Depending on the nature of your business, it can be helpful to think of your website as a shop window in a virtual world. No window, or no website, could easily mean no new business.
Having a website has got to be one of the most important investments you make in your business marketing strategy. It is important to ask yourself how you are communicating your value proposition to others?
If you already have a website, you need to ask yourself if it is serving its intended purpose? How do you know? It could be your website needs a serious revamp.
Whatever the case, the cost is always one of the first considerations. So how much does it cost to build a website? Here’s your answer.
Basic Cost Components
Think of it like this. How much does it cost to buy a smartphone? There are premium brands and functionality such as Apple and Samsung. There are also budget brands at less cost but not with the same functionality and feel as premium.
Then, of course, there is a whole lot in the middle. Which phone do you use and why? Similar principles may govern your choice and cost of a website. It depends on the purpose of your site and what you intend to use it for.
At a basic level, every smartphone has some physical cost associated with its hardware, and then some costs associated with services such as internet access. The basic components of your website will be as follows.
Domain Name
One of the basic cost components of your website will be the domain name. Often this is directly related to your business name but that is not always the case. The cost can be relatively small, perhaps less than RM50 per year.
Hosting Services
This is a server where your website will be stored. When people access your site, they are downloading it from this server to their computer through a web browser.
Hosting services need not be expensive. It can be as cheap as RM100 per year. However, costs will increase as you require more from the hosting provider.
For example, extra security measures or extra email and storage space. A separate and devoted server. All of this will bring further cost and is dependent again on the intended function of your site.
Development and Design
This is where you start to make decisions about whether your website should be more like an iPhone or some other brand. Unsurprisingly it is also where the biggest variation in overall costs resides.
It is helpful to know that you can start basic with designing your own website using web design tools and content management systems like WordPress. However, please be aware that there are always costs.
Self-design and maintenance will cost you at the very least a lot of your time. If your time is better spent on the core functions of your business, then you can hire a web designer. You can expect to pay approximately RM30 per hour for their services or a one-off setup fee of RM3,000 to create the site and get it up and running.
The most expensive option is to use a web developer who will be a bespoke site for you from scratch. This will could cost you thousands of dollars depending on your requirements.
Systems and Plugins
Depending on what kind of website that you want to create, you will need few plugins to integrate with your website. For example, if you want to enables purchase from your website, you need an eCommerce plugin like WooCommerce, WP Easy Cart or opt for Shopify. Or perhaps you want to incorporate event registration in your website, you will need to configure event management system. The cost of those systems and plugins varies, some developers offer free version but the range for full version of the plugins would be between RM300 to RM1,000.
Cost Examples
As you can see, there is a lot of variation in costs so here are some general indications. A small website less than 5 pages in total, could cost you RM1,500 dollars upward, with ongoing annual hosting costs.
A larger site with more content and some unique functions as well as a content management system could cost from RM2,500.00 up to RM3,500.00 depending on your needs.
A large eCommerce site could be a similar starting cost but extending up to tens of thousands of ringgits depending on its size and overall function.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website?
In this article, you have read about some of the basic cost components and where the price could vary. So how much does it cost to build a website? Now you know the answer depends on you.
If you have questions or want to discuss your website needs, then you can get in touch here.
