The cost of a website and how it is calculated

Websites are typically the homepages of individuals, various organizations and companies. Web services, on the other hand, are generally defined as websites that consist of extensive functional modules or contain a wide range of interactive elements.

A company’s website can cost almost anything, as companies and their objectives regarding their websites also vary. The price of a website can therefore vary, for example, between €0 and €100,000. If you have the necessary skills and don’t put a price on your own labor or time, you can, of course, build the website yourself using free tools.

However, websites created by professionals are a different matter altogether. Here at Hurja, the price for a relatively simple WordPress website is around 3,000 euros, including the design of a custom layout. Such websites are sufficient for a small business, where the site requires only a few content pages and a very limited range of functions. On the other hand, when it comes to large-scale, custom web services with numerous functionalities and integrations, a few thousand euros may not go very far.

What factors determine the cost of a website?

At Hurja, we often offer websites built on the WordPress platform at a fixed price, as the amount of time required for website projects is usually fairly easy to estimate in advance. To determine the cost of a website, we need to establish its scope and requirements. At this stage, it’s worth starting with your company’s objectives: what do you want to achieve with your company’s website? Consider, for example, how extensive the site needs to be, and how much and what sort of content and functionality is required. Also consider what the aim of your website is – in other words, what do you want visitors to do on the site?

Based on your objectives, we can draw up a proper project specification, which will also enable us to determine the cost, as the price of the website is determined by the content, scope and functionalities to be implemented. Additional services that may affect the cost include, for example, sourcing suitable stock images for the website, search engine optimization (SEO), content creation, integrations with the company’s other systems, and so on.

“What if the objectives of your company’s website are still unclear? – Don’t worry, we can also help you assess your needs!”

Breakdown of costs

Right from the quotation request stage, we’ll go through with you the purpose for which the website is being developed, what your wishes, objectives and requirements for the site are, and what the target implementation schedule is. Next, we’ll show you an example of how the price of a company’s website is calculated and how the costs are broken down across the different stages of the project. However, every website project is unique in terms of both content and requirements, so costs can vary considerably from one project to another.

• Definition
  • The data collection and specification phase covers, amongst other things, the website’s message, content, functionalities, user groups and technical requirements. During the specification phase, we identify the website’s user groups, the required functionalities, the scope of the content, the technical requirements and the design specifications. The specification phase accounts for approximately 5–10% of the website’s total cost.
• Design
  • Website design encompasses the visual, structural and technical design of the layout and features. Page and menu structures, as well as functionalities implemented using technical solutions, are designed and built according to your requirements. This can be done either by adapting existing graphic guidelines or as a standalone project. User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design are crucial to the success of a website, as usability is one of the most important features of any website. UX and UI design ensure that the graphical appearance of the user interface is both visually and technically functional and that it meets the objectives set for it. This guarantees a user-friendly website. Design accounts for approximately 20–30 percent of the cost of a website. See also: Website redesign and goal-oriented website design.
• Technical implementation
  • The technical implementation is all about coding! The proportion of the website’s cost attributable to the actual coding is primarily determined by the scope of the project. The competence and experience of the company building the website, as well as the technologies used in the development, also play a significant role in determining the total price. For example, is the site being built using a ready-made theme, which usually offers good functionality and customizability? The downside of these, however, is that they are often unnecessarily extensive and complex for the requirements. Or will your website be built entirely from scratch, in which case the site and its management will remain lightweight, clear and user-friendly, and you’ll have a complete understanding of ‘what goes into the site’. The technical implementation can account for between 50 and 70 percent of the cost of a website.
• Testing and release
  • The testing and launch phase includes final testing, fine-tuning the details and, for example, optimizing performance prior to launch. Once the website is ready in terms of its design, functionality and content, and you have approved it, it will be published at the agreed time on the domain name of your choice. This stage may account for, say, 10–20 percent of the total cost.
• Project Management
  • Project management includes, amongst other things, communication during the project and joint meetings between the client and the team. Project management is one of the most significant factors in the success of a website project, as it ensures that the project starts and progresses as planned, and that all parties involved are kept fully informed of the progress. Project management may account for, for example, 10–15 percent of the cost of a website.
• Webmaster
  • Don’t forget about website maintenance either! Once a website has been built and published, it is transferred to a web server for maintenance, which also incurs certain costs. At a minimum, website maintenance offered by various service providers – i.e. web hosting – typically includes only server space. However, high-quality website maintenance requires more than that. At Hurja, we always recommend a WordPress maintenance service for websites rather than just web hosting, ensuring the site remains technically up to date and the client doesn’t have to worry about technical updates themselves. The price of the service at Hurja starts at €59.00 per month + VAT.

Read more: How do we at Hurja create effective WordPress websites for businesses?

WordPress is a safe bet

Here at Hurja, our main tool is the open-source WordPress website platform. With WordPress websites, we can guarantee your business a high-quality website, while ensuring it meets today’s standards for design, usability and accessibility. Of course, where necessary, we also use other technologies and tried-and-tested open-source solutions in our work. WordPress is a popular open-source content management system that is constantly being updated and developed. This makes WordPress a modern, secure and reliable platform, which is also used by many world-renowned large companies. Read also: Secure WordPress websites for businesses.

The steep price of websites comes as no surprise

We always provide a custom quote for our projects based on your specific needs, so the cost of your company’s website won’t come as a surprise! What’s more, we’ll continue to be your partner in developing your site even after the website project is complete.

So, if you need a website that’s designed to meet your objectives in terms of both functionality and visual design, please get in touch!