Design Your Website And Add Content
Next, youll need to design your website and add content to it text, photos, videos, etc. During this phase, youll need to design the layout, set the menu and create content to put on your website.
This phase is the most important, because the look of your website and whats on it can make or break your business. If you have a website that doesnt look professional, it can create a bad image for your brand or business.
If youre trying to estimate your website design costs, youll want to look at this phase of the process closely.
This is because the designing process takes time, which costs more money. This makes it more costly than choosing a domain name or buying hosting for your website.
Proper Accreditation And A Solid Reputation
We mentioned earlier that registrars need to be accredited by ICANN. Its important to look for that accreditation. There are plenty of unscrupulous entities out there that are pretending to be reputable registrars in an attempt to take your money. To gain that seal of approval from ICANN, companies have to meet a number of requirements. This helps to keep the industry regulated and honest.
ICANN keeps a list of accredited registrars for convenience. It can be used to quickly identify which companies to work with. However, when it comes to reputation, youll need to do a bit more research on your own. Its a good idea to check with the Better Business Bureau and see how long the company has been in business. A good track record of service is always a good sign.
How Much Does A Domain Usually Cost
You would typically have to pay between $9 and $14 for a new domain name. A yearly subscription to the magazine costs $99. You will, however, have to pay a different price depending on the domain extension or the domain registrar you choose. Bluehost is one of the best hosting companies in the world if you are starting a new website.
Also Check: How Much Does It Cost For A Domain Name
Hire An Agency To Develop Your Small Business Website
Hiring a web development agency is the easiest way to get a professional website. But outsourcing the entire process comes with the highest price tag.
Cost Breakdown:
A small website, developed by an agency, can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000. Again, the final price quote boils down to your list of requested features, design customizations, and selected tech stack.
Pros:
- You get exactly the website you want with no compromises on features, branding, or design.
- Ongoing maintenance and optimization are often part of the deal.
Cons:
- The most expensive choice, especially if you require a ton of custom functionality.
- Presents the greatest continuing liability if you keep paying the same agency for troubleshooting, customization, and other maintenance tasks.
Other Costs To Consider When Hosting A Website
Web hosting is only one segment of the true cost of building a website. To create a truly successful website, the project needs to be looked at holistically as an entire business, not just a standalone item.
Aside from planning and creating the website, consideration also needs to be put into other factors such as longer-term content development, marketing, eCommerce fees and so on. And of course, the domain name that will point to the website sitting on the web hosting space.
Once you factor in all of these additional components of the business, then you will have a more realistic idea of the true cost of building a website.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Io Domain Used For
Hire An Agency To Develop Your Blog
Hiring an agency is the most expensive, yet also the most hands-free way to build any type of website. For a personal blog, this may be a needless cost. But for business owners looking to add a blog to their corporate website , an agency can be a reasonable expense.
A web development agency can deliver a wider range of customization and branding opportunities than one freelancer could pull off. Apart from blog development, agencies also up-sell a host of other services such as copywriting, logo design, SEO, testing/quality assurance. So that you are getting access to a bunch of services at once. Most agencies also provide ongoing website maintenance services for a fixed retainer.
Cost Breakdown:
However, all of this convenience comes at a cost. Hiring a web agency to develop your blog will cost between $3,000 and $10,000 upfront for a small-scale project, with around $500 yearly for maintenance.
Pros:
- All-inclusive package with the option for continued maintenance as well
- Professional consultations on design, security, hosting
- Endless options for customizations and integrations with other corporate software
Cons:
- The most expensive option for building a blog
- Agencies require evaluations too
Hosting $5 Per Month To Start More When You Get More Visitors
When you pay for hosting, youre basically renting space on a computer to power your website and make it available to visitors from around the world.
If you choose a website builder like Squarespace and Wix, those services already include hosting in their prices, so you wont need to pay anything else.
However, if you use self-hosted software like WordPress, or other free content management systems like Joomla or Drupal, youll need to purchase your own hosting to install and run that software.
When youre just getting started, cheap hosting is totally fine and will cost you less than $6 per month. For example, Bluehost, one of our recommended WordPress hosts, costs just $71.40 for your entire first year, including a free domain name .
As you grow, you might need to pay more to handle the increase in traffic but thats a good problem to have.
Also Check: Cost To Register Domain Name
How Much Does It Cost To Market A Website
Most small-to-midsized businesses spend $2,500 to $12,000 per month on marketing their website, though some companies invest more than $20,000 per month.
This price range includes several digital marketing services, from SEO to PPC. Companies can decrease their marketing costs, however, by limiting their number of digital marketing strategies. If a company decides to focus on SEO, versus SEO and PPC, for example, they will have lower costs.
For businesses that want to improve their sales and revenue numbers, digital marketing is a proven strategy. It depends, however, on your website. Tactics like SEO and PPC, for example, direct users to your site, which is why its vital to design, launch, and maintain a user-friendly website.
Learn more about the individual costs of marketing a website:
Which Type Of Hosting Should You Pay For
Managed WordPress, shared WordPress, ecommerce how on earth are you supposed to pick the best one for you, and find one to suit your budget? You dont want to overpay for a plan you dont need or shoot your site in the foot by skimping on a plan thats too limiting for your needs.
Well quickly walk you through the different types of WordPress hosting, and hopefully point you in the direction of the plan thats best for you, your site, and your budget.
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I Want More Detail Please!
The cheapest type of hosting is, so if youre looking to keep costs as low as possible, then thats the place to start. We recommend Bluehosts $2.95 per month Basic plan, which is perfect for new WordPress sites, small blogs, and personal portfolios.
However, its worth knowing that shared hosting is the most basic type of hosting hence why its the cheapest. Your site shares its resources with other sites, meaning that youre more susceptible to crashes and security breaches.
