Web Design - What is the Real Cost of a Website?

By Cheow Yu Yuan, April 24 2009

In web design, there is no fix cost. Company A can charge $3,000 for a 10 page HTML website but company B may only charge $500 for the same thing. Why is this so?

The answer is that they are most certainly not charging you the same thing. A company that charges you $3,000 for a website may have more experience and knowledge in online marketing and web design. They will spend more time to design, organize and make your site SEO-friendly. This will ensure that your site is aesthetically pleasing and marketable.

On the other hand, another designer or company may charge you only $500 for the same specifications but they will most likely only put a fraction of the effort into it. Therefore, there is really no fixed cost.

When you are getting a company to design your website, cost should not be the only concern that you consider. Instead, you should look at other factors that will determine how well your site is going to be. Is the company knowledgeable in online marketing and SEO? Do you like their portfolio? Can they develop a site that can build your brand and increase enquiries and sales? By looking at these factors, you can sometime justify the cost that they are charging you.

When you are getting a company to quote you a price, make sure that you let them understand the specifications of your website. This is because with more specifications, the price will be higher. Therefore, you must be clear on what kind of site do you want to develop. Do you want an e-commerce website that displays catalogs of your products and allows online transaction? Or do you just want a simple static HTML website?

And also, if the company is knowledgeable in SEO, the charges of the web development may be higher. This is because SEO is the bed rock of online marketing. SEO is the process of increasing targeted search engine traffic to your website via natural search engine listings. To achieve success with SEO, your website must be SEO-friendly.

To make your site SEO-friendly, it starts from the time you design your website. If you design a website which is not SEO-friendly now and a few months later you decide to implement SEO, it will cause you a lot more money because you will need to revamp your site again.

If you are thinking of just getting your website online and do not care about online marketing, I will advise you rather not create a website. A website is meant to attract visitors, build brand, and turn visitors to customers.

Search engine is the biggest traffic referral source. With search engines, people are looking for companies that can provide them with the product or service that they need. If your website is not listed on the top of the search result listings, you will miss the deal. So make sure that you make the right decision now.

Take a look at our SEO-friendly web design portfolio here.