Basic Websites
Basic websites of even two or three pages still need to be set up to a professional high standard if you want visitors to keep coming back to your site. A basic website can be set up professionally by a web design company for a low cost amount. It should still include the basics such as email addresses and a good content management system (CMS). If you know what your site is going to include then you can approach a company for a more accurate quote on how much the site is going to cost you.
Start up Costs
There are some things that will have to be paid for when setting up a website. Some things can be included in a package deal with the web development company, however, some things may not be included and it is important to find out from the web design company exactly what they are including and how much extras will cost you. The first thing that needs doing is to register your domain name. To do this it will cost you £10 upwards. The second thing that needs paying for is web hosting. This can often be purchased from the web design company. Charges for this vary but are expected to cost around £10 per month. Then there is the payment for the actual designing of the site itself. Some people will try to avoid this cost by trying to build the site themselves. This is usually a bad idea as a certain amount of technical knowledge regarding website development is needed to make your site look professional and up to date. Low cost package options are available.
How Much Will It Cost?
To get a very basic site up and running it can cost as little as £200. This is likely to be the most basic of sites and will not have all the added extras included. The usual price for a very basic site of only a few pages can usually be purchased as a package for under £400. A package such as this should only be purchased from a long standing web design company that can show you examples of work they have already done and has a good reputation. Sometimes the cheapest price that you are quoted will not be the best value for money as different companies will include different things in their packages and it’s important to make sure that everything you want included on your site is there.
Ongoing Costs
When deciding on a company to build your site make sure there is an option for you to expand the website as your business grows. This is going to cost you extra as you add pages to the site so make sure you find out in advance how much extra it will cost. Annual payment for the registration of your domain name and web hosting will also be expected to be paid in advance. When building the site take into account how often you are going to be making changes to your content. Many web design companies will charge you every time they have to help you make a change to your site. These charges can really add up and it could be best to have a content management system (CMS) built into your site in the first instance. Buying a CMS is likely to increase the price of the web design package but will save money in the long term. A CMS added after the site is up and running or one purchased from a separate company is likely to cost a lot more than if it was brought from the company when the site was been built. Take all these calculations into considerations when building even the most basic of websites.
