How Much Should A Web Design Cost?

This is our most common question.

I’ll give you some hard figures below, but before I do that I’ll explain a bit.

I saw a client today for whom we’re looking at redesigning his existing site. We did the current site about 3 years ago.

• The current site is his biggest driver of business
• The current site generates sales that are x4 times more profitable than sales from other sources

It’s Not About The Design

Web design is only a small part of getting an operational web site.

Basically how it works is:

• we plan the site out with the client’s goals in mind (this is done with the client)
• we plan the structure of the site to ensure it’s logical and workable
• we have a site designed
• once the site has been approved we then ‘code’ the site – that is, make it into a html page
• we have the site checked in various browsers, screen resolutions, etc to make sure it works fine

That’s just the design.

Of course there is plenty of backwards and forwards with the client to get the right balance between looking good and being functional.

It’s Not About The Design (cont)

But, like I said, it’s not about the design.

You can have the most beautiful site in the world but if it doesn’t get found by the target market, then it’s a waste of money.

We get sites found.

Aside from search engine rankings, there are numerous ways a site can be found:

1. links from other sites
2. Pay Per Click advertising
3. e-newsletters
4. article distribution
5. and much more

Your site needs to be developed with these aspects in mind.

Convert Visitors To Buyers

Once the site is found you want to be sure that the site converts visitors to buyers – that’s where quality copy writing comes in.

Good copy writing is a time-intensive art. Prepare to pay good money for a quality copywriter.

What I’m Saying Is This

What I’m saying is this: anyone can design a web site. But to get a professional, well coded web site that works, well, that costs a little more.

What A Web Design Costs

Monster Template – a site where you find a site design you like and buy it for about $60 US. The sites are sometimes quite nice.

Remember, you need to get the site coded (they do come coded, but the code isn’t usually very good), pages replicated, content added, optimised for search engines, etc.

SitePoint Contests – another place to get a nice design, with the added bonus that you’ll have a number of designers competing for your work.

You give the brief and the guys and gals do some great work.

It will cost about $500 for an uncoded site and about $1,000 for a coded site.

A Design Firm

The huge advantage about using a design firm is that the designer will get your brief and provide a tremendous amount of added value to it.

Instead of, like with Monster Template and SitePoint, having to provide the full brief – even if you really don’t know what you’re talking about – when you engage a design pro, you get the advantage of having the opportunity to provide goals, needs, wants and then have a chat about the range of aspects that influence the design.

You’ll pay $2,000 for a quality coded site.

(Sure, you’ll find someone to do a full site for $200, but it will lack lots of the essential ingredients to make it successful.)

But remember, that’s just the design.

Then you still have all that other stuff to consider. Depending on what you want and need, the price, naturally enough, goes up.

Stand Out From The Crowd – Most Sites Fail

 

And when I say different I mean ‘successful’.

Hope that helps.