So how much does a web site cost?
So you want a web site but have no idea how much it will cost. Well no-one can give you a price unless they know exactly how much work is involved, even if they claim to, and those that try to never tell you about the limitations!
Imagine I'm a builder and you want me to build a home for you. If you only want the bare essentials I can set you up with a tent for £50.00, that's easy. I can also build you a huge mansion with long driveway, marble flooring and gold taps but that'll cost you millions - it will take longer to build but you'd have a lot of facilities and it would be tailored to your living needs!. Web design pricing is a similar concept, anything is possible but some things take longer and cost more.
My 14 year old son can whip up a web page in 5 minutes
Absolutely, if that's what you want, and I'd encourage him to carry on being creative! But, there's a huge difference between someone who has a copy of Dreamweaver, and someone who can build usable, accessible, search engine friendly, optimised and correctly coded web sites. Developing successfully for the web requires skill, in-depth knowledge and the ability to keep up to date with current trends and methods. Would you let your son design and build your house extension single handedly?
Every site is different
If I were to build a simple 3-page site for "Pete the plumber" it wouldn't take me very long, probably 4 hours or so. On the other hand if I were to build a site for "Local company online shop" I could easily spend 40 or 400 hours on the entire project depending how big the job was (tent or mansion?).
All part of the design process
This is a brief list of tasks involved with a site design...
- Concept and design - The look and feel, layout and styling
- Special requirements - Databases, accessibility, important issues
- Research - As required
- Graphics work - Preparing, optimising and adding images
- Coding - Creating semantic xhtml and css code, plus scripting as required
- Copywriting - Ensuring text copy is user and search engine friendly
- Content - Adding intial text, images and other media
- Testing - Checking links and functionality
When you next see someone offering an all singing all dancing web site for £99, ask yourself what you're getting for your money!
Summing up
Web sites don't have to be expensive but don't expect miracles if you haven't got a big budget. Make a list of your requirements and go and get some quotes from a few web developers, although quotes may vary widely at least you'll know what price range you should expect.
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