How Much is a Website?

Originally published May 2003 - Updated July 2006. By Eric Holter.

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How Much is a Website?

»	Estimating Budgets
2.	Budget Ranges
3.	Budget Examples
4.	Custom Pricing
5.	Budgeting Maintenance
6.	Design and Programming Budgets

A website costs as much as a car. The range of options and costs associated with buying a car are actually a very good comparison to the cost of a website. It's possible to buy a decent used car for under $5,000 that should be perfectly adequate to get you where you need to go. Similarly, buying a new car can run the gamut from a bare bones Kia Rio for under $10,000 to a high end Porsche 911 for $80,000 plus. Beyond the desired car's look and style, there are many other considerations that will affect its cost like how many people fit in, how fast it goes, what options are included, etc. This month's newsletter is intended to provide a rough framework of how Newfangled approaches project pricing. It looks at the major factors that we consider when creating a budget.

"How much is a typical website?" A quick answer to that question is "a website costs as much as a car" (see the side bar - "How much does a website cost"). The following items can all have influence on a project's budget, just to name a few:

Visual design (what are the look and feel requirements?)
Site size (how many pages will the site contain?)
Project scope (what type of information will the site pages contain?)
Special functionality (are there any unusual services that the site will provide?)
Site traffic volume (how many visitors is the site expected to handle?)
Custom business logic (will there be the need for programming special new features specifically for this project?)
Development timetable (what is the site's expected launch date?)
Project team (will the client guide the project by a committee or a single point of contact?)
Integration (will the site need to connect to any other pieces of software?)

We have five pricing ranges that our projects fall within. We're happy to quote these ranges to help potential clients determine the right budget ballpark for the work they are requesting. Additionally, we're usually able to propose alternative solutions when a discrepancy between needs and budget create a budget gap. Less complex alternatives or phased projects can often bring needs and budgets together. next >

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Comments

Michael Klewer	February 24, 2009 11:32 AM Gentlemen, I would like to know if in your opinion the information re cost is still valid in 2009, since it stems from an update in july 2006. Thanks and regards, Mike Klewer
Bennet	October 10, 2009 1:13 AM I think there are some tools in internet that does this job.. lol. There are funny tools. But in my opinion cost of a website can only be predicted by that website administrator. He only knows the hard work and money he has invested in that.