How Much Does a Website Cost?

(A Comprehensive Guide for 2024)

Written By: David Shaw

Small Business Web Developer

Updated:
September 17, 2024 10:54AM

Establishing a professional website involves multiple components, each contributing to the overall cost. Key factors to consider include domain registration, web hosting, and website design. When building a website, you have three primary options: using a website builder, leveraging WordPress, or hiring a professional web designer. This guide explores the various elements that influence website development costs, ensuring you’re fully prepared for the entire process.

Essential Website Costs: At a Glance

Setting up a website requires meeting several basic requirements, such as registering a domain name, selecting a web hosting provider, and designing the website—either by hiring a professional or using a DIY website builder platform. Additionally, securing an SSL certificate and incorporating other essential features like an e-commerce portal may be necessary.

While it’s possible to launch a website on a tight budget, it might lack critical components that make it search engine optimized (SEO), user-friendly, secure, and engaging for visitors. A well-crafted website ensures visitors trust your brand and are more likely to purchase products or services.

Domain Name	$0 to $20 per year
Web Hosting	$30 to $500 per year
Theme or Template	$0 to $100 (one-time fee)
Professional Web Design	$100 to $5,000-plus
DIY Website Builder	$100 to $400 per year
SSL Certificate	$0 to $249 per year

Domain Name

The domain name is your website’s foundation, serving as your online address (e.g., www.yourbusiness.com). Securing the right domain name is crucial, especially if you aim for a .com URL or a coveted top-level domain (TLD). Premium TLDs can be more expensive due to their prominence and memorability.

Registering usually entails an annual subscription from a domain registrar, ranging from anywhere between $12 to $60 a year. Keep in mind that some premium domains may cost a lot more depending on how popular the keywords in the domain are. Some domains sell for thousands of dollars. Most business owners find something that works for under $60.

Best Domain Name Services

	Namecheap	Domain.com	Hostinger	Bluehost
Rating
Promo Price	$8.88 first year	$9.99 first year	$0.99 first year	$12.99 first year
Regular Price	$16.99/year	$19.99/year	$14.99/year	$19.99/year
Standout Feature	Free WHOIS Privacy Protection	Extensive Domain Extension Selection	Extremely Affordable Pricing	Free Domain with Hosting

Note: Website builders like Wix and Squarespace often include a free domain for the first year with annual plans. In contrast, platforms like WordPress may require an additional fee for domain registration.

Web Hosting

A domain alone isn’t sufficient; you need web hosting to make your website accessible to visitors. Web hosting stores your website’s files and delivers them to users upon request. Hosting can be included in some website builder plans or purchased separately if you’re using platforms like WordPress.

With drag-and-drop website building sites, this is usually included in their annual subscription fee. But if you’re building the pages yourself or using WordPress, you will be required to subscribe to a website hosting service provider.

Best Web Hosting Services

	Hostinger	Bluehost	SiteGround	HostGator
Rating
Promo Price	$1.99 per month	$2.95 per month	$3.99 per month	$2.75 per month
Regular Price	$7.99 per month	$8.99 per month	$14.99 per month	$6.95 per month
Storage	100 GB	Unmetered	10 GB	Unmetered
Bandwidth	Unlimited	Unmetered	Unmetered	Unmetered
Free SSL Certificate	✓	✓	✓	✓
Free Domain Name	✓	✓	✓	✓
Learn More	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more

My Personal Favorite is Hostinger Promo Code

Web Hosting Considerations

• Traffic Volume: If your website attracts over 100,000 visitors per month, consider investing in a more robust hosting plan to prevent site crashes.

• Scalability: Start with a baseline plan and upgrade as your website grows.

• Dedicated Servers: For high-traffic websites, investing in dedicated servers can range from $5,000 to $20,000 per year, though this is typically unnecessary for smaller businesses.

DIY Website Design

Using website builders can be a cost-effective way to design your site, especially if you’re on a tight budget. These platforms offer drag-and-drop features that require minimal technical skills, allowing you to create a professional-looking website quickly.

