Web design price list template

Using a website builder is the cheapest way to build a website, and is best for:

• Technical novices
• Anyone who needs a website live sooner rather than later
• Personal websites and portfolios

The full range of website builder prices range from free all the way up to around $500 per month. However, most new sites will fall within the $6 to $50 per month bracket.

Lets address the elephant in the room first the free plan. The truth is, if youre building a website that anyone else is going to see, you need a paid plan instead of the free plan. This is because free plans come with various limitations, the most common being:

• Adverts displayed on your website
• A free, non-custom domain, such as www.mywebsite.wix.com
• Limited features, such as low storage and bandwidth allowances
• No ecommerce features, meaning you cant sell online
• Basic customer support

The free plan is only suitable for trying out the website builder, seeing if its the right fit for you, and for building test sites to hone your skills and try out new ideas without any financial pressure.

Its the free plan that usually gives website builders a somewhat bad reputation for being cheap and poor quality, but thats not the case as long as you choose a good quality builder. We try and test builders so that we can recommend the top brands to our readers, to help you build a better website and get more for your money.

Heres the cream of the crop and how we rated them:

How Much Do the Best Website Builders Cost?

Wix and Weebly both come with free plans, while Squarespace provides a 14-day free trial. Weebly is unusual in that it also lets you sell online for free however, you still need to upgrade to use your own domain and remove adverts from your site.

The cheapest paid plan for each builder is:

Its worth noting that Weeblys cheapest paid plan still comes with adverts on your site, so we recommend starting on the $12 per month plan instead.

Below, you can see a more in-depth breakdown of the prices involved with each builder:

Are Website Builders Worth Your Money?

With a high quality website builder, you can create a truly professional website. Sure, if you choose poor tools, then youll end up with a shoddy product but if youre careful about the builder you choose, then you can set yourself up for success.

What were trying to say is, its worth spending a little extra on a better builder than simply picking out the first one you find. Youll get much better value for money from a builder such as Wix or Squarespace, for example, than a low-rated option such as SiteBuilder or 1&1 IONOS.

Heres a breakdown to help you decide how much you might need to pay for a website builder for your website:

What Costs Are Involved Using a Website Builder?

Professional Help: $0

You wont need to pay for any professional designers to help out with your site, as builders are easy to use and quick to get the hang of. You pay for a subscription, either monthly or annually, and this is the main cost youll need to budget for.

Domain Name: $12 per year

A lot of website builders include a free custom domain in their plans this usually gives you a free domain of your choice for your first year, after which youll need to pay. Domains vary in price, but average around $12 per year for a common one such as .com.

Apps: $3 $60 per month

If you want to add apps to your site, then theres often a mix of free and paid ones to choose from. Paid apps arent usually expensive, ranging from $3 to $60 per month you get to pick which apps to install and which plan you want, so youre in total control of this cost.

Themes, Hosting, or Security: $0

You dont need to pay for themes, hosting, or security for your website these costs are all included in your website builder subscription.

Website Builder Cost: Summary

Average price range: $6 $50 per month

The best website builders are:

What do you pay for?

• Subscription [monthly or annually]: $6 $50 per month
• Domain name: $12 per year
• Optional apps: $3 $60 per month

Total cost estimate: $10 $111 per month

Using WordPress gives you a lot more control over your website and your budget. Its best for:

• Those with a little technical confidence
• Anyone who wants full customization
• Blogs, business sites, and very large websites

The cost of a WordPress website is pretty hard to pin down. It depends on a lot of different factors, because theres a lot of different aspects to think about when setting up a WordPress site.

On the one hand, WordPress is free. There are free themes and plugins too, so in theory, it should be easy to keep costs low. However, you might find you need a premium theme, and then theres hosting to think about [and pay for]. If you hire a WordPress developer, your total website cost could quickly creep up into the thousands.

There are various costs that can affect the total price of building a WordPress website, but the main one is hosting. You can get away with using free themes and plugins, but hosting is an essential and important cost thats vital for getting your WordPress website online.

