This is the most common question that I hear.

Although I’ve posted a sample website design cost on my prices page, below I’m including more detail about the cost of having your new website made, as well as what you can expect to get.

This estimate is based on a website for:

• A small business owner
• A 5- to 10-page site structure, possibly including a blog
• A few images per page (with some pages having several pictures, if necessary)

Your website design certainly doesn’t have to fit these guidelines, but these are some of the typical requirements for many of my small business clients.

Startup Phase of Your Website Project
Time Estimate: 3 to 4 hours

• Purchase Your Domain Name

  If you haven’t already set up a domain name (URL) for your website, I can do this for you. Registrars such as GoDaddy.com typically charge about $10 to $15 per year for .com domains.

• Set Up Your Website Hosting Account

  Again, if you don’t have an existing website host, I can set this up for you. I typically recommend HostGator.com for their excellent prices (under $90 per year) and good up-time.

• Install WordPress and a WordPress Template on Your Hosting Server

  This includes adding a MySQL database to your hosting server, and configuring and uploading WordPress, as well as the WordPress template that we’ll use for your site. I always prefer to use Elegant Themes templates for their beautiful designs, excellent customer service, and well-written coding (which makes things easier on my end!).

Design Phase of Your Website Project
Time Estimate: 30 to 34 hours

• Build Your New Website on Your Hosting Server

  This often involves developing a design in Photoshop for your website header, creating a layout for your home page, and determining the best marketing approach to encourage visitors to use your services.

• Research SEO Keywords for Your Site

  If you choose to include this option with your website, I’ll do some research on the strongest keywords for your industry niche, and will then ensure that those words are used repeatedly on your site pages. Your site will also have these keywords included in each page’s meta descriptions (the descriptions that visitors see when searching for websites on search engines such as Google).

• Add Your Text and Content to the Website Pages

  After you’ve approved the basic design of the new website, I’ll add page content. I can make your content more appealing using my experience as an advertisement copywriter. I’ll also add images and calls to action where they’re most appropriate.

• Add and Set Up WordPress Plugins

  With the thousands of free WordPress plugins available, you can take advantage of the powerful functionality available for WordPress websites. My favorite plugins include:

  • WordPress SEO Plugin by Yoast
  • Backup WordPress Plugin
  • Contact Form Creator Plugin

Launch Phase of Your Website Project
Time Estimate: 7 to 12 hours

• Make Site Fully Responsive (Mobile Friendly)

  After all of your page designs are finalized and approved, I’ll go through the site and ensure that every element of every page is fully responsive (mobile friendly) for all devices, including desktop and laptop computers, as well as tablets and smartphones.

• Add Website Traffic Tracking, Including Google Analytics

  Your new website will have both StatCounter and Google Analytics (coupled with Google Webmaster Tools) to help you see the number of visitors to your website, as well as how those visitors arrive at your site — be it through Google, Facebook links, tweets, etc.

• Make Your New Website LIVE!

  This includes all of the steps that are necessary to make your new site appear at your domain name (such as YourBeautifulSite.com). During this phase, I test every page for issues, and create backups of both your website files and your WordPress database. This is when you get to send everyone you know to your stunning new website!

Total Time Estimate: 40 to 50 hours
Total Cost Estimate: $1200 to $1500

If you’re a small business person looking for a site, how does this estimate sound to you? If you’re another website designer, what do you think of my breakdown? Post your comments below. And if you’d like to get a quote and proposal that’s specific to your website project, call me at (209) 418-7579 or fill out my quick contact form. I look forward to hearing from you!