What does website development cost?

The cost of website design can vary wildly, depending on the area in which you live, what kind of website you have developed, among many other factors. However, most would agree that not having a website for your business or organization is simply not an option these days. So, what are the options available for a business or organization looking to have a website developed? This article will explain several options, as well as their advantages and disadvatages. So, read on to learn about some of the most popular options available to any business or organization that is looking for website development and wondering about the cost of website development. Here are some of the popular options available today.

Do it yourself?

Why not just do it yourself? It is true that there are several options available for those who lack coding skills but still have basic computer skills. Most of these 'do it yourself' websites have several templates to choose from, allowing you to create a decent looking website fairly quickly. And most of these 'do it yourself' websites can be created in just a few hours. Well, if it is really that easy and simple, then why would any business pay someone else to build a website for them? The truth is that there are many disadvantages to the 'do it yourself' type website builders, such as wix.com or GoDaddys website builder. One disadvantage is cost. Although some of the 'do it yourself' companies will let you create your website for free, they will charge you for hosting, domain names, and support, among other costs and fees. In the end it may end up costing you a lot more than you think to 'build a website yourself for free'. Another disadvantage is the look and feel. Although the 'do it yourself' websites might look half-decent, they will not truly look like a professional website. Yet another disadvantage is recognition by search engines, such as Bing and Google. In short, most search engines pay little attention to the 'do it yourself' websites, meaning that if you choose to go this route you will not get the number of customers and visitors to your website that you should. Yet another disadvantage is the amount of time that might be required to build a website yourself. Many business people and professionals simply do not have time to tinker with building a website.

Custom Website Development

Another viable option for businesses and organizations looking for website development services is to have a custom website built by a professional website design company. The advantages of this are obvious. You will get a highly polished website with all the features that you want. The custom website will likely do well on the search engines as well. There are, however, some disadvantages of this method of website development. One disadvantage is the cost. It can easily cost $5,000 and up for a custom website to be developed. And that cost is for just a basic website. If your business needs an online shopping cart or other advanced features, the cost can be much, much higher. Another disadvantage is that your new custom website may be built with a technology that is not widely popular with other website design companies. This can lead to even higher costs if you decide to switch to a different company in the future.

Lease a Website with a Monthly Payment

Some website development companies will build a custom website for free or a low set-up fee, and then charge a reasonable monthly fee to maintain that website. This is a great option because of the little or no up front cost, as well as the option to cancel the service if you are unsatisfied. Most companies that offer this service will also build a custom website for you, so you get all the advantages of a custom website, just without the high upfront cost. One disadvantage is similar to that of custom website development, in that if you decide to switch providers, the software or technology used by one company may not be compatible with the software or technology of another company. So that is something to consider.

While website development costs can vary greatly, there are several viable options for any business or organization that needs a website. And as everyone knows, a website is practically a requirement to do business these days.