Best Website Builder Platforms

	Squarespace	WordPress	Wix	Shopify
Rating
Promo Price	$16 per month	$4 per month	$14 per month	$29 per month
Regular Price	$23 per month	$8 per month	$18 per month	$39 per month
E-commerce Price	$27-$49/m	$25-$35/m	$23-$49/m	$399 per month
Free Prebuilt Templates	500+	8,000+	5,000+	70+
Web Hosting Included	✓	✓	✓	✓
Free SSL Certificate	✓	✓	✓	✓
Free Domain Name	✓	X	✓	X
Learn More	Read review	Read review	Read review	Read review

Key Features of DIY Website Builders

• Prebuilt Templates: Access to hundreds or thousands of professionally designed templates tailored to various industries.

• Free Hosting: Hosting is included in all plans, simplifying the setup process.

• Free SSL Certificates: Ensure your website is secure without additional costs.

• Free Domain: Often included for the first year with annual subscriptions, reducing initial expenses.

• E-commerce Integration: Robust tools to set up and manage online stores, including inventory management and payment gateways.

DIY vs. Professional Design

While DIY website builders offer affordability and ease of use, they come with limited customization compared to WordPress or custom-built websites. For unique design aesthetics, hiring a professional web designer familiar with HTML and CSS may be necessary, typically costing between $50 to $100+ per hour.

Professional Website Designers

You might decide that building the website on your own just isn’t your cup of tea. That’s fine as long as you know that it will cost you more to have the site built. Hiring a professional website designer can take a huge burden off your shoulders and provide you with a unique and beautiful website.

Designers can charge per hour or a flat rate for the allotted project. But you’ll want someone who has a strong portfolio, as there will be fewer design reverts, and you’re more likely to get what you envisioned for your website. When working with a designer, it helps to show them the types of websites that you like that would be similar to yours. This gives the designer a starting point. Also, go over color schemes to make sure the site fits your brand and what you want to show your readers.

Costs can vary widely depending on experience and the needs of the project, but it’s not uncommon to get quotes between $30 and $100-plus an hour.

SSL

Many small businesses don’t realize how important it is to sign up for a secure sockets layer (SSL) service provider. An SSL certificate is a digital authentication of your website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection for security purposes. It’s also required to accept online payments, so any online store will need an SSL.

SSL certification means that your visitors are protected from unwanted cyberattacks. Some browsers will divert users away from websites without SSL certification with the message, “This site may not be secure.” For most visitors, this is enough to deter them from clicking through to the site. This certificate changes your site from an HTTP to an HTTPS prefix in the web domain, showing web browsers that you have invested in security for the website.

In many instances, you can get an SSL certificate for free through your web hosting provider. However, you can opt to purchase an SSL certificate from a third-party provider as well.

Best SSL Services

	GlobalSign	DigiCert	Sectigo	Let’s Encrypt
Rating
Promo Price	$249 per year	$199 per year	$50 per year	Free
Regular Price	$599 per year	$399 per year	$150 per year	Free
Types of SSL	DV, OV, EV, Wildcard, Multi-Domain	DV, OV, EV	DV, OV, EV, Wildcard, Multi-Domain	DV only

SSL also helps with search engine optimization (SEO) and the flow of data to and from the site. Fees for SSL vary from free to around $249 a year. Some website builders include this certificate at no additional cost, so consider that a valuable perk if you see it offered. Either way, you’ll want your website to have an SSL certificate to gain the confidence of readers from around the web.

Additional Costs To Consider

As with everything in life, there are always extras to consider before hitting upload on the back end of your website. Here are some of the most common.

Add-ons and Plugins

Whether you’ve subscribed to a website-building site, using WordPress or are looking to venture into e-commerce, you will likely need add-ons known as plugins. These plugins can enable features such as on-page testimonials, contact forms and newsletter subscriptions, just to name a few.

There are loads of free versions as well as paid plugins. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide what features are worth spending money on. Depending on the new function you want, it could be free or an annual subscription fee of $100-plus per year.

Use plugins sparingly. The more plugins you add to your site, the more the site needs to process information prior to loading. This can slow speeds down. That isn’t good for a user experience or SEO. Only add plugins that you feel will enhance your visitors’ experience while on the site. Regularly update plugins to make sure they meet the most current standards and speeds. Delete any plugins that you are no longer using.

Hiring a Webmaster

If you plan to roll out a large website, you may need to consider hiring a webmaster or content manager. This individual will manage and maintain the website, as well as manage and update site content.