For larger sites that need to handle more traffic, and automate even more of the technical side so that you can focus on growing your site, check out managed WordPress hosting. Its more expensive, but thats because it works harder for you.
Bluehosts managed WordPress hosting starts at $19.95 per month, which gives you daily backups, a marketing center, and domain privacy, among other things.
Recommended Reading: How Much Should A Domain Name Cost Per Year
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Website In 2021
Do want to know how much does it cost to create a website? Its one of the first questions we get from people starting their website.
In all honesty, its difficult to put a price tag as it depends on your budget and goals youve set for your business.
That said, in this article, well show you how much does it cost to build a website from scratch and which tools you can use to stay on budget.
Weve broken the article into the following sections since its a lengthy read, so you can jump ahead if you want. Lets dive right in!
Where Can I Buy A Domain Name
There are plenty of domain name registrars out there, but only a few are worth your consideration:
- Domain.com offers a huge range of TLDs and ccTLDs
- HostGator is both a domain registrar and a hosting company, and allows you to purchase these services together as a bundle
- GoDaddy one of the best-known domain registrars around, plus its also a hosting provider
You can also buy a domain name through a website builder. Website builders are platforms that help beginners set up professional websites, without having to know any code. When you sign up with a website builder, the domain registration process is integrated as part of that sign up making it a perfect option for beginners!
Recommended Reading: How To Transfer Squarespace Domain To Godaddy
Hidden Fees On Website Name Price
If you comb through the dozens of complaints raised against domain registrars and website name price, the first thing that jumps out is that almost 60% touch on billing and collection issues with the companies.
Auto-renew and transfer out fees are some of the most common ills. Many times, such elements are hidden within the lengthy Terms of Service which few of us ever bother to read. Some domain registrars will charge you a transfer out fee when you transfer your domain to another registrar. Sucks, right?
Should that ever happen to you, give your credit card company a call and put in a complaint. If luck falls on your side, the transaction the web hosting/domain registrar will be reversed. More importantly, take note of domain registrars who practice this so as not to become the next victim.
How Much Should You Pay For A Domain Name
Okay, so how much should you pay for a domain name?
Well, it all depends on your budget, if you are a billionaire and want to buy www.lasvegas.com, go for it.
However, you probably arent a billionaire, which means that you need to think carefully about how much you are willing to invest in a domain name.
There is a common mistake that first-time entrepreneurs make. They use their limited startup capital to create an appearance of a serious business. They get an expensive domain name, custom web design, business cards, etc. But all that isnt doing business, its playing business.
Sure, you need to look professional, but you shouldnt let that distract you from what actually puts money in your pocket, which is selling your products or services.
Basically, when you are just starting out, you should only be spending money on things that directly contribute to your bottom line. Everything else can wait.
Thefacebook.com, in 2004
For example, when Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004, it was called The Facebook and hosted on .
Facebook purchased its current domain name in 2005 for $200,000.
At that point, Mark Zuckerberg had validated his idea, the social network was growing rapidly, and Facebook had already received their first investment from the PayPal founder Peter Thiel.
Zuckerberg wanted to call his social network Facebook from the start, but the domain name wasnt available, so he simply added the word the to it and got to work.
Don’t Miss: How To Transfer Ownership Of Domain Name
Tip #: Use An Escrow Service
Congratulations! Youve struck a deal with the domain name owner. Now you need to protect yourself.Use an escrow service that specializes in domain names to complete a safe transfer. These services will hold your money until the domain owner transfers the domain name to you.You can transfer the domain into your Namecheap account during the escrow process and the money wont be released to the seller until the domain is safe in your Namecheap account.Did you know that in addition to registering domains, Namecheap also offers web hosting at affordable prices? Once you get your perfect domain, consider Namecheaps hosting options.
Andrew Allemann is editor of Domain Name Wire, the longest-running blog covering the business of domain names. Domain Name Wire has covered the business of domain name investing for over ten years.
Which Tools Will You Need To Build A Website
When it comes to creating a website, you dont have to hire professional web designers and developers with technical knowledge. There are many tools available on the web through which you can easily build a DIY website.
However, if you dont select the right tools, youll be spending money on things you dont need.
Thats why weve put together a list of tools that will be calculating how much does a website cost. Here are 3 things youll need no matter which type of website youre building:
- Domain name
- Web hosting
Domain Name
A domain name is a web address of your website that users type in their browsers, like www.yourdomain.com or www.MonsterInsights.com. Its also the URL that appears in search results when people look up your website.
Once youve selected a domain name, its time to get it registered. By registering your domain, you can use the same name for a year.
When youre selecting a domain name, its important to pick the right extensions as well, such as .com, .org, .co, or .net.
If youre an organization, then .org is great. But a study found that 52% of websites have a .com extension, which shows they are more popular and relatable with users.
And do remember, since your domain name registration lasts one year, youll have to renew it each year. But if you dont renew your domain name, it will expire and free up the domain name for someone else to use.
Website Builder
There are different website builders you can use:
Web Hosting
Managed Hosting
Also Check: How Much For Wix Domain
How Do I Know If My Desired Domain Is Available
Easy! You can check if your name is yours for the taking by using a domain name availability tool, like Wix.com. Heres how you can check if your dream domain name is available: Choose a domain check service, we recommend this powerful domain name search, that lets you try as many options as you want, for free. Alternatively, you can use one of the multiple domain name generators available online to find more ideas. Then, pick an extension and buy your domain using a domain registrar, like Wix.com.
Is your domain name already taken? Not to worry – there are options! Most probably, your domain will be available with a different extension . You can also play with variations of your name. Try an abbreviated version of your domain, or add a keyword related to your location or profession. Alternatively, you can use one of the many tools online to find more ideas for a new domain name.