How much does it cost to build a website, part 1?

When I started this article I had no idea it would evolve into the complex end product it became. Given the variety of factors that contribute to the cost of a website I decided to split the article into two parts. The first part deals with the elements directly affecting the cost of a website. Things like choice of platform, content and scope creep. In part two I’ll explore the indirect elements like hosting, domain registration and logo design. Yes, you do need a logo before you build a website.
So buckle up and enjoy the ride, we’re going to look in depth at what drives the price of a website up and or down.
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
—Walt Disney
Amount of content and website platform
The development of a website usually follows the same process from start to finish. If it’s a WordPress or similar CMS website, content will be generated and then published onto the website along with images, videos and links to other websites and blogs. The amount of content to be published on a site is a factor in the overall website price.
If the website developer has to create a one page website versus a 10 page site, chances are they’re going to charge you more. The primary reason will be a time factor, designing and building a single page website can take a few hours opposed to a 10 page site which can sometimes take a few weeks to finish.
Another factor affecting price is how the website is built. Is the site going to be hardcoded? Is it going to be designed and built using a website platform like Squarespace, Weebly or Wix. Or perhaps it will be developed using a self-hosted platform like WordPress or Joomla. Using a platform or self-hosted option can be the cheaper option because it takes less time to do.
What makes a website more expensive?
Similarly to the forces driving a website’s price down, the same applies to the price being driven up. In addition, the complexity of a website, the amount of content, whether or not original photos need to be shot, and who has the final sign off decision are all examples of variables that could affect the price.
On a tongue-in-cheek note, the agency or web development company may have to reach certain targets or have overheads which need to be fulfilled - those fancy offices need to be paid for even if no one is actually in them at the moment! Fancy offices may mean more expensive web development costs for you.
Purchasing domain names carefully is a very important aspect of owning a website. Having a website is an important part of running a business. Make sure you are the rightful registered owner of your domain name.
Scope creep
At Tech Warrior we try to keep the cost of our websites down. This does mean that we ask our clients to follow our processes. We do our best to educate and explain what goes into building a website via our learning hub. This ensures the web development process is transparent and the customer can rest easy in the knowledge that they are making the correct choice.
It is our hope that an informed customer will work with our workflow and not against it. In the rare case where this doesn’t happen and scope creep tries to rear it’s frustrating head, we may have to charge for updates and alterations to client websites outside of the original site building process.
Adding extra pages
As a general rule of thumb at Tech Warrior we don’t build bespoke, custom websites. Instead we utilise a tried and tested consumer-focused approach that we are all familiar with, off the rack or shelf. Using our purpose built website theme we offer a great value for money product that comes with minimal structural changes but a healthy amount of personalisation. This keeps time and costs down. We offer websites for a range of needs:
- 1 page website
- 5 page website
- 10 page website
- Ecommerce website
- 20 page website
If extra pages are needed, turning a 5 page website into a 7 page one for example, these are charged for on a per page basis. These extra pages range in price from R650 to R1275 depending on the amount of content and the complexity of layout.
Adding more pages can also increase what it costs to host the website. We explore this in more detail in Part 2 of How much does it cost to build a website?
The website take over process
At Tech Warrior, we will manage the process of transferring domains and website takeovers. We charge for this service because it takes time and often there are jargon filled administrative tasks which need to be resolved. We don’t expect you to understand the jargon of the domain transferal and website hosting so it is easier for us to handle this, quickly and efficiently on your behalf.
The final word
This article explored the direct costs of building a website. Some of the costs are specific to the way Tech Warrior does things. Remember we’ve been doing this for a long time - some 25 years. We like to think that the experience gained during this time translates into a streamlined process that offers our customers a great value website within a relatively quick amount of time.