How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website?
It would be a fair assumption to suggest that this handy sasquatch likes to do things on a budget. After all, who doesn’t like to save money wherever you can? While I want to save money for new disguises to wear on my daily strolls into town, I also know that sometimes you have to spend a little money to make money. If you’ve made it to this guide, you’re likely wondering how to make a website for free or asking yourself how much does it cost to build a website. Fortunately for both of us, we have plenty of options to consider!
One route to online creation is by hiring a site developer. The cost to build a website this way is the priciest of the bunch, but you’ll find yourself doing far less work than the alternatives. A site developer is there to grow your ideal website, often from the ground up. This may require extensive computer coding knowledge or plenty of experience using existing website builders. If you’re considering this option, you’re likely eager to get your website off of the ground but don’t know where to start. Or perhaps you’re so full of ideas that you’re getting started on strategic planning rather than web development. Either way, you’re willing to invest to free up some of your own time.
| Hours | Hourly Rate | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | $50 | $500 |
| 20 | $50 | $1000 |
| 30 | $50 | $1500 |
| 40 | $50 | $2000 |
Now, let’s take a look at the cost of how much to build a website when taking this direction. Since you’ll be hiring somebody to do the bulk of the work for you, you’ll be looking at paying a minimum hourly rate of around $19 CAD for basic site work. Those who would like a fully optimized and customizable website may be looking at fees in the range of $195 per hour. Depending on the complexity of your dream site, you’ll be looking at anywhere between 10 and 40 hours of work.
Where does one sasquatch go to find somebody to do this work? You can hire a professional team by looking at design studios near you or choose to hire a freelancer to help you out. For an Affordable Website Builder try Fiverr. If you want the BEST, try hiring from Toptal. You should always ensure that you get to check out their previous websites to ensure that their style is up your alley.
Another factor to consider is if you build your own website you'll need to pay for your domain name yearly and the website hosting monthly. These fees really add up.
If this fee seems too steep for what you have in mind, you may have better luck using a website builder. They may even help you learn how to make a website for free! These builders are tools that give you the creative freedom to design sites with minimal to zero knowledge of coding. So, if you’re like me and have been living in the woods since the dawn of the internet and never learned to code, you may have found your dream!
Website builders like Wix are easy-to-use and even easier to learn for their intuitive drag-and-drop templates. While most of these builders will offer free plans, we recommend choosing paid options that allow you to create a custom domain and provide more benefits, like the removal of advertisements and more storage space. Depending on which level you decide to choose, Wix will cost you anywhere between $5 and $30 a month. That’s not too bad compared to the thousands of dollars that can go into a site developer! Take our helpful quiz to find out what website builder is right for you!
Finally, choosing the route of WordPress is your next option to ponder. When it comes to ranking website builders , WordPress.com often reigns supreme, and for a good reason. It will give you the opportunity to use a website builder with enough customization that you’ll feel like you’re a pro developer without all of the stress. Like our other options, there are plenty of pricing tiers. However, we recommend the $10 a month premium plan for its unlimited support, premium themes, and free domain registration.
Are you asking yourself
if you should build your own website? There are many reasons to say yes, but the cost should never hold you back. As you can see, there are so many different pathways to learn the answer to “how much does it cost to build a website” that if you laid them all out in my forest, you might get lost! You can build a website on a budget or with thousands to drop on web developers. For example, the person wondering how much does it cost to build a website for a small business will have a very different map than the one who is more concerned with doing minimal work. No matter which way you take, you can rest assured that you’ll find a friendly sasquatch down the road to help direct you to your next steps.
