Website Cost FAQ’s
How much does a simple website cost?
The average cost nationally to design, build and launch a simple, professional website is $6,760. The cost of the website will depend on whether you hire a freelancer or web design company, as well as the size of the company. Freelancers may charge as little as $60 per hour, while a large web design company will charge up to $250 per hour. The website packages at M5 Design Studio are competitively priced and fall far below the national average for our most basic 5 page website.
How much does it cost to build a website for a small business?
On average, small businesses spend between $2,000 and $10,000 for a new website. The number of pages and complexity of the website, including animation, an online store, or any other special features, will impact the cost of the website, as well as the size of the web development company that you select to build your website.
Can I make a website for free?
There are some websites that allow you to make a website for free, but they will include the website builder company’s name in your domain (for example m5designstudio.blogspot.com), and they will include advertisements on your websites. You will also be limited as to the features you can include. If you are looking to create a website for your business, it’s important to buy your own, professional domain name (for example our domain name is m5designstudio.com) and pay at least a small fee each month for web hosting to have more flexibility with features and ad-free website. If you have some website building knowledge, you can WordPress.org to create an almost free website.
How much does it cost to buy a domain name?
This depends on how highly sought after your domain name is. For a unique but uncommon domain name, you can usually purchase it for as little as $9 to $18. For a competitive, well ranking domain, you will have to bid, and this can costs thousands of dollars depending on the domain. At M5 design studio, we are experts in selecting optimized domain names that will help your website perform well in Google. We are happy to assist you in selecting a domain name that will support the long term competitiveness of your website in search rankings.
Should I build my own website or pay someone?
If you have the web design knowledge to build your own website, you can certainly save money with this option. However, building a website is a time consuming process. Is your time better used managing other aspects of your business or marketing? Consider your goals for your website, and look at other websites in your industry for inspiration. Do you feel you will be able to create an end product that meets your goals and desire for a professional look and user experience?
Making an honest assessment at the beginning of the project could save dozens or even hundreds of hours creating a website that you are not happy with in the end. Many of our clients spend a lot of time attempting to create their own website first, and then end up hiring us later when they find that they are not able to incorporate all of the design elements or functionality they need, at which point they decide to hire us for custom web design and development.
How many hours does it take to design a website?
To custom design and develop the most basic 5 page website with all final content provided can take around 30 hours. Designing a more complex website can take anywhere from 45 hours to hundreds of hours.
When it comes to adding pages to an existing website, a good rule of thumb is at least one hour per page, but it could take much longer if you need a lot of revisions or the content for the page is longer than 500 words.
Do I have to pay monthly for a website?
Yes, even if you have purchased your domain name and are using a free platform such as WordPress.org to build your website, you will need to pay a monthly website hosting fee, which ranges from $8 to $30 per month for a small business website.
Additionally, unless you are performing all of your own web security and web maintenance, you will want to hire a web development company to perform these monthly services. Maintenance usually costs $100 to $125 per month for a small website. Monthly maintenance ensures that everything on your website continues to function properly, even as technology is updated. Monthly maintenance also prevents hackers from stealing your information, or your clients’ information, and includes backing up your files to ensure that you will never lose the content of your website.
Can you buy a domain name forever?
No, you cannot purchase a domain name forever. Domain names are purchased on an annual basis. However, you can purchase your domain name for 10 years so that you do not have to renew it every year. If you select this option, it will be extremely important to have administrative reminders to renew your domain in the last year so that it does not expire.
