Website startup costs: The pricing guide you need to know

Before starting to build any website, you will have to prepare a sizable amount of money to make the website as perfect as possible, from the external appearance to the internal content. If you are still wondering not to know which are those expenses and how much money you have to invest for them, you should explore them through the blog below. In this blog, Arrowtheme will deliver you the pricing guide you should know about website startup costs. Then, let’s explore them right now! 

How much does a website startup cost?

First and foremost, you must know that depending on the size as well as the thing you’re looking to have done, website startup costs will be different. 

Website for a Small Business

This is for a simple informational website that requires very minimal change. Typically, there are fewer than 20 pages, a few generic photos, and no original features. So, its cost is not quite expensive, it only ranges from $2,000 to $8,000. 

Website startup costs for a Medium-Sized business 

Medium-sized businesses can utilize commercial websites with no more than 75 pages. Besides, a content management system (CMS), custom design layouts and graphics, and some unique features set up by developers are the most common. Then, its rates range from $10,000 to $25,000 for upfront fees.

Ecommerce website

Customers need a website where they can explore and buy things; integrate a payment gateway, as well as graphics, copywriting, a CMS, and beta testing. So, this is the reason for the creation of an ecommerce website. Moreover, for building an ecommerce website, the cost will be from $5,000 to $40,000 in up-front costs. In particular, the amount of products featured, and their intricacy will decide the exact cost. In addition to, you also need to refer to our Ecommerce development services if you don’t have a lot of time to build yourself.

Website startup costs for Big business

With big business, a large-scale website with hundreds of pages, custom design layouts and pictures, a content management system, unique functionality, and add-on features is the ideal choice. Its outstanding features, for instance, personalized development, blog integration, multimedia creation and so much more. So, the first investment ranges from $25,000 to $40,000. 

Website startup costs – What are essential expenses for a startup website? 

#1. Domain name

Domain name (URL) is one of the most important parts of any website. In fact, this is the address that visitors type into their browser to access your website. If you don’t have one, the only method to get to your site is to type in its IP address. Typically, the cost for the domain name will range between $10 and $20. Moreover, you should anticipate paying premium rates of between $200 and $300 per year for a customized domain extension (such as.restaurant,.online, and so on), and it is up to you. With this cost, unless you prepay for many years in advance, you will be charged annually.

#2. SSL Certificate – Website startup costs

SSL plays an important role in protecting sensitive information like credit card details and personal information. In case you run an ecommerce website, an SSL certificate is extremely necessary. This is because it will secure and protect your clients’ sensitive data and personal information. In addition, SSL certificates are provided by certification authorities (CAs) and can cost anywhere between $10 and $1000 per month. 

#3. Website hosting

As soon as you have an URL, you will need something to put all your belongings in. Simply speaking, web hosting is your land, and web content is your “things” in this case. Additionally, the majority of web hosting businesses offer shared hosting plans ranging from $10 per month to $99 per month for managed hosting. Especially, as you probably know, the higher your pricing will be, the more traffic your website receives and the more features you add to it. In addition, you will have to pay for it on a regular basis: Monthly and annual plans are available from a variety of web servers. Furthermore, paying for a yearly hosting plan allows you to get a lower pricing. 

#4. CMS (Content Management System)

As you may know, a content management system, or CMS, is the software that allows you to display text, images, videos, articles, and other information on your website. While a content management system isn’t compulsory, you should still integrate it for your website. This is because it will save you time and make your website more efficient.

What’s more, CMS will have different costs depending on the CMS you select. For more detail, with a customized CMS, you have to pay thousands of dollars. However, in order to save money, you can take advantage of free one like WordPress. Besides,  you must pay for it on a regular basis: Fee-based enterprise CMS solutions are typically invoiced once each year. Best of all, WordPress can be downloaded for free. 

#5. Expenses for Web Design – Website startup costs

If you want to make your online store stand out from any competitor, all you have to do is design it as appealing and eye-catching as you can. 

New Design or a Complete Redesign

If you are planning to startup an ecommerce website, you will need to spend the amount of money to have a website developed (or updated) and tested whether you’re launching a new one or updating an existing one. For more detail, redesigning a website can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000, depending on the type of website you have, the CMS you use, and the level of customization you want. Moreover, you should keep in mind that every few years or so. Then, you should refresh all websites to keep them current and fresh.

Theme design – Website startup costs

First and foremost, some CMS, like WordPress, offer themes that allow you to instantly modify the look and format of your website. Although this is extremely useful, it will be hard to make your website unique and stand out compared to the competition. This is because it will make our layout look like other sites that use the same theme. Best of all, the majority of public themes are free, so you can easily take advantage of them a lot. Depending on the features, premium WordPress themes can cost anywhere from $10 to $100. For an exclusive license to the theme or to have it specifically personalized, you’ll pay a variety of prices. Furthermore, with premium ones, every few years, or so, you should change your theme. Meanwhile, this will never happen with free themes. Then, you should refer to some worth-using WordPress Free themes. 

Responsive website design

Google began favoring mobile-friendly websites in 2015, ranking them higher than those that were not responsively constructed. Following that, responsive websites can recognize the platform on which they are being viewed and adjust the layout to fit the screen size. As soon as you invest money to build a fully responsive web design, your website will surely have a great look and run smoothly on every type of modern device, from mobile phones, tablets to desktops. With the startup, you can easily own a responsive website instantly because the majority of today’s websites are already responsive. However, with an older theme or website, the cost to upgrade could set you back $2,000 or more. Best of all, this is a one-time task to make your website responsive, so you don’t have to worry about spending money on it in the future. 

