Factors that can impact cost of website design

When planning a new website, one of the first questions that comes to mind is "How much will it cost?" The reality is that website design and development costs can vary widely, ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens or even hundreds of thousands.

This significant price range stems from the many factors that can influence the complexity, scope, and resources required to build a website. Also the nature of some of the design and development tasks can be agile. Meaning we may not know all the answers until the site is partly developed.

Just as cars can range from basic models to luxury vehicles with advanced features, websites similarly span a spectrum from simple informational pages to complex, custom-built platforms with extensive functionality. The final cost depends on your specific needs, goals, and desired capabilities for the site. Some companies might only need a sedan, some a race car and others a truck.

In this article, we'll explore some of the key factors that impact website design and development costs, helping you understand what drives pricing and allowing you to better plan and budget for website projects.

Brief and scope

The more project clarity and definition the better. A well-defined project scope helps agencies accurately estimate time and resources needed, which is also leading to more precise cost estimates. Clear briefs also reduce the risk of misunderstandings and costly changes later in the project.

Size, complexity and technical requirements

Logically larger sites with complex technical requirements cost more than just simple 4 page brochure sites. More complex requirements typically result in higher costs due to increased development, discovery and expertise.

For example, websites with eCommerce or membership based functionality are more expensive to build. Factors like affiliate programs, user accounts, payment gateways, shipping provider, accounting or stock keeping software integrations will certainly increase the build cost.

System choice

There are thousands of different systems in the marketplace. Sites can be built using bespoke development, SaaS (Software as a Service) or open source software.

Each of those systems and methods come with their own individual capabilities and monthly hosting or maintenance cost.

When selecting a system, scalability and future-proofing also comes into the frame.

Mature SaaS technologies with robust frameworks and libraries can accelerate development, potentially reducing overall costs.

Resource: Web technologies explained - Software as a Service vs Open Source vs Bespoke Development

Brand development

Brand development is an important factor that can significantly influence website design and development costs. A detailed and well-defined brand identity requires more customisation to meet all the design and layout requirements, which can increase the costs.

Branding elements that can impact website costs include logo design or refresh, brand building such as developing colour schemes, typography, iconography and images. This can even involve defining a brand voice and communication style.

Copywriting and content editing

Depending on the quality and amount of copy supplied by the client, copywriting can be as simple as making a few copy edits or writing some eye-catching marketing copy.

However incorporating brand storytelling and messaging throughout the website often requires additional copywriting skills and time. Good quality content is not only critical to keeping a user's attention but also for funnelling them to where you want them to go and search engine rankings. There are many levels of content development that can impact the costs.

Image formatting

Costs are dependent on how images are supplied. If the images need to be resized, cropped, contoured or saved for use on the web with new names for search rankings, then this will impact the costs.

The amount of images uploaded on the web server can also impact server storage cost.

Resource: The importance of images for websites and what to look out for

Photo shoots and stock image research

Dedicated photo shoots for lifestyle, staff or product images as well as the amount of research required to search for stock images will have an impact on cost.

Not all stock images are royalty free, some also come with licensing fees. When using images make sure you are not infringing any copyrights or licensing.

Resource: Image copyright and what to look out for

Content migration

When content is migrated across from another website it may not fit the format of the new website and may need to be altered to fit the user experience, marketing aims and call to actions on the new website. This can also add to the budget.

Technical SEO

Implementing technical SEO best practices requires extra time and expertise during the development process, which increases costs.

Items like server setup, coding practice, page speed, sitemap, robots.txt, touch icons, structured data, schema markup, accessibility, url structures and much more need to be optimised.

Resource: How to plan and implement a successful SEO Strategy?

Content marketing / SEO

The deeper an agency or developer has to dive into Search Engine Optimisation and Content Marketing the more time they need to spend. This can include keyword and competitor research, copywriting, optimising titles, headers, body text and more.

Bespoke development

Bespoke development means that an application or website is built from scratch to meet specific requirements. This method takes more time and expertise compared to using off-the-shelf software solutions.

Tasks like upfront planning, requirements gathering, and analysis to ensure the solution meets specific business needs also adds time.

API Integrations

Custom API integrations require significant development time and expertise. Some API’s also come with ongoing subscription fees based on usage.

Third party plugins and tools

The use of third-party tools can significantly increase website build costs, especially for more complex sites.

Integrating such tools often requires additional development time especially if these plugins need to be customised.

WordPress for example heavily depends on plugins. Without them it is essential just a blogging tool with web pages. Every bit of additional functionality needs to be added using plugins. Some can be accessed for free but most of the time they come with a one-off cost or ongoing subscription fees. The cheaper the plugin the more unreliable it can be.

Deadlines

Tight deadlines or urgent projects may require additional resources which will most likely increase the costs.

Rounds of revisions and changes

More rounds of revisions and final changes typically mean more time and therefore extra costs.

Maintenance and support

Depending on the system long-term maintenance and support might be needed and will influence ongoing costs. For example WordPress sites need constant security, system and plugin updates.

Conclusion

Understanding these factors can help businesses better estimate their budgets and make informed decisions when planning a website project.

At Flux Creative we use multiple systems and platforms. When building sites for our clients we make sure the system we choose best suits the business case, future needs and budget.

Feel free to reach out to our team to organise a consultation.