How Much Does A Website Cost in the UK?
How Much Does A Website Really Cost?
That is the defining question we all like to ask! Well, when it comes to creating a website, the term “you get what you pay for” really is put into place. If you’re hoping for a prize-winning website that’s dynamic and eye-catching; you’re unlikely to recreate similar effects using free website templates, but web design service costs do vary tremendously!
Comparison Of Different Website Designs And Their Costs
In many ways you could compare website designs to cars.
How?
The top-of-the-range, all-singing, all-dancing sites are like exclusive sports cars. They’re fast, reliable, feature many gadgets and most of all, engage visitors. Upmarket sites purr along like BMWs or Mercedes; they look professional and have high success and conversion rates. Everyday websites might be looked on as the runaround cars that chug along and provide a basic design and minimum details, these need a lot of work and extra features if success is to be achieved. Finally, free template designs and website hosting plans are similar to those cheap, second-hand cars, being unreliable and unlikely to be found by search engines.
So, what does this car metaphor mean for the costs of different website designs? Let’s take a look!
BASIC BROCHURE WEBSITES
SECOND-HAND VEHICLE TYPE WEBSITES (£0 – £1000)
You could compare DIY websites to second-hand cars; these sites are often built using standard templates offered by web-building platforms and can be very similar to each other. Platforms like Wix and Weebly are popular for DIY site creation. Owners will only need to pay for domain hosting, which could cost anything from zero up to around £1000. It is possible to build your own eye-catching website using web-building platforms; however these sites take a lot of time, effort and creativity. DIY sites also have a large amount of limitations. If you’re on a very tight budget of under £1,000 then consider using a DIY site.
CUSTOM BROCHURE WEBSITES
EVERYDAY RUNAROUND STYLE WEBSITES (£1,000 – £5,000)
Typically, small business websites could be compared to your run of the mill, runaround vehicle. These sites usually cost between £1,000 and £5,000 to build; although developer costs do vary. They generally feature a fair amount of business information; such as employee bios and downloadable product data. These will usually have integration with social media sites, Google Maps and Google Analytics. Hiring a website developer to build these sorts of sites helps to create a visual brand image and add a professional touch.
ECOMMERCE WEBSITES OR CUSTOM FEATURE WEBSITES
BMW OR MERCEDES STYLE WEBSITES (£3,000 – £25,000)
E-commerce websites and custom bespoke websites could be a typical example of the luxury, professional style epitomised by BMWs or Mercedes. The most popular e-commerce sites need to be slick and professional in order to attract customers and integrate the entire order management system. These sites also provide a higher level of functionality and would cost between £3,000 to £40,000 (the most we’ve done) to design and build.
ALL-SINGING-ALL-DANCING WEBSITES
SPORTS CAR WEBSITES (£10,000 – £50,000+)
You could consider the bespoke websites created by larger companies as upmarket sports cars in the world of website design. These sites are custom created; tailored to meet the needs of individual corporations. They can be lead generating websites or Ecommerce, either way, they are perfectly moulded for their intended purpose. These sites don’t feature any of the standard website templates that are common to smaller sites and tend to require advanced functionality. Some of these sites are database driven and update content on an automated basis as a result of customer interactions. Websites of this nature can cost from around £10,000 to £50,000 + to produce.
What are the differences in hiring a digital agency or a freelancer?
Now that the whole car metaphor is out of the way, let’s consider some another aspect which may affect the cost of a website: hiring a digital agency or a freelancer. We can start by throwing out some thoughts on the matter, before we get to that pesky price:
An Agency:
- Will have a whole team working for their clients. Agencies will have a team of people focused solely on the design of your website who are fully skilled in this single component.
- Will cover marketing and SEO to an extremely high standard. Even if you have an exceptional site, it will be worthless if people are unable to find your site on search engines. If wanted, an agency will continue working with you and set up a marketing strategy to ensure success for your business.
- Will once again have a team of people who will be ready for any questions and queries; normally having an individual dedicated to your website.
A Freelancer:
- Will take on all the components on an individual basis. A freelancer may still be skilled in a few fields, although it is rare to find a freelancer who is fluent in all areas.
- May have many clients and be stretched between communicating to them all on their own; this can effect the communication quality and quantity.
The cost comparison between freelancers and Agencies
If you felt like the last part was too harsh; well, freelancers do tend to be cheaper than digital agencies in terms of hourly or daily rates but this isn’t always reflected in the end cost. It all varies on whether you have a time limit, a tight budget, a larger budget, etc!
- A freelancer will on average charge around £25 – £50 per hour or £200 – £300 per day.
- A digital agency will on average charge around £50 – £200 per hour or £300 – £1000 per day.
When looking at the prices above it’s clear to see a freelancer is cheaper than an agency on paper, but, in the long run they may be more expensive! A freelancer is only one person creating a site; meaning the length of time taken will be significantly increased compared to that of a team of people. An agency will normally have more experience due to a larger client base and a wider range of websites. This enables an agency to have more skills to create your desired site, especially if you require bespoke components.
OUTSOURCING FOR YOUR SITE?
Alright, i know what you’re thinking: outsource?
Lets be honest and go on the record to say that there are many problems when outsourcing from cheaper countries for your website:
- Unable to meet with face to face.
- Time inconsistencies and delays.
- Language barrier may be a problem when communicating your desired requests.
- Harder to source a trustworthy company to share your data with.
- Although cheaper there can be hidden costs you are unaware of until completion due to terms and conditions not being stated.
Overall; if you’re looking for a site with all components taken into account, a digital agency would be the better choice. If price is an issue remember an hourly/daily rate isn’t always as clear as it seems.
