How much does a website cost in 2024?
So you’re thinking about building a website for your business, side hustle or passion project but how much money does a website actually cost? This post will break down all of the costs you need to consider when building a website and how much to budget when DIYing or hiring a designer.
What costs do you need to consider when building a website?
Website Hosting & Domain Name
The most important and unavoidable cost is the cost of website hosting, platform (e.g. Wordpress or Squarespace) and your domain (www.yourdomain.com).
There is a often a misconception that WordPress is cheaper than a website builder such as Squarespace or Wix but that is typically not the case as you have to pay for hosting, domain names and additional plugins.
Depending on the tool you choose, you can expect to pay anywhere between £10/month to £50/month depending on your needs.
I personally recommend the Squarespace Business plan to all my clients which costs £17/month and includes a free domain name for your first year.
For a domain name, you can expect to pay approx. £20/year.
Development costs
If you require a unique functionality for your website, then you may need to consider development costs in your budget. For example, if you needed a simple 10 page website, with the ability to book appointments and contact you, that is a standard website and you won’t need any custom development. A web designer should be able to build this, no-problem.
On the other hand, if you require more advanced functionality then you may require a web developer. For example, if you needed a custom quote system or client portal built into your website.
My biggest advice here is to talk to your website designer to find out if any development is required.
Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policies & Cookie Consent
The un-glamorous side of a website is the privacy policies, cookie consent and T&Cs. All extremely important and you have a few options here.
Firstly, to purchase templates which you customise yourself. This could be anywhere from £50 - £200, however as laws change you will need to purchase new templates.
You could alternatively hire a legal professional to draft them for you, but this is not always necessary when you have a simple website and could be anywhere from £300+.
Alternatively, you could use a cookie consent and privacy policy tool like Termageddon which costs just £12/month or £119 per year. (Please note this is an affiliate link which means I earn a small commission if you decide to purchase, at no extra cost to you. In-fact, if you use the code FREYA’ at checkout, you get 10% off your first year).
I recommend this for all my clients as this includes T&Cs, Privacy Policies, cookie consent and disclaimer generators. My favourite part? It auto-updates as GDPR and global privacy laws updates, so you know you’re covered. I use this for my own website as I get peace of mind knowing I am covered for one monthly fee.
Copywriting
An important part of any website is the copy/text you use throughout. You can either write this yourself or hire a copywriter to do it for you.
A copywriter can charge anything from £50 per page to £10,000 per project, so its a substantial cost to consider. However, well-written copy can transform your website into a client-connection machine.
For clients who want to DIY their copy, some designers share copy prompts to help them get over the blank page and generate ideas on what to write. This is standard practice as part of my own web design process.
Photography & Stock Photos
An important part of any website is the photos you use throughout. I always recommend you have some kind of professional brand photography to use on your website. A brand photoshoot can range from a £200 headshot session to a £2,000 brand photoshoot. Costs may be even more expensive if you’re a product-based business that requires product photography. But for a service-based business, a few brand photos can go a long way.
For my own brand photography, I have worked with the amazing London-based photographers, Beth Lavin and Nadine Wilmanns.
You may also want to consider using stock photography, for which you will need all the appropriate licenses. If you’re looking for a diverse library of stock images, take a look at this collection of photos by Lean In which depict women and girls in diverse roles, families of all kinds, and men as caretakers as well as earners. Or if you’re looking for free, high-quality stock photography, I highly recommend Unsplash.
Third Party Tools
An additional website cost to consider is the cost of any third party tools. These could include an email marketing tool, scheduling tool or project management tool. Of course, the costs of these will vary depending on your needs and often these software have a subscription model which unlocks additional functionality.
I personally use Mailerlite for my email marketing, costing $9/month and and Acuity Scheduling for my scheduling tool which costs $16/month.
Similarly, you may require some third-party plugins to achieve a certain look or functionality on your website. These often have costs associated with them, whether that be a monthly fee or one-time purchase.
DIY vs hiring a designer, which is cheaper?
It may seem like a no-brainer, DIYing a website is obviously cheaper than hiring a website designer, right? With website builders like Squarespace and Wix, building your own website is now easier than ever but if you run a business, then DIYing it may not be the cheapest option. Here are some of the hidden costs you may not have considered when building your website.
