How Much Does Web Design Cost?
October 13, 2022
A business website is a marketing tool that inspires visitors to become customers.
It’s often the first thing prospective clients and customers see before they make a purchasing decision.
More people will see your website than your office, or your trucks, or your signage. So in addition to a sales tool, it’s an investment in your company’s image.
There are many ways to get a website designed, and prices range from under a $1,000 (yikes) to over $100,000 (yikes, but in a different way).
But what are you really paying for at each price point? Read on to learn more about how much does professional web design cost in a city like Seattle or Denver.
Typical Website Design Pricing Tiers
We can classify the varying levels of web design cost into tiers, and explore what you should expect at each level.
Under $1000
At this price point, someone will download a free template and put some of your photos into it. One you have paid them, you will probably never hear from them again. They can’t afford to give you support or revisions. Keep a copy of your passwords and make sure you own your domain name.
Your new website won’t have much as far as functionality or security goes. Your web designer doesn’t have the hours or budget to do things like license stock photography or attempt even the most basic SEO (so forget about ranking in Google).
You won’t be able to find professional web design in Seattle at this level.
$1000-$3000
You’re getting the same as the $1,000-and-under price point. However, the designer may be local. If you luck out, you can sometimes get a website developed by someone talented who is just starting out and looking to build a portfolio.
There is also not much time left over for customization or revisions. SEO is hit or miss.
Once you’ve paid, you will most likely never hear from them again. They may be totally legit! But professional web designers cannot stay in business for $1,000 to $3,000 a website. They’re going to take a job somewhere, and their freelance clients are going to inevitably become orphans.
For $1k to $3k, you should expect a functional WordPress template with one or two minor branding modifications. The template may be built by an overseas developer who doesn’t understand your customers or how to convert them. If they did, they would charge more, because an effective website pays for itself very quickly and this is still below the market rate.
So you could get lucky. But ask yourself: why am I paying below market rate? Is my business immune to the branding considerations that guide most others? What am I missing out on?
But if you know the answers to those questions – and you know the tradeoffs – you might just get what you need.
$3000-$7000
You should expect a US-based web design firm with US-based employees, that has years of experience and projects under its belt. A great way to see the types of sites they have designed in the past is to visit their website. They should have a portfolio of their work.
At this price point, you’ll still get a template-driven website, not fully custom. A truly custom site has to be designed and programmed just for you, and this price can’t cover all the hours that work will take. The investment of time is just too great!
But the additional money will allow for some customization of the most important elements in your buyer’s journey, and you can get a cohesive design that is flexible with your company’s colors, fonts, and brand elements integrated into it.
This does not leave a lot of time for business strategy or SEO, and you should not expect a huge or complicated website, but you can get a pretty good-looking site if your needs aren't complicated and you just need to look like a pro online.
Responsive design is a given. Great customer service is possible. At Bizango, we do build websites at this pricepoint—you’ll get to take advantage of our decades of experience and team of talented professionals.
$7000-$12,000
At this price point, we can build a simple template-driven site as just described but we can also add a few custom elements, such as a totally customized, strategy-driven home page or adding an SEO strategist to your small project.
These elements are really valuable if you are trying to differentiate yourself in a competitive market, or lay the foundations of future growth.
$13,000-$20,000
A small but purely custom project. Custom means collaborative and iterative designs are created in coordination with your feedback. Not every single page is created this way—that would cost a fortune.
But with a flexible CMS, such as People CMS, we can create custom designs for critical pages and build the rest using a mix-and-match lego approach. This will help ensure that your whole site is coherent, cohesive, and tells your brand story, emphasizing the strengths, values, and unique selling points your business offers over your competitors.
Research is the real benefit: We have time in the project to explore these things, learning the things that your best customers say they love about you, and strategizing the best way to tell your story online.
At this price point, you should expect your site to be search-engine optimized with a modern CMS. You can also expect ambient animation or video if the design calls for it. You’re spending this kind of money because you need to make a good impression AND attract new customers.
Great post-launch service and ongoing design support are a bonus.
$20,000+
This price point is reserved for larger websites or ones with that extra “Wow!” factor. Expect custom animations, videos, or multiple areas to be SEO optimized.
Factors That Can Affect Website Cost
If you’ve ever wondered how much does professional web design cost, you might be surprised to learn that the majority of the price depends on the time their team spends working on your project. For example, building a website with several customized elements requires the following:
- Zoom meetings with the client
- Multiple emails back and forth
- Time spent by the design team designing the new site
- Time spent by the tech team developing the new site
- Time spent by strategy folks, researching and implementing an SEO strategy
All of this adds up to a tremendous amount of time spent by the web designer and the team of talented professionals. There are other hard costs associated with web design, such as:
- Website hosting (monthly)—the web designer offers better web hosting than most “el cheapo” shared hosting companies out there (e.g., GoDaddy).
- Website maintenance —Your site isn’t just released into the wild for hackers to start banging away on it. It has to be secured, patched regularly and undergo maintenance. If you aren’t paying someone to do this for you, your site becomes a target over time.
- Domain Registration—If you don’t already have a website URL, you will need to think of one and then purchase it.
- SSL—A must-have security component of any modern website.
- Content generation—If you don’t hire a web designer to create content (the words on each web page), you will need to do it yourself.
Now is a good time to think about how you will market your new website. If you don’t have an experienced internal team, consider asking your web designer if they have the capabilities to provide marketing or SEO services as well. SEO, in particular, is not a “set it and forget it” kind of thing. It’s an ever-changing industry with its own devoted experts, and if your rankings are worth money to you — if you get customers from being on the first page of the search results — keeping on top of this on a monthly basis is a business essential.
Benefits of Hiring a Professional Seattle Web Designer
So you could do this in-house, if you have the time and resources. (And you don't value the experience of a team that literally does this all day long!)
Or your could hire a freelancer. (If you think one person can handle all the roles described above.)
But there are many benefits to hiring a web design agency. In fact, while it may cost more up front, having a professionally designed website can save you a tremendous amount of money (and headaches) over the next few years.
Common benefits include:
Peace of mind—Regardless of how big your budget is, working with a professional web designer will give you peace of mind. There is a time-tested process, and you’ll wind up with exactly what you were looking for.
Security—A great web designer will build a secure website that doesn’t have security loopholes that attackers can use to wreak havoc. Computer hackers can deface your website, upload links to “bad neighborhoods,” or steal your company data.
Professionalism—A professional web design firm, such as Bizango, will provide you with a dedicated project manager whose job it is to liaison between you and the designer and keep the project moving forward. Answer emails. Keep the team on a schedule. And track every little thing.
Experience—A professional web designer knows what does and doesn't work when it comes to design. They keep up with the latest trends and research.. They understand the importance of color theory, design best practices, and can pull from their decades of experience to intelligently advise you.
Long-term support—If you ever need updates or have an issue you need resolved, help is just a phone call away. You won’t have to frantically search the internet for help as you already know the professional Seattle web design agency will take care of you.
Seattle Web Design Agency
A Bizango, we offer professional web design and web development services. Our unique approach to the process will provide you with peace of mind knowing that you hired an experienced, professional agency. We also offer a wide range of other marketing and web design services that will help your business drive more traffic and leads through your new website.