So, how much does it cost to host a WordPress website? It depends on your provider. There are tons of hosting providers out there to choose from, and some are better than others. For WordPress, we recommend using Bluehost [and so does WordPress itself, come to that!]

Whats the Best WordPress Hosting Provider?

Bluehost is the number one WordPress hosting provider, making it the highest quality host you can choose for your WordPress website. No, its not the cheapest on the market but with prices starting at $2.95 per month, its not going to break the bank, either.

Why is it the best? Not only does it come with an official recommendation from WordPress itself, it also wowed us in our research just check out its scores!

Okay, okay, we know what youre wondering: Just how much will a Bluehost hosting plan cost me?

Heres the quick answer: between $2.95 and $49.95 per month, depending on which plan you need. Here are the starting prices for each of Bluehosts WordPress-specific hosting plans:

Bluehosts WordPress specific hosting plans come with features to help you run your WordPress site, such as automatic backups and automatic WordPress installation, to save you time and hassle.

How Much Do the Best Web Hosts Cost?

Although Bluehost is the best WordPress hosting provider, its not the only option. Heres a quick run-down of the best WordPress hosting providers according to our research, and their prices plans:

Bluehost is the best overall, for both shared and managed WordPress hosting. A2 Hosting offers a strong set of managed WordPress plans, making it a great Bluehost alternative if youre looking for something a tiny bit cheaper. HostGator only provides shared WordPress hosting, but it does it well if at a higher price tag than its competitors.

You can see how we scored these WordPress hosts in our research below:

Other top WordPress hosts include:

• iPage starting at $1.99 per month
• DreamHost starting at $2.59 per month
• InMotion starting at $4.99 per month
• SiteGround starting at $11.95 per month
• WPEngine starting at $25 per month

As you can see, theres a lot of variation in how much it costs to host a WordPress website. Some hosts offer just shared or just managed WordPress hosting plans, which affects the price managed hosting tends to be more expensive.

Of course, you dont have to choose WordPress specific hosting, but we highly recommend it youll save a lot of time and headaches by letting your host handle some of the techy stuff!

Which Type of Hosting Should You Pay For?

Managed WordPress, shared WordPress, ecommerce how on earth are you supposed to pick the best one for you, and find one to suit your budget? You dont want to overpay for a plan you dont need or shoot your site in the foot by skimping on a plan thats too limiting for your needs.

Well quickly walk you through the different types of WordPress hosting, and hopefully point you in the direction of the plan thats best for you, your site, and your budget.

What Extra Costs Are Involved Using WordPress?

Okay, so weve covered the main cost associated with creating a WordPress website. But what about other costs aside from hosting? Lets run through how much it costs to build a website when you consider extras such as domains, plugins, and themes.

Professional Help: $300 $100 per hour

Many beginners use WordPress, but if you want a complex or custom website, then chances are you might need to hire a WordPress developer to help make your ideas a reality. This is optional, so we wont be factoring this cost into the final WordPress total, as many people build quite happily without a developers help.

However, if you do need to hire someone to help you with your WordPress site, youre looking at a cost anywhere between $30 and $100+ per hour. Usually, the more you pay, the better the developer is likely to be but always do your research before hiring someone.

Spending around $100 per hour on a developer may sound like a lot, but thats within the average cost you should expect to pay for a capable WordPress specialist.

Domain Name: $12 $60 per year

You need a domain for your WordPress website to help people find you online!

Unlike with website builders, you dont get a free branded subdomain, so you need to pick out a custom domain from day one. This is usually part of the sign-up process when you create a hosting account, making the whole registering process super easy.

Domains vary in price depending on the hosting provider you register with, and the domain you pick [such as .com versus .rich] these two factors will hugely affect how much you should expect to pay for your domain.

On average, though, domains cost anywhere between $12 and $60 per year. The good news is that some web hosts, such as Bluehost, give you a custom domain for free for your first year after that, youll need to pay the yearly domain fee.

