How Much Will It Cost to Build a Website in 2022? (A Reference Guide)
Do you want to know how much it costs to make a website? It’s one of the first inquiries we hear from new website owners.
In all honesty, putting a price tag on it is tricky because it relies on your budget and the goals you’ve established for your organization.
That being said, in this post, we’ll show you how much it costs to develop a website from scratch, as well as which tools you can utilize to keep costs down.
I’ve divided the story into sections because it’s a long read, so you can skip ahead if you wish. Let’s get started!
- Which Tools Will You Require to Create a Website?
- Plan and calculate the cost of developing a website.
- How Much Does a Website for a Small Business Cost?
- How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Complex Website?
- How Much Does It Cost to Build an eCommerce Store?
- Avoiding Overpayment When Building a Website
Which Tools Will You Require to Create a Website?
You don’t have to engage experienced web designers and developers with technical understanding to create a website. There are several web-based tools available to help you create a DIY (do-it-yourself) website.
However, if you don’t choose the correct tools, you’ll waste money on items you don’t require.
That is why i have compiled a list of tools for estimating how much does a website cost. Here are three items you’ll need regardless of the sort of website you’re creating:
- The domain name
- Website builder
- Hosting a website
The Domain Name
A domain name is a website address that people input into their browsers, such as www.yourdomain.com or www.sojinsamuel.medium.com. It is also the URL that displays in search results when someone searches for your website.
Once you’ve decided on a domain name, it’s time to register it. You can use the same name for a year after registering your domain.
When choosing a domain name, be sure to include the appropriate extensions, such as .com, .org, .co, or .net.
If you are an organization,.org is ideal. However, according to one survey, 52 percent of websites have a .com extension, indicating that they are more popular and relevant to visitors.
Remember that because your domain name registration is only valid for one year, you must renew it each year. However, if you do not renew your domain name, it will expire and become available for use by someone else.
The Website Builder
After obtaining a domain name, it is time to use a website builder. Whether you’re a newbie or an expert with years of expertise, using website builders makes creating a website a breeze.
Using a website builder provides numerous customization choices and allows you to create a website exactly as you want it. It also aids in the addition of crucial features such as plugins and SEO tags.
There are several website builders to choose from:
- WordPress — You may wonder if it is possible to create a website for free. Thanks to WordPress, the answer is yes. It’s open-source and completely free, and all you need to get started is a name and web hosting. I recommend WordPress because it is simple to use, more than 30% of website owners use it, and it provides you total control over your website.
- Shopify is a great platform for creating an eCommerce website. It provides appealing themes (both free and premium), as well as a straightforward interface for creating a storefront, shopping cart, and managing your business.
- Web.com is one of the first and most well-known website builders for small businesses. Since 1999, they’ve assisted 3 million consumers in creating a website for a very low cost. It has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder and a plethora of ready-made website designs to help you get started quickly.
Website Hosting
The next step in determining how much it costs to establish a website is to choose a web hosting service. Web hosting is where you keep all of your website’s photographs, videos, files, and other material. Consider it a home for your website.
Assume a person wants to visit your website and enters the domain name into their browser. The user is subsequently forwarded to the web hosting server, which stores all of your website’s content.
Furthermore, it is through web hosting’s internet connectivity that your website is accessible to users around the clock and from any location.
You’ll come across several sorts of web hosting providers while you develop your website. Shared hosting, managed hosting, cloud hosting, and more services are available.
So, which kind of web hosting should you go with? Let us investigate.
Hosting that is shared
Shared hosting refers to the arrangement in which your website shares a web server with several other websites. Consider it like renting an apartment in a skyscraper.
The advantage of having shared hosting is that it is relatively inexpensive and quite simple to administer your website, domain, and emails.
If you have a small business, personal blog, or a low-traffic website, shared hosting is a wonderful place to start.
On the negative, shared hosting is slower and less secure than managed hosting.
Some shared hosting services may cause website outages and poor page loading owing to delayed server response time. The security protections are also not very powerful, as a security flaw on another website might hurt yours as well.
However, not all services are horrible.