In this topic, we highly recommend you excellent Responsive themes you should know to adapt for your store: WordPress responsive themes, Magento responsive themes, Shopify responsive themes and so on. 

#6. Website startup costs for Online marketing

Once you have a completed website, promoting as well as making online marketing for it is a must-have activity you can’t ignore. The more effective your marketing strategies are, the more potential customers you can attract. Then, boosting revenue will become easier than ever. In order to achieve that goal, you must invest money on add-ons that will help you convert visitors into customers, increase your web traffic, and improve your Google rating. Now, let’s explore several outstanding methods.

SEO (Search engine optimization)

In fact, SEO is a must-have thing for any online website, especially if you run a commercial website because it will decide a lot of the ranking of your ecommerce business on the search engines. For more detail, SEO is a set of procedures that determines where your website appears in search engine results for a given keyword. If someone is interested in your field and searches for keywords related to that field, your website will have a chance to appear in the first position in case you do good SEO. 

In addition, depending on each agency, the cost for SEO will different, but it is one of the more expensive aspects of website management. You can anticipate paying a one-time fee (often between $3,000 and $9,000) as well as a monthly fee (typically between $200 and $500 each month) for SEO. Furthermore, you should take note that SEO is a long process that requires a lot of patience. So, right now, as a store owner, you should set aside money to hire a firm that knows what they’re doing and has an established track record. It’s preferable to hire a competent but expensive firm for optimization services than to pay a less expensive but ineffective firm that makes hollow promises.

PPC Advertising – Website startup costs

First of all, you can find PPC advertising in the sidebar of Google search engine result pages, at the bottom of YouTube videos, and on many website banners and footers. They’re ubiquitous because publishers get paid every time an ad is clicked. What’s more, they are useful in helping businesses obtain more traffic because they are so widely used and sponsored ads are targeted to specific people. Nevertheless, you must keep in mind that it’s up to you whether that traffic turns into sales.

This is because, the higher bid you pay, the higher opportunities your website appears on first result pages on search engines. Pay-per-click ads are a cost-effective and quick way to attract non-organic traffic. Additionally, you get charged for each ad that is clicked. In reality, the cost per click is determined by the number of individuals bidding on the same keyword you’re trying to rank for. In addition, the expenses are determined by the level of competition in the area you are targeting. Monthly fees might run anywhere from $100 to $1,000 or more. Best of all, you can pay for PPC advertising as often as you wish.

CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)

CRO plays an important role in assisting you to boost your website conversions. This is thanks to its awesome call-to-action (CTA) methods including landing pages, newsletters, sign-up sheets, buttons and so much more. One approach may perform better than others. Thus, rigorous A/B testing is recommended to determine which CRO is the most effective. Besides, you have to pay from $300 to $600 for a single CRO A/B test package. Moreover, you can pay for a full package to try out a variety of CRO methodologies. Or, you can pay for each test separately. However, you should consider using packages because they come with lower prices. 

Copywriting – Website startup costs

Coming to another thing you should invest money to enhance your effectiveness of online marketing for your site – Copywriting. In fact, it is required while writing content for online pages. Strong copywriting in and of itself is a call to action, as it encourages potential clients to regard you as a thought leader in your sector. Duplicating content from your own or someone else’s site is a sign of poor copywriting. 

If you can’t write content, the best solution is hiring freelancers. For more details, freelancers usually charge per word if you outsource copywriting services on an individual basis. Some freelancers and companies provide content packages that include all you need for a lower price. They might charge extra to update those pages, and they might charge for additional rewriting if you ask for it. The cost of unique written work might range from $5 per 500 words to $500 for many pages. Furthermore, search engines prefer websites that update their content on a regular basis, particularly those with few errors and a large amount of text. As a result, copywriting costs should be planned regularly and spent on a qualified writer. 

Content marketing

As you may know, memorable and interesting content will surely leave a big impression on any customer’s mind. So, they will come back a lot of times in the future if your website provides them with reliable information. Besides, you should utilize: blogs, movies, social media imagery, charts, demos, infographics, white papers, podcasts, and other types of multimedia to provide such content. 

Besides, content marketing takes many forms, but none of them are inexpensive. A single infographic can cost as much as $500, while video production might cost anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000. Writers typically charge by the word, whereas podcasts necessitate the use of audio equipment as well as a studio from which to broadcast. In fact, the frequency you must pay for content marketing all depends on the type of content marketing you use and the frequency with which you post. Moreover, keep in mind that content should be created on a regular basis. So, set up a monthly budget for it, whatever form you select. 

Website startup costs for Social media 

Without selling to anyone, social media is an excellent place for you to creatively market your brand. You can use amusing memes, video footage, statistical infographics. Or even a basic statement to show off what you have to offer in a fun and creative way. Also, to make it worth following, a firm may promote an impending offer solely on one type of social media. Not only that, running social media contests is also the best method to enhance follower numbers and engagement. Furthermore, social media provides a venue for customers to express their issues to a company in a direct and visible manner.

Additionally, in the market, there are numerous types of social media. And, it will be charge you to keep each one up to date and maintained. Because social media material should not be similar across all platforms. So, taking the time to modify it will cost you money. Hence, depending on the agency you employ, monthly maintenance and updates might cost anywhere from $250 to $2,500. Moreover, because social media marketing is a long-term endeavor, a monthly charge should be set up. 

In conclusion

All in all, as you can see, with a startup, there are a lot of costs you must prepare for building a successful website. Arrowtheme hopes through these pricing guides above, you will know all about website startup costs. As a result, you will easily create and develop your website stand out from any opponents. In case you don’t have conditions to utilize premium themes, you can take advantage of free themes. For examples, Magento free themes, WordPress free themes as well as Shopify free themes to save costs.