What is the price of a website? It is a question we are often asked. Let’s compare it with the price of a kitchen. You have kitchens of 2000 Euros and kitchens of 80 000 Euros. And both kitchens are perfect for cooking a delicious steak. But then, what is the difference? The experience, of course. The impression you leave on your guests will be completely different. A 50 000 Euros kitchen will simply exude more finesse than the 5 000 Euros kitchen. The same applies to your website. You have websites of 3000 Euros but also of 100 000 Euros, the difference is the experience that comes with it. So the question you need to ask yourself is: how do you want to come across to your (potential) customers?
Your website is a reflection of your company and should therefore always be tailored to your business. Thinking out the structure and positioning as well as the complete look and feel takes time, and therefore money. A ‘one size fits all’ principle is out of the question for a good, converting website, let that be clear.
Also remember that setting up your website is just a start and does not represent the full picture. The conversion will take place on your website, but of course you need to get visitors to your website first. So besides investing in a website, there is also the investment in marketing that you should not lose sight of. For example, it is recommended to reinvest approximately 10% of your turnover in marketing activities. But that’s matter for another article. Keep your eyes peeled!
Our advice: if you have a good product, make sure you also have a good platform (website). Dare to invest in a website because it is your brand’s business card. In this article we will take a closer look at what needs to be done when setting up a new website. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot more than you think.
In this article
What determines the price of your website?
The building blocks of a website
What determines the price of your website?
Your website is basically a visual and textual representation of your company. So you better make sure it makes a good (first) impression on your visitors and potential customers. Investing in a good and beautiful website is therefore worthwhile. Because let’s face it: if you don’t value your company, why would a stranger?
The world of website development is part of the service industry so creating a website has no set price. When someone asks ‘how much does a website cost’ the answer is usually a lot of new questions. Which Content Management System (CMS) do you want/need? How many pages do you need? What functionalities do you want in your website? In how many languages does the website need to be available? Is it about a purely informative website or are we talking about a website with a protected area (portal website)? Should the site be integrated with external systems (ERP, etc.)? Does a new design need to be created or is there already a concrete idea? In addition, it is also important to think about the content of your website. Do you provide the copywriting and photos? Or will the company you go to for your website also take care of this? At Dazzle for example we have an in-house copywriter available who writes or rewrites the content of your website.
The cost of your final website is therefore largely determined by:
- The size of the project
- The complexity of your site
- The essential elements
The building blocks of a website
It is clear by now that a free or ridiculously cheap website will not yield a return and that the actual price of your website depends on several factors. Before we go deeper into the price tag of different websites, we would like to clarify what needs to be done once you decide to create a website.
Define
When you start looking for a website developer, there will be some initial interviews or workshops. This way, the supplier gets to know your company and business better and they get an idea of what you are looking for. During these conversations, it is also up to you as a company to express your expectations. What kind of website do you want exactly? What is the (primary) purpose of the website? Does a new corporate identity also need to be designed? Open communication from both sides is essential here in order to avoid future problems.
In addition, some other issues will be discussed at these meetings. Think about the choice of CMS (Content Management System). Will you go for a WordPress website? Or would you prefer a Drupal website? The choice WordPress or Drupal is closely related to your digital strategy and desired functionality. If you have no idea which direction you want to go, the web development agency will certainly help you on your way.
It is also important to engage in benchmarking at this stage of the process. For example, at the beginning of a project with Dazzle, there is always an extensive analysis. This includes an analysis of the current website and its performance (using Google Analytics and Google Search Console) but also a competitor analysis.
Design
The design of your website comprises various aspects. There is the architecture of your website. This is about the navigation and the structure of your website: how is your website put together, what goes where on the page, what structure is applied, and so on. Before drawing up a structure for your website, it is crucial to carry out an audit of your target audiences or have one carried out. That way, you get a better idea of who exactly you are going to target and you can draw up buyer personas (an extensive description of your most important target audiences). In order to set up an optimal structure, it is important not to forget about UX design. After all, you want visitors to your new website to fulfil their proposed tasks as quickly as possible.
Today, a web design needs to be more than just responsive. We live in a world where users increasingly visit websites with their smartphone. But also search engines like Google will first look at your mobile website (and crawl it) before they visit the desktop version. Mobile first is therefore an absolute must for the graphic design of your website.
In addition, the look and feel of your website will also be examined in the web design phase. Are you copying it from the current website or could your brand use a refresh? At first glance, look and feel is about the colour palette of your brand, the logo and the chosen font. But also the use of photos and other visuals, icons, white space and accents should not be forgotten.
So what is the web design price? Although this is usually included in the total price, you will usually find the price of the graphic part on a quotation. Do you want a simple design? Then a few hours will suffice. For example, 10 hours for a simple design at 100 euro per hour = 1000 euro for the design of your website. If you want a more complex style or if a new logo, colour palette, etc. also have to be drawn up, then this price will naturally increase.
