How Much Should a Website Cost in 2022?
Your website is an essential part of your business, brand, and exposure. It would be wise to invest in a website. A website can typically range from $500 to roughly 100,000. Yes, that range is very wide. Below, you will find a breakdown of website options in 2022 and where each falls into the price range.
Website Option Breakdown: 4 Popular Website Options
- Web Application
- Custom Built Website
- Prebuilt CMS website
- Template Website Template Builder / Template DIY
Website Price Breakdown
Most Affordable – Template Builder / Template DIY
Best Option All-Around – Custom Website on a Prebuilt CMS
Most Custom Website Choice for Anyone – Custom-Built Website
Bringing Out the Big Guns. Our Choice for Large and Intricate Projects – Web Application
How much does a website cost for a small business in 2022?
A website for a small business in 2022 may typically cost around $2,000-$20,000 when created by a professional. Along with hosting, management, and maintenance fees, that price tag can range from as low as $20/month, up to $500+.
If you are a brand new business and your budget is holding you back, you can build a website yourself for much cheaper. Minus the upfront fee and cost per month, depending on the features and size of your website. However, there is no replacement for a professionally built website, and it will take the burden off of you. Let’s dive into what makes a difference in the cost of a website.
Custom Built Website
Your website is an essential part of your business brand and visibility. So it would make sense to invest some money into getting a professionally built website.
Most Custom Website Choice for Anyone
This type of website is built completely from scratch and can involve up to 200 hrs of work from designers, developers, and content creators. If we say the going rate for a developer is $80/hr(which is the average rate for a freelancer), that already puts us at $16,000. Most small businesses do not need a website of this size, and they will be in the $3,000-$5,000 range for a basic website.
This option does it all and has it all. We recommend this for medium to large operations that want the optimal experience. This includes but is not limited to, high security, full customization, the best User experience, and User Interface, advanced SEO integration, custom CMS, and more.
This option allows your users to get the full experience. Custom Websites can be built with your users in mind.
For instance, they may have an account within your website that includes personal files and important information. Your website would be able to handle that amount of traffic, usage, and bandwidth without lag or issues.
Ecommerce Website: How much does an e-commerce store cost?
If you are looking for a website with the purpose of an online store or an application that provides user login and scheduling functionality, it will likely have a more expensive price tag. Expect an online custom-built store (not on a CMS or any other platform) for a small business to be $5,000-$10,000+ depending on the size of the store.
A few big benefits to having a developer build a site for you:
It will look great and stand out. Your website will be customized to your needs and wants visually and functionally. Additionally, SEO is built into the site, decreasing the stress of a prebuilt client management system.
Web Application
Our Choice for Large and Intricate Projects.
A web application (think IOS or android app on a website) can be anywhere from $16,000-$60,000 for a mid-size application. A large corporation can expect to pay $100,000+ for an extensive, custom web application. These large applications are equipt for elevated user traffic, numerous amounts of data, storage, and more.
Custom Website on a Prebuilt CMS
WordPress, Shopify, etc. custom-built websites.
Best Option All-Around
Another way to get a professional website without having to pay as much for a custom-built website is to pay a developer to build a website on a CMS such as WordPress, Shopify, Wix, etc. This can extremely cut the cost of building a website and still get you a very professional website.
This option allows for adequate SEO integration, unique UX/UI, and a proper CMS (aka a Client Management System) without breaking the bank.
How much does a custom WordPress website cost? How much does a custom Shopify website cost?
Expect to pay anywhere from $1,000-$5,000 for a basic small business site custom-built on WordPress. For an e-commerce store built on WordPress, the cost can rage.
What is WooCommerce?
WordPress stores are built with a customizable open-source eCommerce platform called WooCommerce. It is specifically built for WordPress CMS. This platform allows a website to use the WordPress CMS while operating a fully functional e-commerce store. It is a reputable online store program along with WordPress is a leader in today’s client management systems. WordPress isn’t only for bloggers and non-eCommerce websites.
How much does a custom Shopify website cost?
Shopify can be a little more expensive due to the duration of building a custom online store. Building an online store, regardless if it is using a template builder or custom-built on a CMS, will be more costly.
Expect to pay $5,000+ for a custom eCommerce site built on Shopify, or WordPress with WooCommerce. When using a website builder, it is common to spend on plugins, applications, and integrations although there are many free and heavily used plugins on the market today.
What is the cheapest way to own a website?
Template Builder Website / Template DIY Website
Most Affordable Option
A template builder is a great option for someone on a budget. DIY Shopify is not recommended unless you or someone else in your business can handle all of the tasks that come with having a website. It can be a ton of work. Instead of paying the big build fee to a professional, it will cost much time, effort, and mid-level skills.
The big problems with template websites are that they all look the same and they usually don’t perform well for SEO. You don’t want to have your website blend into the thousands of unprofessional websites. With these options, you do get what you pay for.
To improve a template builder website, it would be wise to work with a suitable graphic designer to make graphics and visual elements. This will aid the visual component of your website.
Some plugins optimize for SEO, but that is an added cost per month and they still won’t do as well. If you are building a basic one-page site, then doing it yourself may work out in your favor, especially if you are on a budget. Many template builders offer an accurate idea of what your website should look like and how it will operate. These template websites are marketed as “easy to use”.
Learn more about the comparison of a template website and a custom website here.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, you will get what you pay for. If you spend on a custom-built website, you will have a high-quality and high-performing website. If you do it yourself, expect much work. There may be a learning curve to learning how to build a website properly, but much less of an investment. Contact our team today for help determining what option fits best for you.