Are you wondering how much it will cost to build a website for a small business?
No one can give you a definitive answer as the cost to build a website for small businesses will depend on the type of your project, your budget, and your business goals.
A lot of things go into designing a website. You might want to access some features for free if your budget is tight. Or if you want custom-built features, it will cost you more.
As per WebFX, the upfront cost is $12,000 to $150,000, and it includes launching and designing it. You can even use a website design cost calculator to find out the accurate cost.
However, there are certain factors that will influence your small business website design cost.
Cost to build a website for Small Business (Breakdown):
#1. The domain name ($2 to $20 yearly)
The first thing you will need while building a website is a domain name. As per GoDaddy, a domain name cost ranges from $2 to $20 per year, depending on discounts. If you settle for the newer domain extensions, it will cost you more.
Other factors that will influence the cost of your domain name are the domain registrar you choose, length of the contract with the domain registrar, domain name privacy, and keyword popularity.
#2. Website host ($0.99 to $5.00 monthly)
The web host you choose will affect the potential performance of your site. So make sure that you choose your web host wisely.
If you go for the big names out there that offer cheap web hosting services like Hostinger, Bluehost, and GoDaddy, you will have to pay anything from $0.99 to $5.00 monthly
Again, if you choose shared web hosting, they are cheaper. VPS and dedicated server hosting are costlier. That said if your website gets a high level of traffic, and if you want to fully control your server, they are the best options available.
#3. SSL certificates ($0 to $1500 per year)
To provide security to your site data and visitors, you need to install an SSL certificate on your website. There are SSL certificates that you can obtain for free, which your website hosting company provides. But if you go for paid versions, it will cost you up to $1500 per year.
The cost will depend on the certificate-issuing authority and the type of SSL certificate you choose. For instance, the SSL certificates of Clickssl are quite affordable, and their pricing varies, depending on the certificate type.
And of course, when you install an SSL certificate, it will build trust and authenticity of your business.
Website visitors look at your SSL cert when the question arises about how to know the website is legal or not? If they see that your SSL certificate has been issued by a trusted certificate authority, they will be more willing to give out their personal information.
#4. Web Pages ($1000 to $5000)
Considering you want to build an e-commerce website; you will need at least up to 100 pages. For service providers, the requirement will be less up to 10 pages. So the cost to build a website for small businesses will also vary depending upon your page requirement.
Since the cost to build a website for a small business usually needs 1 to 50 pages, it will cost you $1000 to $5000 on average while building web pages.
#5. Web designing ($2000 to $15,000)
Web designing cost is something that will vary from business to business. It can range from $2000 to $15,000 depending on the layout you prefer.
If you are thinking of building your website from scratch, it will be too time consuming and expensive. Using template and themes will help you to build a functional small business website in the $3,000-$6,000 range.
Note that the more customization and coding needed for the website, the higher the cost to build a website for a small business.
A smart move is to hire a freelance web designer to balance the cost and the quality of the final product because if the websites look is not good then the visitors think that the websites are not genuine that’s why for making Legitimate website high designing cost happen.
#6. Interactive media ($250 to $10,000)
If you want to provide your customers with an engaging experience, you need interactive media. It can be video games or other compelling visuals.
It will help you to explain products to your users in an easy and engaging way and also build brand awareness.
You will be investing anything from $250 to $10,000 while building interactive media. It is better to partner with an agency as freelancers will demand an hourly versus flat rate, and it will be too expensive.
#7. CMS ($2000 to $25,000)
CMS is a crucial tool for your website as it allows you to create, manage, and update website content even when you don’t have any coding knowledge.
For instance, you can easily modify service or product pricing by logging into your CMS without having to contact your developer.
Usually, a CMS website costs $2000 to $25,000. If you are customizing your CMS more, your design team will charge you higher. The cost to build a website for a small business also depends on your preferred CMS.
You can get a customized CMS from a custom CMS website development companies for better development of your small business website.
#8. Database integration ($2000 to $25,000)
Your small business might use an internal or third-party database. It will store important company and customer information. For instance, it may contain client account information that they can access by logging into your site.
To make the information accessible to your clients, you will have to integrate a database into your site.
They will charge anything from $2000 to $25,000 for database integration. It will depend on the complexity and customization. Although you can reduce some amount of cost if you are aware of some basic security tips to keep customer data secure.
If you want a unique database, you will be charged more. An established, third-party database is cheaper.
#9. Copywriting ($50 to $500 per article)
You will need content for your web pages. The more pages you have, the more content you will need.
Skilled writers will create unique content or copies and optimize them with keywords. Professional copywriters will charge anything from $50 to $500 per article depending on the content, page length, and topic.
The charges will also depend on their skill and experience. You can either hire freelance copywriters or contact a copywriting agency.
#10. Search Engine Optimization ($300 to $1,500 per month)
You will have to invest in SEO if you want your website to rank higher in search engines. It is a great way to gain traffic. The cost to build a website for small businesses will be determined by the amount of work you require and the proficiency and experience of the SEO expert.
You will be spending anything from $300 to $1,500 per month on average on SEO optimization.
#11. Payment Processing ($50 for a one-time setup fee and $35 per month on average)
Whether you are designing an e-commerce website or providing service, you will want to accept credit card payments on your site.
You need a payment processor that enables you to accept credit cards online and handle the processing transaction.
Since there are different payment processor vendors out there offering different options and plans, it’s difficult to estimate the exact cost to build a website for a small business.
However, on average, it will cost you $50 for a one-time setup. If you go by monthly charges, it will cost $35 per month, ongoing. It will enable you to have a professional payment processing set up.
#12. CDN ($50 to $250 per year)
It will be beneficial for your business to run a CDN (Content Delivery Network) on your site though it is optional. CDN can speed up your site’s performance on your website.
It is estimated that a 100-millisecond delay in loading time can decrease your conversion rates by 7%.
To run a CDN on your website, it will cost you anything from $50 to $250 yearly.
However, some web hosts offer free CDN as well.
#13. Maintenance ($500 to $12,000 yearly)
After you set up and launch your website, you will have to ensure that everything functions well, and users don’t come across any issues and bugs.
Your site should be up and running at all times, lest you lose customers and end up affecting your sales negatively.
Website maintenance costs can range from $500 to $12,000 yearly on average.
Conclusion
As you can see, the cost to build a website for a small business largely depends on your project, budget, and business goals. But the factors mentioned in this article are factors that will influence your website design cost.
Having a domain name and website host are prerequisites. Also, you will have to invest in web designing and building web pages. The cost will vary depending on your requirements.
Other factors, such as installing SSL certificates and building a responsive design, will determine whether visitors will remain on your site or go to your competitor.
And building an interactive media, running CDN, database integration, and CMS are other features you should consider investing in. Plus, don’t ignore copywriting and SEO, as it will help you build traffic.