List of Factors That Affects Website Development Cost

 

Having a website in place is a prerequisite for any business these days. Online presence is a must for attracting customers as well as survival. Regardless of the size and type of your venture, you have to think of the cost of setting up a website for it. Even if you are thinking of taking your home-based venture online, the cost factor cannot be overlooked. Nowadays, the options for website developments are plentiful, and several factors come into the picture that affect the overall website development cost.

9 Major Factors Affecting Website Development Cost

• The platform or tool chosen

Nowadays, websites can be created using a wide range of tools and platforms. The tool chosen has a direct impact on the website development cost. There are several frameworks and tools you can use for free. There are paid versions too. For example, Magento comes in both free and commercial versions. WordPress is also Open Source and can be used for free. The paid web development tools also come in many flavors. Some require playing a one-time licensing fee while others are available as SaaS models, requiring monthly/quarterly subscriptions.

• The type of developer/ agency chosen

You can create a website using easy to use frameworks when you have no coding skill. This can be ideal for making personal websites. However, businesses either hire web developers or reputed web development agencies for such needs. There are agencies that offer PHP website development services and other packages. Typically, hiring a freelance web developer will cost you less than hiring a veteran web development agency. However, web developers with considerable expertise may also charge high rates. The charge may vary location-wise too.

• The cost of web hosting

Unless you choose a hosting service, your website will not be accessible to anyone. There are plenty of web hosting options to pick from nowadays. The free web hosting plans come with limitations like bandwidth capping, advertisements and page number limitations etc. Shared hosting is cheaper, and it is ideal for small-time companies. It may cost you roughly $3 – $7 a month. VPS hosting is what most brands opt for, and that costs around $ 20-$30 per month. The hosting companies have varying pricing plans, and some offer discounts on two-year subscription plans.

• Domain name cost

Your website’s domain name is like its online address. To register a domain name for your website, you have to pay any amount. In most instances, website owners need to pay around $10-$20/year for buying domain names. The price, however, varies from one domain registrar to another. Hostgator and GoDaddy are two popular registrars.

• Type of website

Website development cost also depends on the type of website. Setting up a personal website with a few pages may cost you a frugal amount, and you may opt for shared hosting. However, the same cannot be said about setting up a brand website with many sections and pages in it. The cost of setting up an e-commerce website can be quite high as well. 

• Type of additional and third-party components used

Often, the third-party components and additional services used for web development add to the overall cost. You may opt for WordPress development services considering the free and Open-Source nature of the tool, but there are other factors involved. Not all WP themes and plug-ins come for free. The themes are required for giving the website an enticing layout and UI. These plug-ins are useful for boosting site functionality. The same logic is applicable for tools like Magento as well. 

• Security measures deployed

Nowadays, website security has become a matter of serious concern. The numerous instances of websites getting hacked have prompted web developers to deploy stringent security measures. If you want to develop a site for e-commerce needs, this is even more important. People who buy online are often skeptical about sharing their data, and they need some form of assurance. The web developer you hire may charge additionally for deploying specific online security measures on the website. 

• Timeframe

Sometimes, the timeframe required for developing a website can have an impact on the overall cost. Web development firms offering Drupal or Laravel website development services usually have pre-set packages for meeting diverse customer needs. However, they may charge a little more if the client demands website development within a tight time frame. Some clients may need to get a website developed on short notice. 

• SEO and content optimization

Some web development agencies also pack in SEO services for their clients. This is actually convenient and cost-effective for the clients. Hiring two different entities for website development and SEO does not make much sense. There are web development agencies offering content optimization services too.

How To Ensure The Website Development Cost Stays Within The Limit?

Given the abundance of options, both in terms of development agencies and website creation tools, it is possible for anyone to exceed the budget for website development! To ensure website development cost does not touch the roof, you may resort to the following measures:

• Analyzing the situation and needs- First of all, you have to analyze your requirements for setting up a website well. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is it going to be a personal site, a site for your home-based venture, an e-commerce site or an educational portal?
2. Are you going to hire a web development company, or a seasoned freelance web developer suffice for the job?
3. Do you want a shared or VPS hosting plan for your website?
4. Do you have some coding skills or want a framework/platform to be used that needs no coding at all?
5. What about the support and maintenance provisions of the developer chosen?

Once you sort out these factors, setting up an approx budget for website development will become easier. At least, you should be able to set a price range.

• Assessing pricing policy- Whether you hire a freelance web developer or a reputed web development company, ensure you check out the pricing policy carefully. Some web developers may charge you per hour, and there are agencies that offer a quote covering every aspect of website creation. In any case, make sure you understand the pricing policy before finalizing the deal. 
• Beginning with entry-level plans- Most SaaS type or installation-based web development frameworks come with plenty of plans or packages. The entry-level plans of such tools or frameworks can be used for free in most cases, and they come with limitations or reduced features. You may start with entry-level plans to keep the development cost lower. Based on the result, upgrading to higher-tier plans is always possible. 
• Using third-party components carefully- Whether you opt for Magento or WP for website development, using extensions or plug-ins should be done with caution. Before buying any plug-in, think if your site will actually benefit from it or not. Make sure you check out reviews of the plug-ins before shelling out the money. Of course, a veteran PHP web application development can guide you on such aspects well. 

Summing up 

For any person or brand seeking to develop a website, evaluating the cost-related factors is necessary. By doing the homework well, picking the apt tool, hosting and domain service provider, keeping the development costs within a limit will be easier. The guidance of a reliable and professional web development agency can be immensely helpful in this regard.