Plugins: $0 $100+ per year

Plugins add functionality to your WordPress website, such as contact forms, testimonials, newsletter subscriptions, and whatever else you want your site to have! Popular plugins include adding ecommerce or multilingual functionality to your WordPress website.

There are free plugins and paid plugins, so its up to you how much you want to spend adding new features to your site. Some plugins come with different plans, so that you can start off using the free plan and then upgrade to unlock a better version.

The cost of plugins range from $0 to $100+ per year.

Themes: $0 $50 per theme

Just like plugins, there are both free and premium themes for you to choose from. Free themes are a great way of getting started, and you can find some stylish ones in the WordPress theme directory. Just bear in mind that they might not be as professional or loaded with features as premium themes, which can cause you to rely more heavily on plugins further down the line.

Premium themes tend to be around $50, but can reach up beyond the $200 mark however, this is a one-time charge, after which the theme is yours to customize and edit for as long as you wish.

The upside to using a premium theme is that it usually comes with more support and regular updates, to stop it breaking or becoming outdated, and also has features built-in to save you spending money on premium plugins. Think of it as a theme and plugin bundle!

Its totally your choice whether to use a free or premium theme just remember to think about your website and its essential features when choosing.

Security: $0 $200 per year

Any hosting provider worth its salt will come with security features built into its plans. However, WordPress sites can be pretty vulnerable to online attacks, so its worth investing in some extra security measures.

There are free security plugins available for example, Sucuri is a security plugin that scans, blocks, and removes threats from your site. The plugin is free, but if you want a Sucuri account and access to all its features, then the cheapest Sucuri plan costs $199.99 per year.

Sucuri isnt the only option, so its worth doing some research. Other popular choices include:

WordPress Website Cost: Summary

Average price range: $200 upfront cost, $11 $50 per month ongoing cost

WordPress cost: free!

The best web hosts are:

What do you pay for?

• Hosting subscription: $2.95 $50 per month
• Domain name: $12 per year
• Premium plugins [optional]: $5 $100+ [some one-off, some ongoing]
• Premium themes [optional]: $55 $200+ [one-off]

Total cost estimate:

Upfront cost: $250

Ongoing cost: $3.95 $150 per month

Note: Its worth knowing that hosting providers often charge you for your plan upfront. So if you choose a 12-month plan, youll be paying a lump sum rather than month-by-month. This means you could pay an upfront fee of $35 to $600 upfront for hosting alone, depending on which plan you choose.

Hiring a web designer to plan and create your site puts your project firmly in the hands of the professionals. You dont get to totally sit back and relax youll need to work with your web designer to create a site you love but it does take a lot of the heavy lifting away from you.

Hiring a web designer is best for:

• Anyone needing a very complex website
• Those with zero time or technical confidence
• Big budgets and big, custom websites

This is possibly the hardest cost to estimate, because different web designers will charge different rates depending on the project and their own experience. You might choose an agency or a freelancer, and this will also affect the cost.

On the whole though, youre looking at a cost between $5,000 and $30,000 to get someone to create your website for you.

We tried and reviewed the design agency Hibu, so we can give you a more accurate estimate based on their charge rates. However, remember that other agencies and freelancers will have their own pricing tables.

When we tested Hibu, we paid an upfront cost of $449, and then an ongoing fee of $129 per month.

Hibus upfront quotes range between $99 and $449, which covers the creation of your website. This is dependent on how many pages you need, which features you want, and if you need to sell through your site.

There is then an ongoing fee, which ranges from $99 to $159 per month. This covers hosting and security, grants access to support, and lets you create maintenance requests.

Price is pretty important here, because if you pay less than $5,000, you could end up with a poorly designed website and run into problems pretty quickly as you try to maintain it. This is not an option if youre not confident in your budget, so dont overstretch yourself!

What Affects the Cost Of Hiring a Web Designer?