Time Investment
The first thing to consider is time investment. Not only for building the website but also for time spent learning the platform and educating yourself on all the required knowledge such as accessibility, privacy laws and SEO. Unfortunately you will need to invest time in learning which is time not spent on your business.
Return on Investment
Hiring a website designer means you are paying for their expertise. An experienced web designer will understand the principles of what makes a website convert better, how to connect with users and how to sell your services/products using web design best-practices. A well-designed website can help you land even more clients or sales than a cost-saving website.
It is therefore important to view a website as an investment.
For many of my web design clients, if their website lands them just one or two more clients, the website will pay for itself. So make sure to consider potential clients lost by a poorly designed website.
Avoiding potential fines
One thing that often comes as a shock my clients is the potential fines you can get from a non-compliant website. For example, if your website does not comply with accessibility laws, GDPR laws or consumer protection laws then you could be liable to pay fines or face action from regulatory bodies.
So while DIYing your website could be cheaper in terms of saving initial investment, it could be more costly in the long run.
Already have a DIYed website? Don’t panic! You can get personalised advice from a professional web designer in the form of a website audit and 1 on 1 call. Check out my power hour service to make sure your website is up to scratch.
How much does it cost to hire a web designer?
The cost of hiring a website designer can vary depending on the level of experience and quality of work provided. It can vary anywhere from £500 - £20,000 depending on what you need from your website and who you hire to build it.
For example, a custom build which requires lots of custom coding and additional functionality would be on the upper end of the scale. You may consider hiring a web development agency for that kind of website.
On the other end of the spectrum is a fiverr designer or budget website build which may be good for cutting costs, but you are unlikely to get the website of your dreams, and may end up with a template-based website, rather than a custom build.
In the middle of that range, between £2,000 - £10,000 is where you will find independent designers (like me) and agencies. This is the kind of budget you will need for a quality customer experience, custom designs and personalised advice and support. If that is the kind of support you are looking for then you should check out my web design services where great customer experience and beautiful designs are at the heart of what I do.
Overall Cost Breakdown
So how much does a website actually cost? Let’s break it down for you.
In this example, your business needs a simple 10 page website to promote your services, including an email marketing tool and scheduling tool so people can book a call with you directly on your website.
I will share two examples below, one where you are trying to keep the expenses a small as possible and plan to DIY everything, and one where you hire all the appropriate mid-range professionals to help your website be as successful as possible.
Let’s look at the cost breakdown:
Example 1: DIY & Cost Saving
| ITEM | REQUIRED? | COST |
|---|---|---|
| DESIGNER | NO | £0 |
| DEVELOPER | NO | £0 |
| SCHEDULING | YES | £120 |
| EMAIL MARKETING | YES | £110 |
| COPYWRITER | NO | £0 |
| PHOTOGRAPHER | NO | £0 |
| TERMAGEDDON | YES | £120 |
| WEB HOSTING & DOMAIN | YES | £200 |
| TOTAL: | £550 |
In this example I have opted to invest time learning rather than hiring a designer or copywriter to save costs. Despite this, there are some unavoidable costs to having a website such as the website hosting, email marketing and privacy policies.
Example 2: Willing to invest in quality
| ITEM | REQUIRED? | COST |
|---|---|---|
| DESIGNER | YES | £3,000 |
| DEVELOPER | NO | £0 |
| SCHEDULING | YES | £120 |
| EMAIL MARKETING | YES | £110 |
| COPYWRITER | YES | £2,000 |
| PHOTOGRAPHER | YES | £700 |
| TERMAGEDDON | YES | £120 |
| WEB HOSTING & DOMAIN | YES | £200 |
| TOTAL: | £6,250 |
In this example, I have opted to hire mid-range professionals to help me with building my website. While the investment has increased significantly, the return on that investment and the quality of my website will be incomparable.
So there you have the cost breakdown of how much a website costs in 2024.
It can range anywhere from £500 - £20,000 depending on your needs. There are ways to cut corners but I strongly believe that investing in your business is the quickest way to grow.
Want to work with a website designer which offers a high-quality customer service and will take the stress out of website design? Check out my web design services or get in touch with any questions you have.
