How much does it cost to make a website for a small business? You undoubtedly have a million things to do when operating a small business. Is creating and updating a corporate website one of them, though? You are not alone if you don’t.
As well as taking time and money, website creation requires both. Depending on how much outside assistance you employ, you can budget anywhere between $500 and $5,000 for the creation of a website. Many small business owners are left questioning whether it is worthwhile as a result.
In light of this, we’ll discuss the cost of building a website from scratch in this piece, along with several methods you may utilize to cut costs while maintaining room for growth.
Determining Your Website Goals and Requirements
Determining your goals and the essential aspects of your small company website will help you create it. Do you want to directly drive sales, get more leads, or raise brand awareness? Defining your goals upfront will help guide how complex your site needs to be.
There are three methods for creating a website:
- Using a website builder
- WordPress
- Hiring a qualified designer
The approach you take will have an impact on how much developing your website will ultimately cost; website builders are by far the least expensive choice. Therefore, if you want to save money, we suggest using a web builder.
If you decide to utilize a website builder, the monthly cost might be as low as $9.99; however, utilizing the SEO services for WordPress raises the cost to somewhere between $11 and $50. With an initial cost of nearly $10,000, hiring a website designer is the most expensive choice.
Factors That Influence Website Development Costs for Small Businesses
When starting a small business, it is essential to have a website that is SEO-optimized. The prices can differ significantly based on a number of variables.
The design and features you want play a big role. A simple 5- to 10-page site with basic functionality may only run $5,000–$10,000. Costs rise as a site becomes more complicated.
Hiring an agency vs. DIY
Doing it yourself is appealing to save money, but for SEO, it often pays to hire pros. Agency fees typically start around $5,000–$15,000 for a small business site. They have the expertise to do it right the first time, optimizing for search engines and maximizing your investment. If the budget is tight, hire an agency just for the initial setup, then take over minor updates yourself.
The location of your web developers or agency also impacts the price. Costs tend to be higher in places like Silicon Valley than in smaller cities. Don’t assume higher costs always mean higher quality, though. Some boutique agencies in smaller areas may charge less but do amazing work.
At the end of the day, a good SEO website is worth the investment. It’s how your customers will find you and interact with your brand. Focus on value over cost, but set a budget and get multiple bids. With some research, you can find quality web help for your small business at a price that won’t break the bank.
Estimating Your Budget for a Custom SEO Website
With a lot of work and effort, a reasonable monthly budget for SEO can be as low as $0 or as high as $1,000 for small firms that want decent service. However, the majority of individuals who spend on basic SEO fall in the $100–$300 per month bracket. You can absolutely wind up paying more, even significantly more, for older, larger sites.
Create and Design
Hiring a web designer and developer to create your site will account for the majority of the expense. They will design the layout, pick themes and images that are visually appealing, and make sure all the technical elements—such as forms, e-commerce, and SEO—are done correctly. Budget $3,000 to $10,000 for the design and construction of a website with about 5 pages.
Content Creation
Well-written and informative content is key for search ranking, so plan on paying $500 to $3,000 for a professional content writer to create service descriptions, blog posts, and other content for your new site. They can also optimize the content for SEO by including important keywords, internal links, and sharing options.
SEO Strategy
An SEO strategist will analyze your business goals and target customers to determine the best keywords and strategies to rank your site.
Conclusion
The price of a website might vary significantly depending on the project’s complexity, your demand for updates, and its particular features. An all-in-one website builder makes it reasonably simple and inexpensive to acquire new abilities if you’re prepared to put in the effort to do so. The expenses, however, might pile up rapidly if you require expert assistance or a lot of additional features. Before they have the money to support paying a third party for upgrades and maintenance, many new website owners will attempt to handle as much of it themselves.
Additionally, you’ll see an improvement in your search ranks and a healthy return on your investment by consistently maintaining and enhancing the site. Therefore, don’t let sticker shock prevent you from taking this vital step to improve your web exposure and grow your business.
The majority of small business budgets can easily afford an SEO website with the appropriate partner and strategy.