Bluehost — The Best Shared Hosting Alternative
Bluehost is one of the most established and well-known shared hosting providers. WordPress even officially recommends it. Bluehost is ideal for new website developers or small company owners.
And if you’re wondering how much does a website cost, Bluehost is affordable and packed with intriguing features like:
- Provides a free one-year domain.
- SSL certificate for free
- Business emails for free
- With its cPanel interface, it is quite simple to use.
- Customer service is available 24/7 (My favorite Part).
- WordPress websites may be installed with a single click.
Hosting that is managed
Managed hosting is when a managed hosting firm handles all of your web hosting needs. Consider your website to be a mansion with a driver, security staff, servants, and maintenance crew.
Managed hosting is superior to shared hosting in terms of power and flexibility. The managed hosting business will handle the security, upgrades, and backup of your WordPress website’s files and data.
Most businesses also provide specialized or premium customer service, allowing you to reach out and handle any issue at any time.
Although managed hosting offers advantages, it is more expensive than shared hosting. It is only accessible for WordPress websites, and some businesses may prohibit you from utilizing plugins that may slow down your website.
WP Engine — The Best Managed Hosting Alternative
WP Engine is a well-known managed WordPress hosting provider. It will maintain the health and functionality of your WordPress website, keeping it fast and safe. WP Engine provides the following outstanding features:
- Genesis Framework for Free
- StudioPress WordPress themes (35+)
- SSL certificates generated automatically
- Backup your website every day.
- Security updates are performed automatically.
- Customer service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by live chat, phone, and tickets.
Now that you know what tools you’ll need, let’s look at how to calculate the cost of creating a website.
Plan and calculate the cost of developing a website.
Before you begin building a website, it’s critical to organize the process based on your objectives, otherwise you risk overpaying.
Before you begin, ask yourself the following questions to get an idea of how much a website costs:
1. What features do you require?
It is critical to understand the features you would like to have on your website. I recommend that you write them down since they will assist you in determining the exact cost.
Some features may necessitate the use of a paid plugin, while others may necessitate the development process. As a result, if you have a list of features available, you may prioritize the most vital ones and save money.
2. Should you employ a designer or utilize a pre-made theme?
Using a pre-built theme is the quickest and easiest method to get started. There are several themes available from various website builders that will help you save money.
However, if you want a website to appear and function a certain way, keep in mind that website design costs are incredibly costly, especially if you choose for a custom-built website.
You would need to pay an expert to create a tailored website that operates exactly how you want it to. Hiring a skilled web developer might cost anything from $20 to $100 per hour.
3. Do you have a sufficient budget to begin?
It’s important to double-check your budget after listing the features, determining which paid plugins you require, and finishing the website design.
Many website initiatives fail because they overpay and go over budget. That is why it is critical to keep the costs as low as possible in the outset.
After you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to start building your website. To assist you, I’ve divided the expenditures into the following categories:
- How much does it cost to construct a website for a small business?
- How much does it cost to design a sophisticated website?
- How much does an eCommerce business website cost?
How Much Does a Website for a Small Business Cost?
A basic website for a small business may be built for between $100 and $500. However, depending on your objectives, this cost may rise. A custom-built website with several features might cost up to $30,000 or more.
You’ll need a domain name and web hosting to get started with a company website. A domain normally costs $14.99 per year, and site hosting costs roughly $7.99 per month. When you add them all together, the cost of developing a website is $110.87 each year.
Because this fee may be too expensive for many individuals, I’ve partnered with Bluehost to provide our customers with a free domain, free SSL for added protection, and up to 60% off web hosting.
As previously said, Bluehost is the finest shared hosting provider and is also recommended by WordPress. You may save money while developing a website with its excellent features and inexpensive rates.
You may save even more money on website development by using free WordPress plugins and a free theme. Here are a few free plugins from the WordPress source.
Marketing
- WPForms Lite: Use contact forms to create leads on your website.
- Create stunning coming soon pages with SeedProd Lite.
- RafflePress allows you to create and host prizes on your website.
- MonsterInsights (free): Connects your website to Google Analytics to help you make data-driven decisions.
Performance
- Improve your search engine ranks and optimize your website for SEO using AIOSEO.
