A recent survey by Goodfirms reveals the cost of web development in 2024. By including more than 100 best web development companies in its survey, it has listed the estimated rates of developing different types of websites, ranging from $1,000 to $50,000.
The following are the key points:
1) The Cost of Different Types of Websites and Their Development Time and Maintenance
The Cost of different websites varies a lot, with business websites costing from $1,000 to $50,000; personal websites costing from $500 to $3,000; ecommerce websites costing from $5,000 to $50,000; web application websites costing from $10,000 to $100,000; and web portal development websites costing from $10,000 to $60,000.
Due to their difference in complexity, they also require different time periods for development: business websites almost take 2 to 12 weeks; personal websites take 1 to 4 weeks; ecommerce websites take 4 to 16 weeks; web application websites take 16 to 30 weeks; and web portal development websites take 8 to 30 weeks for development.
Their maintenance also cost a few bucks. Personal websites require around $50 to $250 yearly; small business websites take $250 to $1,000; ecommerce websites take around $1,000 to $5,000; web portal websites take almost $1,000 to $5,000; and custom web application websites take $2,000 to $20,000+ for maintenance.
2) What Makes A Website Development Costlier?
Many factors contribute to the cost of web development. A large-scale website is costlier than a short-scale one; going for a tailored design for your website is going to cost you more; and employing advanced integration and custom API development also raises the cost. If you are using animation and WebGl features on your websites, they will lead to more expense.
Moreover, hiring professionals for content writing, copywriting and website designing is an additional expense.
Website maintenance and SEO optimization, which are indispensable, also call for spending.
Location also plays a role in increasing and reducing the cost. Websites development in countries, like the United States and Canada, is costlier than in developing countries, like Pakistan and India.
3) Different Types of Websites Demand Varying Amount Money and Require Varying Time Periods, To Be Developed
Business Website
Based on the data provided by the survey comprising over 100 best development companies, a business website requires around $1,000 to $50,000 on average to develop it. A simple business website with only a simple interface can cost around $1,000 to $15,000; a mid-range business website, having custom design and over 15 pages, can cost from $15,000 to $30,000; a complex business website with custom features, security features, advanced ecommerce functionalities and advanced design, can take around $30,000 to $50,000 on average.
60% of the companies charge around $1,000 to $7,000, and 36% of the remaining cost around $7,000 to $15,000.
A small business website can cost $1,000 to $5,000 for its design and development, $10 to $15 for domain name and hosting and $50 to $100 for an SSL certificate.
A small business website can be developed in 1 to 12 weeks by 97.6% of the companies. But if more complex features, such as A.I. powered customization and blockchain-based systems, are added, it can prolong the time period required.
Around 88.3% of the companies confess developing a business website in 2-12 weeks, and the remaining 11.7% state that they can take 12 to 24 weeks, mostly complex websites.
MVP Website
A simple MVP website can cost around $5,000 to $10,000, and the cost of a more complex MVP site can range from $20,000 to $35,000. Its design and development can cost $500 to $10,000, domain name can take $10 to $15, web hosting can take $5 to $20 and an SSL certificate can take $50 to $100.
Most companies, around 93%, state that they can make an MVP website in 3 to 12 weeks. A complex MVP site might require more time than this.
Personal Website
A personal website can cost $500 the least, and a more advanced version of it can cost as much as $3,000+. A multi-page personal website, having CV integration, blog categories and a search bar, can cost between $500 and $1,500. Professional websites with advanced features, such as SEO optimization, multilingual support and high quality images and videos, can take between $1,500 and $3,000.
Its design and development can cost $500 to $5,000, domain name can take $10 to $15, web hosting can take $5 to $50 and an SSL certificate can take $50 to $100.
71% of the companies state that a simple personal website can be set up within 1 to 4 weeks. More complex personal websites with advanced optimization can prolong this time period.
Ecommerce website
An ecommerce website cost ranges from $5,000 to $50,000. If it is a growing store with a custom design and marketing, the website costs between $5,000 and $15,000. On the other hand, an enterprise store with advanced features and customization can cost more than $15,000. The more custom animations are part of a website, the more it would raise the cost.
Custom design and development could cost from $5,000 to $50, 000. Hosted platforms, like Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix etc., charge $29 to $300+ monthly and offer basic features, payment processing and security. The inclusion of advanced features, such as CRM integration, wish lists etc., also incur more expense. Similarly, domain name and web hosting cost around $10 to $15 yearly and $5 to $250 monthly, respectively.
