Custom Web Design and Development Cost Calculator

1Web Design Costs

The website setup stage includes the choice of a domain and hosting provider. eCommerce websites also need an SSL protocol to guarantee payment security. Next, designers work on every visual aspect, from the colors to the layout to every tiny detail. All these elements are evaluated using a custom website cost calculator.

The most straightforward projects with custom design and 10 pages at most fall within the $400-$10,000 range. A quote for a complex site with rich functionality and many pages may go well over $25,000— the more elaborate the project — the more programming it requires. Typically, a small business platform may cost between $2,000 and $6,000, and eCommerce is always at the expensive end of the range.

The lowest price you can find is around $500 — for a website, this is dirt cheap. The catch is that low-priced services are usually rendered by companies based in countries like Pakistan. You will probably dislike the result. Such providers are notorious for inferior quality, and the developers’ native language is not the only problem. Be wary of such offers — they really are too good to be true.

Interior Page Design

Every interior page may be cheaper or as expensive as the home page. The more work that is put into it — the higher the costs. You may opt for a basic but nicely formatted look or request a high-end design with painstaking work on every tiny detail.

When there are just a couple of images and a few blocks of text, less time is spent on arranging them. Interactive elements, calls to action, or parallax background all increase the price. Generally, it is worth spending more on all the important content, such as your main services page.

2Content Management System

A CMS is used for the creation, changing, and management of content on a website. If it is reliable, you will make a positive impression on the typical customer. Some popular CMSs are free (e.g., Joomla, WordPress, or OpenCart for e-stores). However, it would be best if you still had them configured and customized for your project.

A powerful CMS not only allows easy management of content — it also facilitates your marketing efforts. Paid systems, such as HubSpot, come with extras like the SSL certificate (to provide encrypted connection). CMS costs may amount to $40,000 for large companies. A standard custom one may set you back $2,000 or $25,000 — the range of broad.

3Creation of Content

Now, you have a well-designed website, but what will you fill it with? Companies need to publish engaging and unique content to keep the audience interested. Without fail, content is king. If the design is bread, it is the cheese and butter on it. CMS is an essential element of a website prices calculator. It is also crucial to understand what type of content is most popular with the audience:

The content will be managed through the CMS of your choice. You may hire a freelance writer or have this expertise in-house. The design agency that built the site may also offer this service at an additional cost. That is why the total website design cost estimation correlates with the number of pages.

A retailer with a broad product line needs more pages than a small bakery. Every agency has its own system for scaling up the price. This is reflected in its online website cost calculator. It will commonly look like this:

• between $1,000 and $2,000 for a website with 1-10 pages;
• between $6,500 to $10,000 for a website with 150-250 pages.

4Hosting Costs

Creating a website is just the first step. Consider the running costs as well. On average, web hosting costs between $4 and $50 monthly. In comparison with development, these expenses seem negligible, but you should still consider them. Some web design companies include these in your maintenance fees.

Hosting may be compared to renting, as you essentially pay for keeping your site online. Basic sites need 1 GB of space annually at most, combined with 3-10 GB of bandwidth. Hosting costs grow along with the size of data on the site (e.g., hosting large videos will ramp up the price). Clients are not asked to change their hosting provider.

5Domain Registration

It should set you back just $7-$14 annually. The small fee entitles you to use the domain name. The latter may be acquired independently or through the design provider. As you can see, some domains evoke more trust than others:

A necessary precaution is making sure it is registered in your company’s name, not the provider’s. Otherwise, switching design companies will be a hassle in the future (are you sure you can rely on your current design team forever?).

If the domain is registered in their name, they may be regarded as its rightful owner. That allows scammers to bilk their clients. They demand a ‘ransom’ for the domain!

6Maintenance Costs

Every website needs maintenance, at least occasionally. After all, no technology is infallible in the long run. The more complex the system — the more potential causes of malfunctioning. What will you do when (not if) something goes wrong?

Fixing the site requires technical expertise you may not have in-house. The hourly rate of a web developer varies between $80 and $180. Alternatively, you may get these services from the agency that built the website for you.

Pros and Cons of Hourly Rates

These rates may look attractive until your freelance designer suddenly hits a roadblock. The project gets stalled, and the costs skyrocket (mainly if it is a large-scale endeavor). Besides, can you be sure they have worked as many hours as you paid for? At the very least, the exact amount of time must be specified in the contract.

A freelancer charges between $30 and $90 on average. For a professional, this component of website cost estimates rises to $45-$120. Globally, the average hourly rate charged by a web design firm is $50.18.

Examples of Website Cost Estimates

Attract Group has been providing web design services to businesses for a decade. The company has successfully developed projects of different complexity for healthcare, retail, and e-learning companies. Here are a few examples of its work.

1A Website for Healthy Eaters

The team developed a SaaS web app for the Menudoplan company. The project, which took 14 months, helped kick off the client’s business (fitness menu planning), as it is only feasible online. The modules include:

1. Menu generation based on the nutritionists’ advice.
2. Automatically generated grocery lists.
3. Import of Excel spreadsheets (with measurements, recipes, meals, and ingredients).

Besides, the team created a convenient admin panel and integrated management of personal accounts. Users can store their food preferences, change or replace meals—the total business website development costs for a similar site range between $10,000 and $50,000.

2A Website and App for eCommerce

J&H Tackle, an online retail store for fishing gear, ordered a web platform to automate commercial processes and meet aggressive sales targets. The website has an intricate design, and it was built on a robust algorithm that makes it scalable and future-proof. If you wanted a similar project from scratch, the web design calculator would give a range between $25,000 and $50,000.

Returns, refunds, and reports are now automated and easily manageable. Mobile apps for iOS and Android complement the platform. The entire development process took 10 months. This website has become a top e-commerce site for fishing tackle. Its features include:

• sorting and filtering of products;
• user account management, including interaction with the store owner;
• returns and reimbursements;
• admin panel;
• online payments;
• shipping options;
• bonus and gift cards;
• personalized promo codes;
• custom shopping cart;
• on-site tracking of delivery;
• abandoned cart;
• statistics;
• marketing management;
• site content management;
• fast order exchange option;
• custom coupons;
• feedback and rating module.

3A Loyalty Platform for a Retail Chain

Grocery chain Kopiika invested in a loyalty platform (web and mobile) to establish a substantial online presence and reach new customers. Through the system, users can access their personal accounts with purchase history and bonus balance, learn about promotions, and have a smooth shopping experience overall.

Thanks to synchronization with the company’s CRM, deals and discounts are reflected in personal accounts with little or no manual editing. Administrators can easily manage all positions. This system took six months to build. The cost of a similar platform ranges between $50,000 and $100,000. The features include:

• an admin panel;
• feedback;
• bonus status;
• finding the nearest store;
• route plotting;
• manual card registration (when exchanged);
• purchase history;
• planned purchases.