Here are some things to think about when hiring a web designer, which will all factor into the final cost of building your website:

• How complex is your website plan?
• Do you want the designer to handle hosting, domains, and plugins for you? Or do you just want them to design and build your site?
• Will you need them to carry out ongoing maintenance on your site? Or will you do this yourself?
• Do you have a premade template you want the designer to customize? Or do you want the designer to build your site from scratch?
• What sort of features do you need? For example, will you be selling online?
• How many pages is your website going to be? Youll need to know this beforehand to get an accurate quote.

Its often a good idea to manage your own hosting and domain name, because then its in your name and under your control. This makes running your site easier, and gives you a bigger say over your site for example, itll make moving hosting providers much easier.

Cost of Building a Website: Web Designer Breakdown

So, what exactly are the costs involved in hiring a web designer? The table below breaks down the different factors that you pay for, to give you a better idea of exactly what youre paying for, and the average costs involved:

This highlights some of the often unseen costs of using a web designer, such as having to train to use your own website after theyve made it. The average cost of hiring a web designer to build your website is $6,760.

Youll likely find theres some overlap here with the WordPress building method, because many designers and developers use WordPress to create their sites.

In fact, one way of cutting down the cost of hiring a web designer is to buy a premium WordPress theme and then ask the designer to customize it for you, rather than getting them to build you a site from scratch. If youre looking to save where you can, this is a good middle-ground, which well discuss in more detail next!

How to Reduce the Cost of Hiring a Web Designer

Okay, you might be thinking you cant afford to spend over $6,000 for a web designer to create your site. What you mustnt do is find a designer with dirt-cheap prices to save funds you wont get value for your money this way.

If youre super tight for cash, the reality is you should probably head to either the website builder or WordPress section of this article, because a web designer is supposed to cost thousands of dollars. You usually get what you pay for when it comes to hiring a designer!

However, there is a way to slightly lower the cost of hiring a designer to create your site. And thats to buy a premade WordPress theme, and ask a designer to customize it for you.

This option is in-between a DIY website and a fully custom built website design.

You can hire a designer to help customize a premade template into something unique just for you.

This is a good option if you are not ready for an entirely custom website, and if pre-made templates are not exactly what you want.

You can pay by the hour or by the project for design customizations.

Expect to pay between $300 and $1,000 for template customization the average is around $600 for this sort of service.

The cost varies depending on how much work you want to be done, such as adding a header image, moving the logo, creating a fixed navigation bar, changing the overall layout design etc.

However, for a full, custom job from a capable designer, youre looking at at least $10,000.

How Much Does It Cost to Create Website Content? $50 $80 per hour

Once the framework of your site has been designed, you need content for your website. Designers can charge for content creation by the hour, or by project:

• $50 $80 per hour
• $250 $500 minimum charge per project. This may include a minimum of 3 pages, and additional pages will be a slightly cheaper.
• Logo or branding design will be about $100 $1500 depending on the extent of the branding design you need.

You may also want to budget for ongoing maintenance costs. Thats usually about $100 $500 per year, provided you dont make any major alterations to your website design.

Heres a summary of the various costs involved in hiring a professional to build your site for you:

Overall, the most expensive option is to hire a web designer to build you a site from scratch. This will cost you somewhere around the $10,000 mark. There are certain things you can do to bring the cost down, such as keeping your site to a minimum number of pages and being ruthless with the features you need.

You can save some money by buying a premade theme, and then asking a designer to customize it for you this customization usually costs around $600.

However, what you mustnt do is try to save money by hiring a web designer on the cheap. Youll still end up paying a few thousand, and chances are youll end up with a website youre not 100% happy with!

Web Designer Website Cost: Summary

Average price range: $6,000 $10,000+

Two charges:

Upfront cost: $5,000 $10,000+

Ongoing charge: $500 $1,000 per year

What do you pay for?

• Security and hosting included in some packages [always check]
• Web design
• Website creation
• Content creation
• Ongoing maintenance

Total cost estimate:

Upfront cost: $6,760

Ongoing cost: $500 $1,000 per year

Building a website is, in our opinion, one of the most exciting things you can do. And its understandable, even advisable, to have big dreams for your website. But dont get carried away and expect too much too soon.