Almost 71.4% of the companies claim to make a simple to mid-range ecommerce website in 4 to 16 weeks. The remaining could take 16 to 26 weeks. Also, more advanced ecommerce sites require more time.
Custom Web Application
A simple web application can be developed with a budget of $10,000 to $25,000. The one with complex apps could raise the cost from $25,000 to $50,000, and the most advanced can incur the expense of $50,000 to $100,000.
A custom web application is expensive due to its design and development expense, which can cost from $10,000 to $100,000 if it is a customized version. Then its testing and quality assurance, hosting and maintenance can also cost 10% to 20% of annual development costs.
Around 53.7% of the companies state to take 16 to 30 weeks for simple and mid-range custom web application. 24.4% of them assert it will take 30 to 52 weeks for a little complex version of a custom web application. About 7.3% say that the most intricate version of a custom web application, like AI-powered apps, could take more than a year.
Web Portal
Simple web portals could cost between $10,000 and $30,000. Complex portals, such as ecommerce sites, enterprise etc., can take $60,000 to $100,000. Customized portals paired with bespoke solutions are even more expensive, costing over $100,000.
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Its development is the main expense, costing between $50,000 to $250,000. Web portal design could also cost $5,000 to $20,000, depending on its complexity. If it is integrated with an existing system, an additional cost of $10,000 to $50,000 would have to be added. Moreover, its testing and quality assurance, hosting and maintenance incur additional cost.
Different types of portals incur different amounts of cost. Internal employee portal, a public-facing portal and enterprise portal cost $50,000 to $75,000, $75,000 to $150,000 and $150,000 to $500,000 respectively.
According to 64.3% of the web development companies, they take 8 to 30 weeks to develop a web portal, like an ecommerce website. For more intricate portals, 35.7% of them require 30 to 52 weeks.
SaaS Website
22% of the companies agree to develop a SaaS website at the cost of $15,000 to $30,000. 19.5% of them would charge around $30,000 to $60,000. And 34.1% are ready to charge customers between $60,000 and $120,000. The difference in pricing is subject to the complexities of a SaaS website, with the features like AI powered functionalities costing more.
A SaaS website design and development charges may range from $5,000 to $20,000 and $15,000 to $120,000 respectively. Marketing and user acquisition, hosting, maintenance and payment gateway integration would add more expense to the budget if employed.
61% of the developers require 12 to 48 weeks to set up a SaaS website, and 39% would need around 24 to 72 weeks to do the same. If AI platforms with advanced analytics are used, this would prolong the time.
4) Indispensable Features and Their Cost
Some features are a part of all websites, and they are charged differently by the companies. The following are their rates offered by the majority:
Domain Name
Most of the companies, 70%, would cost $10 to $60 yearly for a domain name. The advantage of taking help from the companies regarding a domain name is that they provide a SEO-friendly and user-oriented domain name.
SSL Certificate
About 46.2% of the developers offer an SSL certificate for free with basic hosting. Around 20.5% of them provide it for $10 to $70 yearly; 28.2% would cost $70 to $150 yearly; and 5.1% would charge over $150 yearly.
There are also different types of SSL certificates, costing various amounts. A DV certificate is the cheapest, costing $2 to $10 and is best for low traffic websites; An OV certificate could cost from $2 to $100, is better than a DV certificate and is best for ecommerce sites. An EV certificate is the most expensive, costing over $100 and is best for financial institutions.
Web Hosting
About 32% of the developers cost $50 to $200 yearly VPS hosting; 35% of the companies would charge $200 to $600 for dedicated hosting; 23% of them offer a shared hosting for under $50 yearly; and around 10% can charge over $600 yearly for premium services.
Web hosting makes sure you have a presence online. The companies, after judging your requirements, web traffic and budget, offer you the best type of hosting for your website.
Web Platform
30% of the companies claim to provide open-source platforms for free; around 37.5% would charge $100 to $300 for managed platform services; 20% charge $300 to $1,000 for advanced features; and about 12.5% take over $1,000 for enterprise solutions.
Add-ons
Basic themes and plugins could be free or might cost up to $50, as per 23.7% of the companies; 34.2% would charge $50 to 100 for premium themes and plugins; 23.7% of them could take $100 to $200 for advanced features; and 18.4% can charge over $200 for the same features.
In Bloggers, most of the themes and plugins are for free. Most complex themes and plugins are the requirement of ecommerce websites.
