How Much Does a Website Cost?

One of the side effects of the current economy is that clients want to bargain with me more and usually start out their conversations by saying “I can’t afford to pay much”. What they don’t say is what “not much” means. When I ask how much they have budgeted it isn’t an attempt to find out how much I can get away with charging them its a way of finding out how much they can spend. That way I can tell them honestly what they will get for their money. At that point they have the option of saying either “Well, I really do need something more so perhaps I can add a little to  the budget” or “I really don’t need anything that complicated so we’ll go with the more basic project”.

At rr.interactive I do one to two pro bono projects a year for non profits or charities and I may give a break here and there if there is nothing else going on but for the most part I have an hourly rate I have to charge in order to keep my business afloat. To charge less might have me working 24 hours a day. Considering the fact that clients are taking longer to pay and that some aren’t paying at all my work week has already extended to 7 days and my work days – well you don’t want to know about those – suffice it to say I start my day at a ridiculously early hour.

This back and forth about the cost of a website has gotten frequent enough that I have added a price range list to the contact form on my website. My feeling is that if a potential client sees that they have a choice anywhere between $500 and $20,000+ they might not be afraid to really choose the one they think is the closest. If I publish what they will usually get for that there is no question about whether they could have gotten more for less.

Here are a couple of additional thoughts:

Consider how much a client that you obtain through your website is worth? Several clients?

Compare the cost of print advertising that runs once and is usually discarded to a website that represents you 24 hours a day 7 days a week and has the capacity to represent you more fully than a print ad can. For instance a full-page ad on a local magazine costs $1500. A small business can often get a decent website for that.

Last – You really do get what you pay for. When you pay a little more for someone experienced you are paying someone who can explain and is familiar with the pros and cons of different options ranging from hosting providers to content management and shopping cart systems. We can anticipate your plan for growth and ensure you don’t have to start from the beginning when you do. We are not as likely to disappear down the road when you want changes or updates. You’ll receive regular support.