Projects can be deceptive in their website development cost. What looks like a simple website design, web page with words, graphics and buttons may seem like a simple project, but companies are often shocked when they hear what it actually costs to build a new website, or to refresh their existing one. Hence, it becomes important to control website development cost.
The most frequently asked question we get from the business owners is “How much my website will cost from scratch?” And for this the answer they usually get is, “It depends.” The real cost of building a website varies from the specifications and functionalities required by the client.
What is all that money spent on?
Most of the money that goes into building a website is for an agency’s time. Web pages, particularly customized ones, can take a great deal of time to design and program.
Then there are all the pages of copy to edit and proof, images to select and/or purchase, building the pages themselves, and wrapping up with testing and optimizing.
To provide an accurate estimate, here are some guidelines for creating a website budget so you can develop a great looking website without exceeding your finances that much.
Before going down in details, one should keep in mind the basic necessities of a website development process:
Basic & Compulsory Website Components:
- Domain
- Hosting
- Web Design & Development
- Maintenance
- Online Marketing
1. Focus on specific website needs
Before starting any website projects one should know what are the objectives of the website. It is better to list down the most important requirements and think about it to get a clear image of your website which will help in calculating the exact amount required to build it.
- Who will be my targeted audience?
- The functional and technical requirements?
- How would you want the design to look like?
- What should be my plan for delivering the site objectives?
The right answer to these questions will end up in delivering the best looking website solution with effective results and in less expensive process.
2. Know your financial limitations
If you want a basic website with fewer pages that gives a detailed overview of your product and services, it might not cost a lot on your pocket. But a highly customized website with lots of bells and whistles can give you a blow on the budget. The average cost of a good looking website may cost from hundreds to thousands. Start with a grand total including other things like content development , site architecture which covers your entire project and break it down to see how much it will cost for an individual part and stick to the basics if you are on a tight budget.
3.Responsiveness Costs
The best designs are responsive means it should be mobile-friendly or in a simple way designed in a way to automatically adjust their layout and function easily on multiple devices like laptops, desktops, tablets and on smartphones. Creating a website design can cost around 20 to 30% of your entire website development budget.
When it comes to creating the content, the design firm either create all the content on their end then insert it through CMS or deliver a blank design template that the client would populate it as desired.
4. Maintaining and updating costs
The best website upgrades its strategy with the current trends and updates itself from time to time. If the website is using an e-commerce transaction platform or an email service to publish newsletters then you will be typically charged on a monthly basis.
Maintenance costs vary and that depends upon your expectations from the firm or the developer.
Some Other Important Factors to Consider In Your Website design Budget:
Do you –
- Need a blog or a CMS (Content Management System)?
- Want automatic resizing?
- Need other features like social media channels, SEO?
- Need multimedia elements on the site?
Additional Things to Consider in your Budget:
- Designs like icons, graphics, animations, videos
- Content Development
- Server set-up & administration including backup and 24/7 monitoring
- Additional applications and tools
5. Continuously Forecast
It’s simple: frequent website design budget oversight prevents a project from getting too out of hand. Updating and managing an inherently turbulent budget is a necessity for any project. Talking to your team about upcoming spends can provide you with a realistic idea of where your project is heading.
Consistent re forecasting also enables your team to anticipate the progress of a project. And it ensures that a project’s budget is in line with its anticipated completion date.
6. Anticipate Scope Change
Any agency that has been in business for a length of time has experienced the horrors of scope creep. The scenario is usually similar: a project with a new client is going well, but over time, it grows bigger and bigger while your price remains the same.
Typically, this results in two outcomes:
- The client thinks that the extra work your team puts in is included in the original scope of work.
- The client simply has no idea that they are asking for more than was originally agreed upon.
It’s crucial to keep tabs on scope change at all times, and realize that scope change will probably happen to your team. Create change orders for additional work that may pop up. Change orders authorize additional funding that cover the costs of extra work.
7. Forecast Resource Usage
Just as your website design budget needs consistent re forecasting, you should do the same for your resources. Your resources are the bread and butter of your projects—and they do contribute to its overall cost. You should constantly review the number of people who are working on a project at a given time and anticipate the future on a weekly basis because this will ensure that you are utilizing the resources you currently have and that employees are working as efficiently as possible.
8. Communicate With Your Employees
A project is only as good as its team and a team with poor communication is sure to go over budget. Keeping your team informed of the project’s budget forecast will help encourage accountability and productivity and this will encourage open communication to promote ownership of the project. If employees care about a project’s outcome, they will subsequently produce stellar work.
We are Regur Technology Solutions take care of clients requirements and strive to connect each dot to develop a best possible solution for our customers in the most appropriate website development cost that has helped us a lot in building a strong rapport with our clients.