Build
Then it’s time for the biggest chunk of work: building your website. Two commonly used principles when developing a website are the Waterfall and Agile frameworks. Whereas Waterfall is a traditional way of working where a concrete plan and the necessary documentation have an important place in the process, an Agile approach uses short sprints. The difference lies in the flexibility, degree of feedback and adaptability. At Dazzle, for example, we often opt for Agile precisely because we like to be in close contact with our customers. It is important to note that Waterfall and Agile are nothing more than philosophies. They tell you how you can execute a project better but don’t explain exactly how to do it. For this we fall back on the Scrum methodology.
Depending on your choice of CMS (Drupal or WordPress), building your website will take a few weeks to a few months. If you work with a company that uses a template, you will have your website up and running fairly quickly. However, your website will be far from original and will probably not contain the essence of your business.
The configuration and development of your future website is done in consultation with you, the client. At Dazzle we always choose quality over speed, this goes without saying. Just like you need to be precise with a house, it is the same with a website. You don’t want your website to crash or show a lot of errors because there is a mistake in the foundation. In addition, the pixel perfect completion of a website does not take one hour but at least one day.
Content
As we mentioned earlier, there is also the issue of content. In terms of text, there are a few options you can usually choose from: provide texts yourself, have content write by a company, or have your existing texts analyzed and rewritten by a company. Whoever is going to write the texts, make sure from the start that they are optimized for search engines such as Google and Bing. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a lengthy process but, if done right, can certainly pay off in the long run. Be sure to check out our SEO do’s and don’ts! In addition to actually providing texts, you also choose who will make sure that the content ends up in the right place on the website. Uploading content is often a task that is not taken into account, so don’t lose sight of it! You can ask the web development agency to take care of this for you or you can start working with the (supplied) texts yourself.
Content is about more than just writing texts. A website needs to be visually appealing to encourage conversion. The first thing that comes to mind is pictures. Here too you have to make a choice. Will you go for stock photos or will you hire a professional photographer? Some businesses have a greater need for personal photos than others. For example, if you sell cosmetics products such as Marion Maakt you will have to work with a photographer, whereas a purely informative website such as Arbeidszorg works without photographic material. In addition to photos, don’t forget to pay attention to infographics, icons, videos, etc.
Deploy
The final step, of course, is to put your brand new website live. Here one thing is essential: testing! A good web development agency will make sure that before putting your website online it has been thoroughly tested a couple of times. Of course there has been regular testing throughout the development process (by the developer and possibly the client) but a final, comprehensive test of all functionalities is a must. You not only check if all buttons and links work, but also if all content is in the right place, the URLs are correct, contact forms work, and so on. This is also a job that is not done in a matter of minutes. You want to spot possible errors and shortcomings before the website goes live, because you only have one chance to make a first impression with your new website!
Even after the website goes live, the story doesn’t stop there. With some web development agencies, you can also count on support in case of problems, hosting services and regular maintenance. This of course depends on your own preferences and the contract you have with the web development agency. At Dazzle we provide tailor-made packages for our customers. You choose which parts you want and which parts you don’t.
Free DIY websites
Before we jump to prices, let’s talk about the so-called free do-it-yourself or ‘1 Euros a day’ websites. Some websites claim that setting up your own website is child’s play and almost free. Keep in mind, however, that no company that wants to be taken seriously uses this type of DIY websites. First of all, these websites are often offered for free but in return you get an impersonal URL such as http://yourwebsitename.wix.com/. Do you want a domain name without the mention of your website builder? Then the costs will quickly mount up. Unwanted advertising will also appear all over your website and let’s face it: nobody wants that.
Secondly, as a company you want to be found and using do-it-yourself website builders will certainly not improve your SEO. Google is absolutely not a fan of impersonal URLs. Furthermore, it will be difficult for you to start working with marketing techniques since free do-it-yourself websites are simply not equipped for this.
Want to discover more differences? Read our case study comparing WordPress and Wix.
Price of a website
By now you have read a lot of information on setting up a website. But how much does a website actually cost? Well, you know now that this depends on your wishes and needs. Exact prices are therefore out of the question. However, we are happy to give you an indication per project:
| Informative WordPress website | From € 5000 |
| Webshop or a little more complex WordPress website | From € 10 000 |
| Informative Drupal website | From € 10 000 |
| Complex Drupal website | From € 25 000 |
And then there are the monthly or annual costs for hosting and maintenance. This, too, differs per company: one will only provide support during office hours while another company can offer 24/7 support. It all depends on how many backups, updates, support, etc. you want.
A website with Dazzle
How much do you pay for a website at Dazzle? For WordPress websites we have a minimum price of € 7500. The reason we do not offer cheaper websites is because quality prevails with us. Just as we take our business au sérieux, we expect the same from our customers. So at Dazzle we don’t go for fast, cheap websites but for custom websites with a focus on conversion. In addition, we always opt for quick follow-up, clear communication and a long-term cooperation with our customers. Do you believe in your business and value it, then so do we!
Looking for a (new) website? At Dazzle, we develop WordPress and Drupal websites, as well as mobile applications for companies.
