Many elements go into building a website. At first glance, it might not be easy to understand the effort, time, and money that goes into building one.

With this blog we’ll try to answer the basic question – How much does it cost to build a website?

The cost of building a website depends on multiple parameters – your goals, the budget you’re working with, and how advanced you want the website to be, to name just a few.

Let’s dive straight into the topic.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website? Depends on the Tools You Use

There are certain basics tools that you need to set up your website –

A Domain name to Identify Your Brand (e.g. facebook.com or staging-assetdigitalcom.c8l.biz)

Your domain is what customers will enter into their browser’s address bar to find you. If the name you choose is really popular, it can be super expensive. Or if it is something esoteric, it can be rather inexpensive.

That being said, you get your domain name for a fixed time and need to keep on renewing it to keep on using it.

A Website Builder to Set Up the Building Blocks (e.g. wordpress.com, squarespace.com)

A website builder enables you to build your website the way you deem fit. From stunning minimalistic designs to a corporate-looking website, you can do it all with the right website builder.

WordPress is popular when it comes to self-hosted website builders. It gives you tons of flexibility and allows you to control almost any aspect of your website. It also has great integrations with other tools that can help you with SEO and site analytics.

But most importantly, it’s free!

A Web Hosting Service to Store Your Data

Put simply, a web hosting service is your website’s storage space. The content that’ll show up on your website will be retrieved from this web hosting service.

There are a lot of different kinds of web hosting services depending upon what you want your website to do. And the cost fluctuates depending on your website goals. For example, a dedicated hosting service will be more expensive but will also give you more control.

Define Your Website Goals

An entry-level website can be developed for anywhere between $100 to $500. If you want to deck it out with features it can go up to $30,000.

To estimate the cost of building your website, you’ll need to keep in mind a few things –

The Budget You’re Working With

Always be sure of your budget because website spending can quickly spiral out of control. Be realistic about your budgets as premium plugins and themes can quickly jack up the costs.

Choose Between a Standard-Fit or a Custom Website

The question “How much does it cost to build a website” is best answered by knowing how much of a custom design you need. Entry-level websites can be made with generic templates as well. You won’t get the high quality if you would hire a professional developer in Canada but it will get the job done.

But if you’re running a business or an eCommerce website, you’ll want to give your website a unique look and feel besides the backend eCommerce optimizations. In that case hire the help of a professional agency that can guide you with the design, development, and website hosting process.

Know the Features That You’ll Need

You might not need all the bells and whistles of a fancy website if you’re just starting out. But if you do, be very clear about the features that you need. A modern website with a hamburger and breadcrumb menu is a must-have. So is having a logical sitemap to help you with SEO.

Make a list of the essential and non-essential features that you need before having a conversation with a developer. This will help you manage budgets and streamline the entire project.

From pre-designed templates to highly customizable designs, website development costs can vary from free to tens of thousands. To make your life easier, have a clear list of goals and outcomes that you expect from your website.

Next, research the best tools and agencies/developers who can help you create your website within your budget. Keep in mind that once your website starts getting traffic, you might also need to change its design or even its hosting configuration.