How Much Does a Small Business Website Redesign Cost?

Website pricing can be a tough nut to crack.

There are website design companies that will build a website for you for only $300 and there are other companies that will build a website for $50,000 or more. Helpful, right? (Note: sarcasm)

When it comes to website design, generally speaking, you get what you pay for. But it gets so much more complicated than that.

I’ve seen plenty of websites that when I was told how much a client paid for it, I was shocked. I felt they had been overcharged, especially to get a “cookie-cutter” website and not something custom for them.

At the same time, I’ve seen websites that were cheaper than what I would have thought. Therefore, it’s good to have a basic understanding of how websites are priced before you chat with a salesperson.

Important Factors of a Website Design Cost

When determining what type of website design budget you should have, consider these factors:

• Is this a brand new site or a redesign?

• How prepared are you – do you have a detailed requirements document?

• Do you need a blog or content management functionality (CMS)?

• Do you have graphics already created for the site?

• Do you want the site to automatically resize for mobile and tablets (also known as responsive design)?

• Do you need multimedia (Flash, video, etc.) on the site?

• How much content do you have and how much do you need created?

• Do you need other special features like social media channels, SEO, e-commerce, or something else?

• Who is going to maintain the site after it has been launched?

Should I get a Quote for My Website Redesign?

First, I want to set one expectation: a one-size fits-all website design quote is nearly impossible to provide.

Like most web design agencies, we view each website design project as a custom project (as it should be). 

Typically, your team will start with a consultation with the web design agency you choose to determine what your needs are and what the business goals of your website are.

I recently read a good article from Forbes (How Much Does A Website Cost), where the author, Ilya made 3 good points when it came to getting a quote for your website.

1. Website design and development should be viewed as a service, not a product. It’s hard to shake the idea that websites aren’t a commodity. Viewing it as service-based will help you to better understand why a one-off price isn’t simple to give — building a website takes continued time and effort. 

2. Quotes are far too subjective. Building a website can be accomplished hundreds of different ways. Don’t believe me? Go out for a quote and I guarantee by asking just a few companies for a price, you’ll get responses all over the map. I’ve had clients tell me before that they received quotes ranging from $3,000 to $15,000 for the same set of requirements. How can that be possible? Each agency will have their own unique process that is a large factor for this. That being said...

3. There’s more than one way to price a website. There are two ways you can end up with a price for your website: fixed bid or hourly. For fixed bid, you will receive a figure like $5,000. With an hourly price tag, you will pay someone $100 an hour for as long as it takes to complete the project.

So How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost?

The majority of small business websites we design, develop and launch range from $2,500 – $15,000. But that's such a wide range, right? It just depends on so many things. Even so, our websites are among the more inexpensive options because we've found more ways to drive down cost (without ever compromising quality, of course).

A lot of people think that the number of pages in a site is what determines cost. And while it certainly can as it relates to content (anything that’s words or pictures or photography, illustrations, imagery that a designer might make for you) costs a lot to fill the pages.

But a website design can also be priced based on how many unique templates there are. So if you have a website that has just two layouts – the home page and every single interior page is exactly the same – it really doesn’t take the developer very long to code that site but it may take a long time to fill in 300 pages of content.

Another way to break your website design budget down is to assume:

• 15% Planning

• 25% Interface design

• 40% Programming

• 20% Project Management

But again, when asking around, ask about their process. Ask about what takes the most focus and time and decide what's most important to you.

Takeaway

If the website you are having built is going to play a significant part in driving sales for your business, PLEASE don’t skimp on the design and development portion. If you’d expect to pay $100,000 for a brick and mortar retail shop (inventory, interior design, furniture, rent, utilities, staff, equipment, insurance, etc) – then don’t balk at paying reasonable rates for the creation of your online business. Your budget should be based on what your business needs.