How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website? A Basic Guide

How much does it cost to build a website?

The answer could range from $0 to hundreds or even thousands of dollars. When it comes to website building, there is an incredible variety of paths to choose from. You can shell out big bucks for a professional design or ultra-user-friendly platforms, but you could also do it yourself for free if you’re up to the task.

Here’s an overview of the costs you should consider.

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Website Using a Platform?

Before you get started on your website, ask yourself how your (or your team’s) skills stack up. If you don’t know how to code, you can use a “freemium” platform like WordPress or Wix. These platforms are user-friendly and will allow you to make websites for free, but you’ll have to pay for features like having your own domain.

These website platforms will set you back about $15-40 per month (if you do choose a paid version), depending on the bundle of features you choose.

And if you know how to code and want the most control for the lowest price, you can make a free website on platforms like Github. If you don’t mind your code being open-source, you can do this for free. And if you want to keep it private, you can pay for that feature.

If you’re going with professional web design and development, you can probably skip this step. The designer and developer will figure out their own method of website building.

Getting the Domain

If you want your own beautiful, clean website name, you’ll need to buy your own domain. Many paid platforms build this into their services. If you’re using a free platform like Github or Tumblr, you can buy a domain name using a separate service.

Domain names are pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things. They’ll be around $10-15 a year, so as long as you remember to renew your domain annually, this part should be easy.

Take the time to think of a domain name that’s appealing and easy to remember. This is important whether you’re going with a social or business site – and if you’re integrating a social media presence to this new website, see if you can make your domain name the same as your handle.

Web Design vs Web Development

For many teams, web design and development are the largest part of the website cost. Unless you’re using a user-friendly platform or doing the coding yourself, you’ll likely be hiring professionals to work several hours a week to build out your vision.

It’s important to know that web design is separate from web development. Web design has to do with the aesthetics of your website, while web development takes care of the back-end coding. Some web designers build a website development plan into their services, but that will come with a higher cost.

Web design costs usually range from $50-100 per hour. In the end, this might add up to several hundred or even a few thousand dollars. Then double that amount to account for web development. Some people pay everything to the web designer, allowing them to contract out to a web developer of their choice.

Putting It All Together

So how much does it cost to build a website?

Well, if you’re doing the coding yourself or using the basic version of a website platform, it’d be free. With a paid web platform, it could be $250 a year. And if you’re going the professional route, it could be around $2000.

Take the time to figure out which option will work best for you and your budget. And for more behind-the-scenes tips on the tech that keeps everything running, check out the rest of our site!