One of the most common questions that companies have about a website redesign is: “How much does it cost to build a website?”
While I’ll give you some actual numbers below, as well as some pricing considerations you may not have thought of and some circumstances that warrant more spending on a website, I have to start by saying that the cost of redesigning your website can vary. It depends on if you plan to do it yourself or if you have a website design firm build a custom website for you. Other factors can affect cost, too.
Here’s why the cost to build a website varies so much. Building a website is a lot like building a home. You can build a small 3 bedroom, 1 bath starter home on a small lot, and that’s going to cost a lot less than a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath family home in a nice neighborhood or a much larger home with a pool on a golf course.
You get the picture. So here are some factors that can affect the cost of your website redesign:
We’re a web design company, so I’ll focus this article with the assumption that you’re at least researching the option of having a company professionally build your new website. I’ll also say that the prices below are our prices, and that some firms charge a lot less than we do, and some charge a lot more.
According to a survey, the average cost of a website redesign is $38,572.
The “base cost” for a professional website redesign is $15,000. A $15,000 website is intended for small businesses and would include the following:
As I mentioned earlier, the more options and requirements that your website has, the more the website costs to build (just like in the example of the house). I’ll also say that very few websites will fall under the “base price” you see above, so let’s explore some other pricing details below.
So if a base website costs $15,000, then what’s the top end of a professional website redesign?
Very few of our website redesign projects exceed $60,000, with a vast majority falling in the price range of $25,000 - $40,000.
What makes these websites different from the $15,000 website? Here are a few “options” that we typically would build into a new website, which in turn raises the price:
Of course, companies that pay extra for these things tend to get more business opportunities on a monthly basis than those that don’t. Spending a little more up front can pay big dividends over the life of the website, as the information on your website produces results month after month.
What you see above is our pricing, so here’s some outside perspective on cost. According to HubSpot’s “The Science of Website Redesign” webinar and report that surveyed over 100 small and medium-sized companies, the average cost of a website redesign (2013 data) was $38,572.
Just like you may pay for maintenance on your home, websites generally have some ongoing costs that you should consider in any price discussion. Here are some of those ongoing costs that you’ll need to factor into your budget:
| Budget item | What is this? | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Web hosting (required) | You pay for a server that’s connected to the web 24/7/365, and your website lives there. This includes nightly backup, an SSL security certificate, content management system upgrades on a regular basis and an on-call server engineer. | $50 per month - $300 per month depending on the complexity of your website |
| Support and training (optional) | You may need help updating certain things on your website that are more design-oriented. You may also need someone to walk you through making changes from time to time. | $250 per month |
| Content creation (optional) | Get help writing your blog or adding/improving web page writing. | $1,200 - $3,500 per month depending on volume. |
| Search engine optimization | Taking steps on a regular basis to make sure your website is visible and optimized for search engines. | $1,000 - $2,000 per month |
On average, you’ll spend 28% less on a do-it-yourself website redesign.
In the spirit of presenting the other side of this story, I want to explore what it might cost to build your website yourself (in-house using your own employees). Hopefully this will provide enough information to help you decide which route is best for your company.
Rather than rely on speculation, let’s again look at HubSpot’s “The Science of Website Redesign” report for answers on how much it costs to build your own website. The reported cost of a website redesign that’s done internally is $30,106.
On average, you’ll spend 28% less on a do-it-yourself website redesign.
Also keep in mind that the ongoing costs mentioned above also apply if you are building your new website internally.
You might think that if your company employees build your new website, it’s “free.” That’s not always the case, because most small and medium sized companies don’t have a dedicated web person that’s paid just to work on the website.
In most internal website redesigns, a committee or small group is formed to do the work. This responsibility is in addition to normal work responsibilities.
Because I’ve personally managed a few internal website redesign projects, I speak from experience when I say there are some “gotchas” that you might not know about at the beginning of the project:
Your website isn’t a brochure. When you design and print a brochure, you hand them out until they’re gone. You can’t make a change -- they are already printed.
A website is exactly the opposite. You have a plethora of ways to measure your website’s effectiveness and make changes to it. In fact, I would challenge you to change/test something on your website every month.
Once you complete the website redesign, you can’t just forget it and never update it. If you are building your website as a sales engine and customer resource, you should be constantly adding information. This is true regardless of if your website is designed internally or outsourced to a design firm.
When we complete a website redesign, we offer two different payment options. You can pay for the website in three payments, or you can divide the cost of the website over 12-36 months and pay a flat monthly fee. Paying $1,000 per month for 24 months might be more budget friendly for your company than paying $24,000 over the course of the typical 4 month project.
If you are looking to attract business from your website, you may choose to include marketing/sales software that runs your website but also serves other functions. This software can range from $200 per month to $2,500 per month in addition to the cost of building the website.
You may think that completely overhauling your website all at once is the only way to update your website, but there’s also an option to incrementally redesign your website. For example, you can redesign your website in 4-8 weeks -- updating the look and the words on the homepage, but keeping all other information the same. In subsequent months, you’d revisit, re-write, optimize and restructure all of the other pages. This may take several months to complete, but because it’s done in small chunks, it’s easier to make progress and build on results over time.
As the new website evolves from old to new, pages are tested and improved using performance data. With an approach like this, you get incrementally better results as you improve and add features that your customers can use.
There are certainly do-it-yourself options, you can buy a template and customize it, or design a custom website with an in-house designer or team.
But since you’re here, you’re likely researching how the cost of building your own website compares to the cost of outsourcing the work to a professional firm.
When you are evaluating website redesign cost, there’s more to the decision than the one-time or monthly cost. Another factor to consider is how many new business opportunities a new website might win for your business.
So when is the extra cost of outsourcing worth it? Here are some legitimate reasons you might consider paying more for your website:
There you have it -- the complete guide to how much it costs to build a website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and ask, or leave a comment below. If the feedback/comments/questions warrant it, I’ll add to this article over time to make it a better resource.