On the low end...free! If you use WordPress.com or Wix.
The downside to a free website is you will not have a unique domain name. And in the case with Wix you will have Wix branding on the site With a WordPress.com site your domain will be www.yourname.wordpress.com. Don't believe WordPress.com puts any other branding or adverts on the site.
Depends on what you want, need and must have to run your business.
There are a lot of different types of websites you can build, from a simple one-page site, often called a landing page, with your logo, a description of what you do and a contact form, and some way for your visitors to get in touch with you.
From there you can go all the way to a fully branded, multi-page website with inbound marketing, content marketing, video content, a shopping cart to sell your service and or product, lead capture email list building and even an online educational course hosted right on your site with a membership section. A site like this can run into the multiple thousands of dollars. So think no less than $7,000 ranging potentially up to $50,000.
So price, on the low end, a single page site you could probably find someone decent to get it done for about $500 in the US - Fiver.com is another story and you're on your own if you go that route. I'd only recommend Fiverr to experienced people who know exactly what to look for and what to look out for.
In the mid-range for a designed and built website, you might be able to get it done for around $5,000. This would include a professionally designed and branded site, multiple pages (up to 5), and an email lead capture form. Keep in mind, this will not include content. That's something else entirely. By content I mean the story you tell and the images and video you present on the site.
One way is to roll out your site in stages. First get yourself the one-page website I mentioned above for $500. You could even get this part done yourself if you are willing to put in the time and the effort to learn how to do it. Wouldn't even take you that long.
You could easily do this for less than $100 plus your time, which you have to include in the cost because it's taking you away from your business that I assume is making you some money, this is money you won't be making while you are building your website.
Then once you have the one page up and running you can plan to roll out new pages every month or two depending on your budget. This might be a good idea anyway because the more you learn about how a website can help your business grow the better you can determine what is the best way to add features to your site.
Either way, if you go it on your own, let's break it down to the essentials and keep your investment to under $100 plus your time.
Let's assume you are going to go with WordPress, which is free but not free to host, so you're going to have to find a host. There are too many options to go into depth here so I am going to just pick one that is popular in the world of WordPress, one I have personal experience with and a very good choice to boot - Site Ground.
Site Ground has a boatload of plans to choose from, from very inexpensive to comprehensive plans to single site shared hosting.. So this is a good choice if you're just getting started and plan to grow - they provide the room to grow so you won’t have to switch and find someone new - saves you time and energy.
Plans at site ground start at $6.99/mo when you sign up for a year so $84 for the year. Keep in mind, it's a one time deal and when you renew after a year that price will jump to $14.99/mo.
Next thing you will need is a domain and you can get one from Site Ground for FREE! Again, just for the first year. You will need to renew your domain each year and you can do that for about $9/year. But still, you're getting started for less than $100 so we're still good.
One nice thing with an account on Site Ground is you can create as many email address as you want, it’s included free with any plan you choose.
Site Ground is optimized to host WordPress sites so it's easy as can be to get your site set up. Just follow the steps, step-by-step and you will have your site live in less than an hour.
Now that you’re ready just go to YouTube and look up how to build a WordPress website. There are tons of tutorials, just pick one and get cracking.
So, how much does a website cost? It depends really is the answer. I just showed you a way to get one for less than $100 plus your time to do it your self. Another option is to go for a simple one-page site to get started for about $500, more or less.
If your budget allows go for a full package starting around $3000 to $5000. And don't forget you could always roll it out slowly, building your site over the course of months, little by little. Sometimes it's a lot easier to spread your payments out over the course of a year.
Speaking of spreading out the cost of a website over time there is one more thing to consider, and one of my favorite ways to go. You can buy your site on the subscription model. The way this works is you get the full-featured site you want and need but you spread the cost of the site out over 2 years. You can find this deal for roughly $299/mo over two years and a full-on eCommerce storefront website for about $399/mo over the two years. This does require you to sign a contract though, so something to consider.
A lot of people like this idea and for some it is ideal. They get the complete website and are still able to keep some cash on hand to grow their business.
Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be happy to go into more detail with you and help you determine what is the best way for you to go with your business' website. Click here to schedule a free 20-minute call. No strings attached, I’m here to help
And, if you have already decided to go the DIY route, I have a cool little checklist detailing all the steps you need to follow to get your site up live and not miss a step. Click here and I'll get it to your email ASAP.
Until next time.