How long is a piece of string? Prices of websites vary hugely across the UK, and it will come down to a lot of different elements. Let’s take a look at the most common ones.
The Platform
This is the software your website will be built on. Here at Gwe Cambrian Web we use WordPress for the majority of our websites. WordPress is a CMS (content management system) which is an open source platform which is very popular (powering 37% of all websites on the web). Some website developers will have created their own platforms, which will likely mean a higher starting cost.
What you will need to consider is what do you want your website to do? Can it be achieved using an open source platform like WordPress, or do you need a bespoke one? Ask your prospective website developers, they will tell you if they can match your requirements or not!
Functionality
Undoubtedly for us, this is the aspect that increases the cost of a website quote. As we all know, time is money, and the longer the requirements take to create, the more it will cost. This is another reason we use WordPress, because it is open source which means a lot of the functionality can be added at a lower cost than creating a bespoke system.
It’s always worth checking to see what is included in the price for a standard website – so you don’t have hidden costs for an element like a slideshow for example. Compare the packages for the best value.
What is functionality? Elements of what your website does, for example a contact form, gallery, slideshow, Google map – these are all “functionality” and put together create a great website. Many developers will include standard functionality in the website build as we do, but additional functionality might be things like adding an e-commerce store, document library, swanky mapping and more.
Theme or bespoke
If you do have a website built on a CMS, consider what you are being quoted for when it comes to the design. We recently wrote a blog about what a theme is, and there are many thousands of free and premium (paid for) themes which can be used. All of our website quotes are for bespoke themes, meaning we make them ourselves and you can’t find the same template online. Some website developers will use paid themes, which can cost as little as $19! It’s always worth making sure you know what you’re getting, and if you’re happy with a paid theme (this can work excellently depending on your needs), make sure the cost reflects that.
We have worked with clients who wanted specific premium themes with small tweaks and changes, it can keep the cost of your new website down so it’s definitely not something to sniff at.
Amount of Pages
A lot of website developers appear to quote based on the amount of pages (we don’t) – this is definitely something to consider when looking for a quote, if you do have a large website.
Being able to login and access the website yourself
This is very much more common a request now, but when we started the business in 2013, not many clients wanted to be able to access their website for updates or changes. Nowadays this is far more common, so make sure that this is included in your website quote, or that you can budget for changes further down the line.
Summary
Why write this blog? Well, we sometimes find ourselves with clients who aren’t happy with their new website, or have paid thousands for a website many others would quote much less for. It usually all comes down to the fact that actually, as website developers we’re not very open about what affects the cost – transparency across the board should definitely help that, and help customers to understand where their money is going.