly applies to custom web design. Here’s an itemized list of what you’ll need for a unique, one-of- a-kind web presence for your business (including ballpark costs of what you can expect to pay):
1. A content management system (CMS) gives you the ability to make updates to pages without calling for technical assistance to change text and graphics.
Adding a blog on your site is a way to add fresh content to keep your customers coming back (it also makes search engines happy, and they reward you with higher rankings against your competition). The ability to add META information—keywords and descriptions that make your site visible to search engines—should also be included in the CMS. (Expect to pay upwards of $500.)
2. You can’t have a custom website without interesting graphics.
Buying stock images to integrate into your new design—This quickly adds up. Some stock image fees are not one-time costs, and you’ll be billed yearly for the use of photos. Depending upon how many images you purchase, and whether you receive recurring charges for images, is an unknown cost.
You can also pay a graphic designer to come up with new images. An experienced website designer knows how to entice your visitors to stay on your site and sign-up or buy your product. (A completely new design can cost at least $1200.)
3. The modern way to reach your customers is with a mobile-friendly site.
Mobile Internet access exceeds PC access*. Your business website cannot afford to be invisible on mobile devices. This means that your website design must be “responsive” to the smartphone, tablet, and smartwatch that is viewing the page. It needs to fit the different sizes of these devices. (Expect to spend $800 or more for this capability.)
4. Multimedia is hot.
Videos, audios, and rotating/sliding banners make your website sizzle, but they can be difficult to integrate into particular designs. Multimedia costs can vary, depending upon the design and whether the multimedia needs to be included in the CMS.
5. Maintenance fees are often forgotten.
Website backups, web hosting, and fixing unexpected hiccups need to be included in any custom web design budget. A maintenance contract can’t be ignored—It’s a warranty for your website design. If you accidentally delete your homepage, you’ll pay much more for the one fix than if you have it covered in a contract. (Expect to pay a minimum of $100 per month.)
6. Miscellaneous features can blow your budget away.
These items may contain site memberships and registrations, newsletter sign-ups, news feeds, contact forms, advertising integration, photo galleries, e-commerce, and mobile app design.
Here’s the trick to skirt many of these costs on a customized site—Buy a website design package. Edit LLC has plans to fit any budget.
Serious business owners don’t have the time to climb a steep learning curb to go the DIY way, and they have defined budgets that don’t allow for unexpected additional costs. We’ll build that site for you, and we’ll include what you need while respecting your budget. We make sure your content is maintained. Send us new photos, headlines, menus, and content, and we can update this for you or create a CMS that allows you to make website changes yourself. It’s your choice.
Tell us what you want, and we’ll make it happen in one package to serve your needs. Check out our services and then give us a call at (559) 281-2855 to get started.
* According to searchenginewatch.com
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Date: 08.15.2016