Establishing a budget for your website project should happen before you speak with a designer. I’ve talked to many potential clients who were surprised at hearing that there was more to the process than hiring a designer to develop the site. The more you are aware of what will be involved to getting your business online the better. Part of that is understanding and budgeting website start up costs.
There are some initial website start up costs before the design process begins.
Budgeting website start up costs
- Domain name registration – $20 yearly
- Website hosting – $60-$100 yearly (depending on hosting service and any special requirements like a SSL certificate or extra security)
- Royalty-free stock art photos and graphics – $15–$100+ each (depending on license fees and usage)
- E-commerce capabilities – $14–$180 monthly
- WordPress installation – $100-$200
- Theme and plugin licenses – $45-$200+ yearly (depending on the theme functionality and type of plugin)
Keep these costs in mind when speaking with a designer as they will factor into the budget of your website. Even a simple static site will be to be registered and have hosting.
Have the goals of your site clearly in mind. Think about what you want the site to do. Depending on the functionality you want, you might have programming costs.
The overall scope and goal of the site will enable a designer to provide a more accurate estimation of the time and costs involved. Having a better understanding on what some of the initial costs to getting online are can help you establish a budget for this important investment in your business.
In addition to the cost of designing a website be sure to factor in start up expenses. For more information on how to set a budget, read this Forbes article.