How Much Does it Cost to Create a Website in 2024?
Even if you are not a large, listed corporation, but a medium-sized company, a small agency, a self-employed person, a freelancer or an artist, you need a website. Certainly not a huge website with twelve languages, 24/7 live chat, news ticker and hundreds of subpages – but it is almost impossible to get by without an internet presence these days, even if it is ‘just’ a digital business card, a small online portfolio or a landing page. However, there is something that stands in the way of many people: they do not know how much a website costs and whether it is worth it for them.
Of course, there is no universal answer to the question of costs – and yet I would like to use this article to clear up any uncertainties you may have about homepage costs. I will explain to you here what different types of costs you will face when creating and maintaining a website, how high they can be and how you can best save money. So let’s get started right away – here is an overview of the content of this article:
What costs do you have to expect when creating and maintaining a website?
Having a website created costs money – you probably already know that much. But there may be other costs: What about the necessary domain and hosting, where does your website design come from, who takes care of the content? All of these things can mean additional costs, which can be as follows:
1. Logo and Design
Before you (or anyone else) can create your website, you should have at least a rough idea of what you want it to look like. A logo may not be a must, but it makes a big difference and makes your entire online presence look more professional.
Your website should also have a uniform design: what colors do you want to use, how should the content be structured and arranged, what fonts, images and graphic elements do you want to use? If you don’t want to do this yourself but want to commission a designer or an agency to do it, there will of course be costs involved.
A freelance web designer will usually charge an hourly rate of somewhere between 50$ and 100$ . If, on the other hand, you commission a web design agency to develop a logo and website design, it will usually cost no less than 2,000$ – and often even more. If you use a website builder and/or a logo creation tool, these costs are reduced to just a few euros – some builders also offer website templates
2. Content Writing
Much like the design, the texts for your website should at least appear professional. The costs for a freelance copywriter are in a similar range to those for freelance designers, i.e. around 50 to 100 dollers per hour . As always, there is no upper limit and you can certainly find particularly good deals at a lower price too – but this is often because the freelancer in question lives in a low-wage country or the quality of the work is correspondingly lower. You can also hire an agency for the text, but the costs here naturally increase according to the volume.
Of course, you can also write texts for your website yourself and save money that way. But then follow the rules of good texts, think carefully about what you would like to say beforehand and be sure to have the texts proofread before your website goes online.
3. Programming and Web Development
To launch your website, you also need someone to program the website and maintain its content – at least if you have your website programmed from scratch instead of using a website builder.
This so-called development of the website, the subsequent, extensive testing on various operating systems and browsers, and the subsequent go-live of the website should be handled by a web developer or programmer. This can be very expensive, especially for large company websites with huge online shops or individually developed web applications (web apps). You then have to budget at least a high four- or low five-figure sum for programming and maintenance, i.e. content management . Here too, there are no upper limits – depending on the scope and complexity.
For this reason, such large, highly customized websites are usually only of interest to correspondingly large companies. Small and medium-sized companies, self-employed people, freelancers or bloggers are often much better off using modular tools to create websites.
4. Hosting and Domain
When you buy a car, you have the car, but you also need a license plate and a parking space. It’s the same with a website: If you want your online presence to actually be found online, you need a domain and someone to take care of the hosting.
Hosting often includes the regular updates required to ensure that the website, its plugins and security precautions are up to date. If you hire an agency to do this, such a hosting or maintenance contract often costs several hundred euros a month, but the costs can also run into the thousands . A domain is available for just a few cents a month – depending on popularity and other factors – but can also be significantly more expensive.
When using a website builder, hosting and domain are often included in the price. However, this can vary from provider to provider, so it’s best to check the conditions beforehand.
5. SSL Certificates
With an SSL certificate, you establish encrypted communication between your website and the user via SSL (‘Secure Sockets Layer’). This means that third parties cannot read sensitive customer data such as passwords. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), all websites that process personal user data require an SSL certificate.
Depending on the type of certification and the number of domains to be certified, SSL certificates also cost different amounts. The most basic certificates usually cost between 10 and 150 doller per year .
Bonus Tip: Save Money and Get Expert Help!
Creating a website might seem overwhelming and costly, but it doesn’t have to be! Whether you’re a freelancer, a small business, or a medium-sized company, investing in a professional online presence is crucial. However, you can still achieve this without breaking the bank.
At DevCode Solutions, we offer affordable, high-quality website development services tailored to your needs. From design and content creation to hosting and SSL certificates, we cover everything at a fraction of the usual costs.
Need advice? Schedule a free consultation today, and let’s bring your vision to life—without the hefty price tag!