Here are some tips that weve put together, to help you save money further down the line.

Start Small

Everyone makes mistakes the first time they build a website, so take the time to practise. There are plenty of free and cheap options where you can brush up on your building skills, without the pressure of knowing youve got a lot of money invested in the project.

Starting out small limits your potential losses, and reduces the chance of you falling over common stumbling blocks later on [when youve got more money on the line]. Just have fun to start with!

Be Realistic

You might have big plans for your website. You could be dreaming of all the bells and whistles, complex programming, shiny design features, and interactive elements galore but remember to be realistic, and set achievable goals for yourself when youre starting out.

A new website isnt going to match up to the likes of Amazon or Facebook, for example. It doesnt have to be boring, but it should be within your scope to create. There are three main things that determine how high you can set your website goals:

• Your budget the bigger your budget, the more you can spend on fancy features.
• Your tech skills the more advanced your tech skills, the more you can do yourself.
• Your time the more time you have, the more work you can put into your site.

This isnt to say that if youre broke, busy, or a total tech novice that youll end up with a lame website it simply means you need to spend your time and money wisely to get the best results. Well show you how to do this in the rest of our guide!

Ask the Right Questions

We already know the first question: How much does a website cost? But there are other questions you need to ask to work out the answer, and keep sight of the bigger picture.

By thinking about all these things before you start building your website, youll find you can get a more accurate answer to the question: how much will my website cost? Youll be in a better position to both save money, and make your money go further in building your website.

Heres a quick summary to help you get an idea of which building method might best suit your needs and your budget:

• Website Builders: If you want to dip your toe into the world of website building without worrying about your technical skills or needing a large budget, website builders are perfect for creating a professional site without any hassle. You can run your own site without investing too much time or money.
• WordPress: If you want full control over your website, dont mind handling the technical side of things, and have wriggle room in your budget, then WordPress is a sensible option. You also have the choice to hire a developer to help you if you want.
• Web Designer: If you have a big budget and would prefer someone else to handle everything, then a web designer can take the work out of your hands. This is also recommended if you have complex needs beyond your own technical abilities.

Next, well recap the three main methods of building a website and how much it costs to build a website with each one, to help you pick the best value option for you.

Weve walked you through the costs involved in making a website, from using a website builder to hiring a professional designer to build it for you. Hopefully you now have a clearer idea of the best method for you, and which one best suits your budget.

Remember that working out how much a website costs isnt just about money. Its also about the other resources you have, such as time, tech skills, and design skills. If you have tons of time, you can learn new skills, but if youre pressed for time and have a large budget, you can delegate the work to a professional.

Thinking about what you want from your site, how much time and money you can realistically put into your site, and how you want to run your site on a day to day basis, will all help you make the most of your money in the long run.

Although every site comes with its own unique set of costs, heres a recap of our estimates, to help you pick the best option for you.

Website Cost: Recap

• Use a website builder: $6 $50 per month cheapest option
• Use WordPress: $35 $780 upfront cost, $11 $50 per month ongoing cost lots of control over how cheap [or expensive] your site ends up being
• Hire a web designer: $500 $10,000+ minimal time investment, but most expensive option

Whether youre counting out every cent or have a huge budget to play with, there is a website building option for you. The most important thing is to get value for your money. Heres a summary of each method to help you pick the right one for you:

We recommend using a website builder if:

• You have a tight budget
• Youre a first-time builder
• Youre short on time
• You want to have a go at creating a site yourself
• You dont want to deal with all the technical stuff

We recommend using WordPress if:

• You have a little more wriggle room in your budget
• You want total control over your site
• You have plenty of time
• You want a high level of customization
• Youd enjoy handling all the technical stuff

We recommend using a web designer if:

• You have a large budget
• You dont want the responsibility of creating a site yourself
• Youre very short on time
• You need a very complex or custom design
• Youd be happy letting a professional manage your site

Building a website doesnt have to be expensive as long as you pick the right method and get value for your money, your website will be worth every cent. Happy building!