Integrated Payment Options
About 15.4% of the companies charge under $100 for basic solutions; 11.5% of them charge from $100 to $500 for enhanced features; 38.5% can take $500 to $1,500 for advanced systems; and 29.9% could take more than $1,500 for custom solutions.
There are different types of payment gateways: hosted payment gateways, API-hosted payment gateways, self-hosted payment gateways and local bank integration gateways. API-hosted gateways and self-hosted gateways are the best option for hefty transactions. Local bank integration is best for when there are set limits to a region. And hosted payment gateways could be acquired for free if the transaction volume is low.
Content Management System
20% of the companies claim to offer free CMS for open-source solutions; managed CMS platforms could cost $200 to $1,000, as per 15% of the developers; and the majority of them, 65%, would cost $1,000 to $5,000 for custom CMS development.
CMS makes creating, editing and publishing of content easier. There are various CMS available to choose from: website content management systems, enterprise content management systems and document management systems. The developers are helpful in choosing the best one for your website.
Order-Tracking Functionalities
17.5% of the surveyed companies charge under $100 for basic order tracking solutions; 10% of them would charge between $100 and $500 for enhanced order tracking features; around 37.5% of them could take $500 to $1,500 for advanced order tracking features; and 32.5% would take over $1,500 for enterprise order tracking features.
Some platforms, like Shopify and Woocommerce, have built-in order tracking features.
Basic Database Support
Almost 17.5% of the developers could charge under $100 for basic cloud database services; 25% would charge between $100 and $500 monthly for managed database services; 40% of the companies would take between $500 and $1,500 monthly for advanced database solutions; and only 10% of them would take over $1,500 monthly for enterprise solutions.
Database support systems have become indispensable, for they offer helpful insights about market trends and user behavior, and help in making better decisions.
There are six database services in vogue: cloud database services, managed database services, advanced database services, enterprise database solutions, database as a service and specialized database services.
Chatbots
The companies offer basic chatbots for free as a part of the development package. But customized chatbots would cost from $100 to $1,500.
Chatbots have also become important for their role in customer support and in enhancing customer experience.
SEO and Marketing
All websites need marketing to enhance and broaden the range of their business. On average, around 10% to 20% of the web development budget is spent on SEO and marketing yearly.
DIY Website
A simple DIY website would cost around $50 to $500 yearly while using Wix or Squarespace; a customized version of it, an ecommerce store, would raise the cost to $1,000-$5,000; A DIY website with more advanced features would incur the cost over $5,000. The expensive nature of it due to the fact that you would need a professional developer to do the job.
Its domain name costs around $10 to $15 yearly, web hosting can take $5 to $50 monthly, custom development could incur $50 to $200 hourly, a website developer could charge around $50 monthly and SEO and marketing could incur $500 to $5,000 monthly.
Region-wise Rates at Hourly Basis
Developed countries, like USA, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and Germany, have higher charging rates, costing $80 to $250, $70 to $150, $70 to $180, $60 to $120 and $50 to $100 respectively.
In mid-cost counties, such as Poland, Brazil and Thailand, rates are cheaper.
The cheapest rates are being offered in the developing countries, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, costing $10 to $30, $8 to $25 and $5 to $15 respectively.
In Pakistan, a basic website can cost around PKR 30,000; a standard website with 10 pages could incur PKR 100,000; a custom website could cost PKR 200,000; and an ecommerce site could incur the cost of PKR 300,000.
The difference in the rates is because a developer from a developing country would charge the least.
Which Pricing Model to Choose?
Around 70% of the companies preferred hourly and fixed pricing models. The hourly model is better for those who do not want to pay a large sum in advance. Paying on an hourly basis is safe and easier for them. On the other hand, for those who have a long term project and are running a big platform, the fixed pricing model is preferable not to encounter the paying issue over and over.
Another model, although not as popular as the other two, is the retainer model, which is designed for long term projects and clients requiring continuous maintenance.
Conclusion
The aforementioned data explains at length the cost incurring for developing different types of websites in 2024. The main expense of developing a website goes to professional developers and designers. The more advanced features, like SSL certificates, API integrations, 3d animations etc., add to the cost of developing a website. To cut off the cost of the developing, websites need to be simpler, having fewer pages, with basic features only.
Read next: 2024's Indispensable Digital Marketing Tools: What You Need to Succeed
by Ehtasham Ahmad via Digital Information World