The cost to hire a webmaster or content manager varies by which role best suits your organization’s needs, whether you want to hire an individual full-time, part-time or on a contractual basis. In some instances, it could involve a couple of hours per month, or for a full-time position it could be upwards of $6,500 per month.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your website needs to rank well on Google. Unfortunately, this doesn’t just happen by chance. It takes work.

If you’re looking at ranking your website on the first page of search engine results pages (SERPs), you may need to hire a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist. This may cost anywhere between $500 to $6,000 per month. It depends on how much work you need them to do on content and web pages. The more pages that you need to optimize, the more an SEO expert will cost.

This individual will assist in recommending content and what keywords you want to rank for and providing monthly reports of how the strategy is working. If you’re using WordPress to host your content, you’ll get far more flexibility, but also, WordPress sites generally rank better on Google.

Another benefit of hiring an SEO specialist is that they should inform you whether any of your site’s pages are experiencing issues such as a 404 code (“Page Not Found”). Errors are not good for a user’s experience and thus can harm your SEO rankings if not properly addressed.

Images and Design

Another cost associated with creating a website is the artwork. Whether it’s your company’s corporate image, product shots or lifestyle shots, these assets can add up quickly. While you can tap into royalty-free images for free from stock image sites such as Pexels or Pixabay, they won’t separate your business from the competition.

Royalty-free images, though, are cheaper than having a photoshoot. A royalty-free image can range from free to $100, while a product photoshoot might cost between $25 and $500 an hour for a photographer to capture unique images for your website.

If you’re able, it is always worth your time to hire a photographer to take images of your offerings, hire a graphic designer or subscribe to an extensive stock library such as Shutterstock. As a rule of thumb, make sure that the professionals you hire to assist you with your website know what they are doing. A simple mistake can shut down your website and, in turn, lose you revenue.

Web Design Tips and Examples

Many of the drag-and-drop platforms make designing your own website quick and easy. However, some might prefer to hand over the design elements to another person or company. Here are some industry guides that will help you determine if you want to jump in to design yourself or hire another party to do it:

Website Costs by Industry

Your website build may cost a different amount depending on the industry you are in. Certain industries will require certain elements to be integrated, and this may add to the ultimate cost when handing the design elements over. Of course, the number of total pages also affects the cost and work that must be done to get the website up and running.

Business Type	Web Design Costs	Annual Site Maintenance Costs
Startup Business Website (Up to 5 Pages)	$500 to $2,000	Up to $500
Small Business Website (Up to 16 Pages)	$2,000 to $9,000	Up to $1,200
Corporate Website (Up to 75 Pages)	$10,000 to $35,000	Up to $15,000
E-Commerce Website (Up to 1,000 Products)	$5,000 to $55,000	Up to $30,000
Website Application (Up to 2,000 Pages)	$6,000 to $75,000	Up to $60,000

Keep in mind that these costs are handing over the website completely for another party to design, code and maintain. Many website owners will start with a bootstrapped budget and keep as many things in-house as possible. As the business grows, they will upgrade and hand off some of the management to another party to maintain. It makes sense to save money while you’re new and growing and invest in more elements as you have more revenues.

Most websites will fall into the first category of Small Business Websites. This is an informational website that has some information about the company, its missions, its history and its products or services. It may have a purchase shopping cart or response form to fill out to make it easy for visitors to buy or get more information about its products or services.

Corporate websites are more in-depth and may have studies they cite or independent research added to the pages. Because there are more pages involved, the costs go up.

E-commerce websites are another common website. Many website owners on a budget will use a subscription service such as Shopify for $29 per month to get started. As they grow their business, they may look to get custom solutions that enhance the users’ experience.

The most expensive website is an application. This involves a lot of coding to make things happen. You may develop your own customer relationship management (CRM) to manage content and content providers on the platform. A custom solution will cost more than buying a template and integrating it.

Bottom Line

Depending on the project’s scope, whether you require updates and need unique functionality, the costs of a website can vary widely. If you’re willing to invest the time to learn new skills, it is accomplished cheaply and fairly easily with an all-in-one website builder. But if you want professional assistance or lots of extra functionality, the costs can add up quickly. Many new website owners will try to keep things in-house as much as possible until they have the revenues to justify paying another party for upgrades and maintenance.