- W3 Total Cache: Improve the performance, speed, and user experience of your WordPress website.
Security
- Stop spam comments on your website using Akismet.
- UpdraftPlus is a free website backup plugin.
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Complex Website?
Your website will develop with time, and in order to keep up with the rising number of visitors, you will need to add additional features. This will raise your costs because sophisticated features may necessitate the use of expensive plugins and may necessitate the use of a more capable web hosting provider.
You may keep using Bluehost, but for a more complicated website, i recommend choosing a managed hosting provider like WP Engine or switching to SiteGround (GoGeek plan).
SiteGround is somewhat more expensive than Bluehost, but its GoGeek plan includes premium features like as quicker speed, 30 GB of web space, staging, and the ability to handle up to 100,000 visitors per month.
Consider selecting a premium theme while developing an advanced website. Almost every website builder, such as WordPress, provides premium themes with more built-in functionality, priority customer support, and a more professional appearance.
In terms of plugins, here are some premium WordPress plugins to help you expand your website.
Marketing
OptinMonster: Assists in converting abandoned website visitors into leads.
MonsterInsights Pro: Monitor how visitors interact with your website and utilize the information to make smart decisions.
WPForms Pro: Use its simple drag-and-drop builder to create contact forms, polls and surveys, order forms, and more.
Sendinblue is a comprehensive marketing toolkit that includes advanced capabilities such as email marketing, live chat, and CRM.
AIOSEO Pro: Improve search engine visibility with sophisticated tools such as video sitemaps, redirection manager, and 404 error tracking.
Design of a Website
- SeedProd: Use its drag-and-drop builder to create gorgeous landing pages for your website. It also has the capabilities of coming soon and maintenance mode.
- CSS Hero: Change the complete design of your website without any code.
- Envira Gallery: Assists you in creating a responsive photo and video gallery.
- Embed social network feeds on your website, according to Smash Balloon.
Emails
Constant Contact: The greatest email marketing plugin for growing and managing your email list.
Drip: One of the greatest WordPress email marketing plugins.
Security
Sucuri: The greatest WordPress security plugin that prevents viruses and hackers from assaulting your website.
BackupBuddy allows you to create backups of your website, store data elsewhere, and restore it in minutes.
These are just a few of the premium plugins available; there are many more. However, the overall cost of developing a sophisticated website ranges from $500 to $1000 every year, depending on how many plugins you utilize.
How Much Does It Cost to Build an eCommerce Store?
If you’re thinking of starting an internet business and expecting it to cost millions of dollars, you’re mistaken. Starting an eCommerce store is simple, and you won’t have to empty your bank account.
It’s even easier and less expensive than opening a physical business. You may also reach a much larger and more global audience by going online.
Like any other website, an eCommerce site will require a domain name and web hosting. I recommend choosing Bluehost’s WooCommerce package because you’ll be starting from scratch.
Bluehost WooCommerce plans have appealing features to help you launch and expand your online business. Here are some of its characteristics:
- One year of free domain registration
- Secure your online payments with a free SSL certificate.
- Themes for storefronts
- WooCommerce is pre-installed with WordPress.
- IP address that is dedicated
- 24/7 committed client service
You may use the free plugins provided previously in the section on constructing a website for small companies for plugins. You can also add premium WooCommerce plugins for extra features and to help your business develop.
As a result, the total cost of launching an eCommerce shop is roughly $190 each year. This may increase when you begin to use paid plugins and addons.
Avoiding Overpayment When Building a Website
Overspending while building a website is quite simple, and it might lead to your website’s demise before it ever begins. That is why it is critical to stick to your budget. Here are some pointers to get you started:
- Begin small and gradually expand your website. Start with free themes and plugins and then upgrade to premium items as your website grows.
- Prioritize critical features to stay inside your budget. It’s easy to get drawn in by a feature you saw on another website and then invest money on website development charges just to discover it’s useless.
- Improve the user experience on your website. Make sure your website, no matter how little, works quickly and smoothly on all devices.
And there you have it!
We hope you enjoyed my detailed breakdown of how much it costs to build a website.
If you’re interested, you can also read my 10+ Infographic Hacks You Wish You Had Known Decades Ago.
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