Plenty of companies start looking at designers for their newest projects by thinking first and foremost about cost. How much is this going to cost me? How much can I save if I go with Designer A instead of Designer B? Can I just get the youngest, most web-savvy person in the office to do this for us with a free tool?

Here’s the thing, and we’re not just saying this because we’re an awesome web design company: you do NOT want to go with the cheapest design option available. If you pick your cousin Jake ‘cause he loves spending time on the internet and wants to be a web designer, you’re going to end up with a website that looks like it was designed by, well, Jake who loves the internet but doesn’t know how to make a website work.

This is definitely one of those situations where you get what you pay for. When you start looking for a web designer to design or redesign your site, you want someone with experience, knowledge, training, and great credentials. You aren’t going to find that with the very cheapest person.

All that said, you don’t have to write a blank check for web design, either. (Who writes checks anymore anyway?)

It is possible to anticipate what your next web design is going to cost you depending on your specific design needs. In this post, we’re going to break down some of the basics of web design and what you can expect when it comes to budgeting for them.

A few years ago, we offered this advice on our blog about how to know if you need a new website:

• Your old website is built on an outdated platform – WordPress.org sites are considered the industry standard at this point
• Your website is not mobile friendly – this is extremely important as mobile traffic has surpassed desktop traffic in the last year and Google punishes websites that provide poor mobile experiences
• Your company is experiencing a major shift in strategy and/or organization of products or services
• Your current website is not fully functional (such as broken forms, missing pages/links, etc.) in ways that cannot be simply repaired

If this sounds like your situation, you should definitely plan on launching a redesign soon! A great, functional, attractive website can make a world of difference in your company. Check out what Hubspot’s Director of Product Marketing, Meghan Keaney Anderson, has to say over at Inc.:

“Before investing resources into revamping your site, map out what you want to change and why. Be careful of redesigns that are sparked by ‘I just want it to look more modern’ or similar vanity goals. A website should work better after a redesign in addition to looking better. Before doing anything, open up your analytics and record your starting position or benchmark for visits, search rank, conversion rate, and other key website metrics. Create a goal and a strategy for how each of these metrics should change as a result of your redesign. Having clear growth goals will give you an objective framework by which to measure the effectiveness of the redesign and a process for future improvements moving forward.”

Keaney Anderson says this is important because she understands that web design is about more than just attractiveness (although attractive sites are better than ugly ones). They’re about usability and functionality, as well as what they can provide to your company.

Ah, remember the good old days? Print advertising, TV commercials, maybe some billboards? All of your sales conducted in person, over the phone, or via a catalog? There was a time when business owners didn’t have to think at all about websites, social media, mobile apps, or anything else that falls under the banner of website design.

Don’t let nostalgia get you too weepy about the days gone by. Today’s companies have incredible opportunities because of their websites.

Your website is the single most important inbound marketing tool you have at your disposal. In today’s marketplace, when customers value relationships between themselves and the brands they support, having a great website is about so much more than just providing the basic information about your company, your location, and your products.

It is about building a connection between yourself and the visitors to your site, and it is about using the conversion funnel effectively to get your shoppers to become buyers.

We provide a really useful calculator tool here at AtomicDC that can be used to estimate your costs based on your needs. Here are some of the decisions you need to make as you’re planning your website, all of which are reflected in the calculator.

• What type of website? (Brochure? E-commerce/store? Corporate site?)
• How many pages do you need to have designed? (options range from 1 to over 100)
• Do you need to hire copywriters or will you be providing all of the copy?
• Will you need custom graphics?
• What add-ons do you need? (Options include: event calendar, multi-language translation, store locator, user portal, appointment scheduler, and maintenance)

Some of the other included features we provide with our web design include:

• Social Media
• Setup
• Blog
• Chatbot / Livechat
• WordPress
• Forms

• Drag and drop builder
• Standard Hosting
• Standard SSL
• Video Backgrounds
• CDN Setup
• Google Fonts

• Newsletter signup
• Google Analytics
• Facebook Pixel
• WYSIWYG Editor
• Recaptcha

The cost of redesigning your website is dependent upon these features, as well as the credentials of your designer. (Good news: when you choose AtomicDC for your web design, you are choosing some of the top designers in the game!)

Wondering what you should budget based on website type? Here are some website examples with budget ranges based on functionality and and design.

• https://curated.co/ – [$12,000 – $15,000]
  • Simple sitemap, clean design, low amount of content & functionality
• https://www.bigdropinc.com/ – [$20,000 – $50,000]
  • High level of design, animation, custom layouts, custom navigation
• https://tens.co/ [$70,000 – 100,000+]
  • E-commerce, multi-language, product photography, website store size (# of sku’s)

The absolute cheapest option for website design is, well, nothing, because you could use a free template site. Please remember that these free template sites are difficult to customize, may include unattractive or unprofessional water stamps and URLs, and often end up looking pretty generic.

On the far other end, major corporations will spend more than a hundred thousand dollars on their high-tech, state-of-the-art websites. Of course, those designs are usually done in-house by designers and software engineers who work directly for the company.

There is so much room in the middle! Small businesses often spend anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars on their websites, depending on their specific needs.

Take a look at our process of creating a great website

In addition to using our estimate tool, which we provide to the public, you should let us know what questions you have!

Let’s talk soon, either via our website or on the phone (214-785-8247). We look forward to getting to know your company and your web design needs so that we can help you start reaching more potential customers, converting more leads, building more brand awareness, and everything else your website has the potential to do for you.

Don’t forget to request a 5 minute website audit! We are providing no-obligation, BS-free, 5-minute long website video review of your website! We’ll be brutally honest and provide super useful, practical information about what’s currently working on your site, why you’re losing customers, and what improvements will drive more traffic and conversions. If you’re ready to hear the straightforward truth, we’re ready to give it to you!