Website Design Cost: The 2020 Guide [UPDATED]

2016 website design cost guide

What does a website cost in 2020?

Well, that depends on a multitude of things!

    • Is the design custom?
    • How many pages is the website?
    • Will you need hosting or marketing services?

All these questions are necessary in figuring out how much web design cost.

After you read this guide, you will know exactly how much you should be paying for web design whether you need a small website, a site that sells products or a custom developed application.

First, we need to breakdown each website type to get more specific pricing. We will break it up into these types of websites:

Personal Website Pricing

In 2020, creating your own personal website can be very easy and sometimes even free! Website Builders like Wix, Weebly and Squarespace allow normal do-it-yourselfers to create their very own website for an affordable price.

These website builders range from $3-$20 a month and are a great option for anyone looking to create a personal website or a non-business website.

This option should not be used for any business that is looking to attract customers and build their brand.

When you create a site with a website builder, it doesn’t have the needed components to compete with other websites in the search engines…nor does it provide the sales funnel you will need to gain customers online.

But if you are needing a cheap, simple solution for a personal website, event website or group website, then these could be a good option for you.

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wix weebly squarespace website cost pricing

How much does a personal website cost?

Here is a break down of website cost for some of the most popular site builders:

Company Monthly Price Yearly Price
Wix $6.90 $48.96
Weebly $9.00 $96.00
Squarespace $8.00 $96.00

You can see that these are a very cheap option…but you get what you pay for!

When you build a site with a website builder you are killing your brand and any chance of getting customers from Google and other search engines.

If you are a small to large business looking to have an online presence then you should be looking at a small business website…

Small Business Website Pricing

This type of website is the most popular on the internet today and the best option if you want the biggest bang for your buck.wordpress cms website cost

A small business website is great for doctors, lawyers, chiropractors, stylists, contractors, etc looking to build an online brand and attract more customers online.

Having a small business website allows you to create more customers online and allow your current customers to contact you and grow your online presence.

Any business that does not need a custom developed website should have a small business website hosted on a content management system.

Content management systems allow you to better manage your website, its security and even the functionality.

For more information on content management systems, check out our article What is a CMS?

How much does a small business website cost?

A small business website usually cost anywhere between $300-$2,000 depending on a few factors:

  • Is the design custom?
  • How many pages?
  • Is it coded with SEO in mind?
  • Will it use a CMS?

Having a custom-designed website can increase the cost of web design simply because it’s custom.
CMS systems like WordPress offer hundreds of thousands of templates that you can customize to your liking to save on costs.

Make sure you ask your web designer if they are going to customize a template or create an entirely custom design… This will have a large factor in what the price of the website will be.

In general, most web design companies will charge $100 per page

So, if you are wanting a small business website on a CMS with about 10 pages, you are looking at a base website cost of $1,000.

If you decide you want the design to be completely custom, you may be looking at upwards of $1,500-$2,000.

Custom Website Pricing

So you want to create a website or system that is not currently out there? Or maybe even offers functionality that no other software does?

Then you are looking to get a custom website built.

Custom-developed websites are the most expensive type of website because they require custom functionality which means a team of developers.

In 2020, the average price of one developer is about $120 an hour so you can imagine if you had a custom website that required 80 hours of development time, it could cost $9,600.

The time it requires to complete your custom website depends on the functionality of the website…

  • Is it a simple site that allows friends to share photos?
  • is it an intricate website that has multiple pages and dynamic functionality?

This is a huge factor in how much your custom site will cost…

How much does a custom website cost?

The only way to get a close estimate on what a custom developed website would cost would be to write out requirements with a developer that explains all the functionality of the website.

Then the developer can guesstimate how many hours it would take to create the app or website.

A custom website can cost anywhere between $3,000-$100,000 depending on functionality and developer hours.

E-Commerce Website Pricing

An e-commerce website is a site that features products (or services) that customers can buy online.

E-commerce websites used to be very expensive because there is so much involved.

You need to have a secure website that can keep hackers out as well as keep your customer’s credit card information safe.

But in this day in age, there are plenty of cheaper options for any small business looking to sell products on their website.

There are two options when it comes to e-commerce…

  • Product-based e-commerce website
  • Custom e-commerce website

Product-based e-commerce website companies like Shopify, Bigcommerce, and Amazon make it possible for you to import and sell your products online without paying a huge amount of money.

ecommerce website cost shopify bigcommerce

They just charge you monthly depending on how many products you will be selling.

How much do product-based e-commerce websites costs?

Here is the monthly cost of some popular e-commerce platforms:

Company Monthly Price Transaction Fee
Shopify $79 0%
Bigcommerce $79.95 0%
Amazon Webstore $79.00 2%

If you are starting a website company that accepts money from customers online but is not selling products, you may opt to get a custom e-commerce website built.

in 2020, it’s a bit easier to incorporate a payment funnel into your custom website.

Companies like Stripe, make it possible to accept credit cards online with just a few lines of code.

You will also need to get an SSL certificate to make sure your website is secure when accepting payments.

Most developers can work with the Stripe API so incorporating this functionality into a custom website isn’t as expensive as you may think.

Don’t forget about marketing your ecommerce site. Ecommerce SEO is a great way to get organic traffic to your site.

How much do custom e-commerce websites costs?

As the same with a custom developed website, a custom e-commerce website that has payment capturing functionality depends on the hours it takes to build the site.

For basic payment accepting functionality, a shopping cart page, checkout page, and thank you page, you are looking at around 20 hours maximum…

So at the current 2020 average developer rate if $120 an hour, you would be looking at around $2,400 to incorporate credit card payment functionality into your website.

Note that doesn’t include the cost of any other pages or custom functionality around how the website works and what service it provides… Just the 3 payment pages.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, websites can cost anywhere between $300 and $100,000 but it really depends on what you need and what you want out of the website.

Small business websites are the most common websites because they run on a content management system which makes managing the website pages, content and images very easy.

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know below!

 

2016 web design pricing guide infographic

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