When considering a new website project, businesses and nonprofits usually ask about website cost and pricing at the start of any conversation. With organizations facing tight budgets and lots of competing priorities, it’s a great question!
The short answer is that there are a lot of factors that can affect the cost of any website project. A website can be as customizable as a new house; it ultimately depends on your goals and choices!
Here are the three factors that usually have the most impact on the cost of a new website.
Features and functionality
Most modern websites use a content management system like WordPress, HubSpot, or Squarespace. These tools make it easy for anyone at your organization to make updates without calling a developer for every little change.
But with a content management system as your foundation, there’s a near-unlimited number of features available for your site. Each option may improve the experience for your customers or save you time and money by simplifying your day-to-day work – but they’ll also add to the bottom line.
Features that add complexity and cost include:
- E-commerce
- Integrations with third-party services like sales systems, listing directories, or maps
- Specialized forms and data collection
Many companies find that the benefits they receive from these upgrades are more than worth the extra investment.
Design and branding
Your site’s identity – how it looks and feels – can also affect the overall pricing for a project.
Web designs generally fall into one of two categories: templated or custom.
If you decide to use a template for your site, you’ll use a pre-built design created for your content management system. Templates can be a bit generic and may not allow the flexibility that a custom design would allow. But because the basic structure is complete, they typically cost less than custom designs.
Custom designs are built specifically for your company by a web designer. A custom design gives you complete control over branding and the visual look of your site. But that extra design time will also add to your overall budget for the project.
Some website design companies only use either templated or custom designs. At One Ten Digital, we’ll suggest whichever we believe is best for your company and budget – but it’s up to you to decide!
In addition to your choice of a templated or custom design, extra elements can also add to your budget:
- Specialized animations
- Different layouts on different pages
- Custom graphics
If you’re not concerned about branding and design details, you may find a templated site works well for your budget. If you want more control, the sky’s the limit with a custom design!
Content
Good content can be the difference between a website that soars and a website that flops. And it’s also a major factor in the cost of any web project.
We ask three questions about content for every project we start:
- How many pages need content?
- Do you already have existing content?
- Who’s responsible for anything that doesn’t already exist?
While writing your own content can reduce your project’s overall cost, professionally-written content can help increase engagement and drive conversions on your site. We recommend it for all of our projects.
If you choose to work with One Ten Digital for your next web design or development project, we’ll give you options to choose what’s best for your budget. We want to build a project that fits your company’s needs!
Photo by James Harrison on Unsplash
