Cost To Develop A Website

[bizinwonder]

I've been building my own websites with Yahoo and recently had a terrible experience with them, including 3 weeks without a functioning website or email.
So I am going to hire a developer to make a dynamic site that I can still manage myself. I was quoted $ 2,000 to be a deal for a site with storefront and a portal and told that the average cost is $3,500 to $ 4,000.
Is this an accurate cost to a develop a website? and how would I know if this is a reliable web hosting company?

[bgordon]

We are a small web development company in Western Colorado . We've been building (programming) dynamic websites for about 8 years.

Our projects have run anywhere between $2K and $100K, so you're at the low end of that range. $2000 is certainly not too much for what you are describing. A good, creative site design by a great graphic designer can run $1200 to $1500 for the designer's time (much more if you're in a large city) -- even for a relatively simple site.

One thing I would recommend is that you make sure that you're really getting some custom programming for your "storefront" -- that it really does what you want it to, and that your developer isn't just intending on using an cookie-cutter application that does what it does and gives you little control over how it acts or how it looks.

The thing is -- you get what you pay for (hopefully). Most important is the talent and integrity of the design firm. Get references and spend some time checking them out.

And the reliability of the hosting, as you've discovered, is very important as well. See if you can get an uptime percentage for the previous year for the hosting provider. 3 nines (99.9%) is good. 4 nines (99.99%) is better.

Best of luck! -bg

[pete]

It just depends on what you want. I have a number of clients with online shops that have cost them less than $ 100, including a year's hosting.

Here are a few -

Please keep in mind that I do not do the designs on these, I just install the cart and will add the designs supplied by my clients for a fee.

I've tried to show a mix of types.

http://confidentcurves.co.uk/ - not many items, but several views ot the garments when you get into the items themselves.

http://atozvarieties.com/

http://leadingav.com/http://ds-one.co.uk/

http://fuzzyfashiononline.com/ - about a week old site

http://mylittledistraction.com/

http://mediacroc.co.uk/ - one of my favorites

http://warrior-webbing.com/

Cost? $ 53.88 per year for hosting, $ 12 or so for a domain and maybe $ 50 or so for a design "skin". Some skins are even free.

If you want ot talk more, email me at pete at smallbusinesshoster dot com and I'll answer your questions...

[bizinwonder]

The quote I was given of $ 1,800 for the website includes site design and training me to manage the site, search engine optimization. So how does that cost seem?

[radiogirl]

BizInWonder - the problem with pricing is that it always depends! On what you are looking for, on what experience the designer has, what target market you are aiming for and what target market the designer is aiming for.

You can get a WordPress design customized for you for as little as $300 or you can pay nearly $4000 to have that same design combined with copy written by a professional marketer.

You can pay $10,000 to have a company design a site that is perfectly coded and that looks pretty, but that may not incorporate marketing strategies or user needs into the design.

So what you'll want to do is find someone whose samples you like, who you feel a trust and rapport with and who you can afford. You may need to make some adjustments as you learn more about marketing and copy and design down the road...but you're better off going with your gut and instinct (and what you can afford) rather than price.

[Karri]

Off the cuff comment here but one thing I see over and over (and over) again in my own practice is websites that are not search engine friendly (spiders can't "see" the content).

Another recurring theme is "pretty" design but poor usability.

You can save yourself a lot of headaches, time and money by ensuring that the shop you hire understands at least the fundamentals of SEO and usability. Of course, be prepared to get engaged the process, describe your target market in detail and set some goals for the site in question.

HTH!
Karri

[Crimson Fox]

Yep, make sure the website has goals.

Otherwise you'll spend money in the wrong places, especially if you're new to the process.

As for the price. Assuming you are getting something tailored to those goals, the price is definitely not extravagant.

But just remember, the cost is about return on investment.

[HostRail.com]

The cost doesn't surprise me. Storefronts and portals take time, as I'm sure you know. You might want to shop around with other small designing companies first. (it doesn't hurt to do some homework). Use your intuition when choosing a reliable web hosting company. If you can talk to someone on the phone, their website is appealing and easy to navigate and they seem interested in your ideas for your site, then you have a better chance of getting what you want in an end product.

Also, you should ask what hosting company and ecommerce package the designer is using (or if you have a say in the matter). You don't want to get stuck with a hosting/web solutions company that is too expensive or doesn't provide all that you may need in the future.

[viper_one]

It sounds a bit strong but I would prefer to put the funds into the advertising of the web site, instead! Remember: a good landing page can out-sell most web sites initially. (one page website that answers to PPC) I am also skeptical over any thing like a storefront -- might consider an EBay store before I spend eons waiting for a dime to arrive.

also, I like Sitesell.com! PROVEN!!

[Narhir]

I writed here long msg explaining that you should tell us what this developer is providing to you for that price etc.. and that probably I could do that for half of the price and my msg disapeard?

Can someone explain me WHY?!