So, the big question - How much does a web designer charge?
Short answer. Anywhere from £12 per month to £250,000+
A huge variation, you may say. Absolutely!
The huge difference in scope and cost is down to a few things, a big factor being what the website has and does. Naturally, a smaller website of 7 pages is going to cost a lot less than a website of 10,000 pages. There is less work involved.
A web designer with 20 years of experience is going to charge more than someone just out of college who has designed a few websites in the evenings to pay for a few nights out with his friends.
With the cost of living, a web designer in New York is going to charge more than a developing country like the Philippines.
A business with offices across the world is going to cost more than a freelancer working remotely.
There are a number of different options when building a website:
Option 1: Build your own - Squarespace, Wix.
If we go back 10-15 years, if you wanted a website, then you went to a web design agency or freelancer. Since then, however, technology advancements have made it possible for small businesses and sole traders to build their own websites. And the truth be told, some of these builders are good. They allow you to drag and drop elements of your website around with ease. You can upload images as simply as it is to upload an attachment to your email client of choice. These services are very affordable, too; a popular web builder like Squarespace costs as little as £12 a month. You can even turn your site into a small e-commerce and sell products directly with a slightly more expensive Squarespace package. These services were just not available 15 years ago. They make the barrier to having a website entry very low. Sure, your website will look like many others, but these services are a great start if you have a low budget. Going forward, as your business grows, you can always invest more into your website, hiring a freelancer or agency, then.
Pros of a service like Squarespace
- Cost
- Get a credible website online
- Can sell products
Cons
- Your site will look like thousands, if not millions, of others
- Limited in features and navigation
- You need to put in some time to build it yourself
- Limited support options if something does go wrong
Cost from £12 a month
Option 2: Freelancer
The next step up is a freelancer, and they will manage to build something unique for you. You can get custom features, if somewhat limited to the freelancer's experience. If anything goes wrong, you can contact them, and the freelancer will help. This is a more costly option, but you will get something of higher quality than the website builders as mentioned above. With remote working, you can hire freelancers from anywhere in the world, which allows you to do 2 things: Get cheaper developers than your country of origin and 2 hire some of the very best web designers in the world.
Pros of a freelancer
- Unique website
- Support when you need it
- Custom features
Cons
- Costs more than a web builder like Squarespace
- Some freelancers are limited in ability
Cost from £1500 to £5000
Option 3: Small/medium Agency
On the next rung on the ladder is hiring an agency. You get access to more staff, and they can cover different fields of web design. In web design, there are 2 main parts - design and development. The design is the visual and aesthetic side and the development is the more technical part of web design, mainly coding. Small/medium agencies may have one or more designers and 3/4 developers. These guys have more experience and can offer expert services with skilled coding and design.
Pros
- More expertise and more resources when you need them
- Expert features
Cons
- Higher cost than a freelancer
Cost from £3000-£40,000
Option 4: Large Agency
Large agencies can have upwards of 100 employees. These guys work on enterprise-level websites, which naturally cost a lot more. They can have dozens of web designers and developers, brand specialists, graphic designers, copywriters, digital marketing experts, support staff and project managers. Most of them have large offices and even different regional offices across the world. Projects can cost upwards of £250,000 and into the millions. As they have dedicated resources, their work is generally better than that of freelancers and smaller agencies.
Pros
- Expert skills
- Many resources to draw from
- Hire the best people
Cons
Cost from £250,000+
Summary
You can get a website live for just over £120 a year. You would need to put in a bit of effort and build it yourself, but with these website builders, you can get a credible website online for a very affordable cost. Sure, it might look the same as many others, but there would be a reasonable look and feel to it.
If you have a more substantial budget and want to maximise returns from your site, then an expert freelancer or agency would be a better option. They do cost more, but you get a better 'bang for your buck' and you 'get what you pay for'.
Truth be told, if you have a low budget, then we recommend you start off with a website builder, build your business a little, and then, down the line, invest in a freelancer or agency.
So where does Media Surgery come into this?
Media Surgery is certainly more of a freelancer than a large agency; I (John) do a lot of work with other teams and, from time to time, handle work from medium-sized agencies who themselves charge £25,000 to £50,000. These projects are white-label, which means the work is under the large agency's name. The agreement is that the work doesn't go on Media Surgery's portfolio. When working on their own projects, some of these agencies take a lot of the processes and skills that we developed and use them for their own sites. So we have the big skills and experience, and Media Surgery certainly isn't just another venture to make a quick buck. In an upcoming post, I will cover what we charge specifically.