How Much Does Web Development Cost in 2024?

Web Development

The average price for web development services is $34,000-$50,000 per hour. The amount you'll actually spend on a developer will depend on how involved they are in your project and how many hours the professional estimates it will take.

Having a well-built website is essential for any business, whether you have a large e-commerce brand or a local restaurant. While there are many easy-to-use website builder sites to help you create and design a basic website, hiring a web developer can help you add new functionality, create a professional look, and have a trustworthy website experience for potential customers. A specialist can also help you with everything from purchasing a domain name to deciding what software you need to use.

Before hiring a developer to build or work on your website, here is an idea of ​​common web development prices to help you better estimate the cost of the website project for your business.

What affects the price of hiring a web developer?

Web Developer Price

This is probably where most of your budget will go. The web developer will charge per hour or per project. The prices for your website development will depend on:

The Type of Website you want help with

For example, you may need help developing an e-commerce website, a personal portfolio, a basic business website, or a blog. Some types of websites cost a little more as you may need a specific integration, such as an e-commerce shopping integration that requires more skill or time to implement. The size of your website (the number of web pages it has) can also affect project pricing.

Website development-front or back-end

In general, front-end web development projects, such as implementing a new, custom design, are more straightforward and less expensive. If you need extensive back-end help, such as creating a new website from scratch or helping with a large, complex website migration (i.e. if you want to change the website's domain name or content management system you use), these services tend to cost more. Some additional back-end development projects that can increase your website prices are:

• Set up an integration with your marketing software
• Add additional e-commerce functionality, so that purchasing your items or services on your website is easy and secure
• Ongoing maintenance after basic website creation is completed
• Create a content management system, so you can easily edit your website, drag and drop images, and update your blog posts without coding

Project complexity

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to web application development as no two clients' needs are exactly the same so the more complex your project and website is, the higher the web development prices will be. For example, if you are using unusual software to run your website, or the back-end of your website is a mess, it will take longer for the web developer to make changes or transfer your website to a more user-friendly platform. .

Most web developers will call you to better understand your needs and may look at your website to assess how complex your request will be.

Ongoing services

You may need additional support after your website launches. Most developers will charge by the hour to fix any errors or bugs that arise after the launch or general maintenance of the website.

Add-ons, such as design and marketing

Not all web developers have the same skill set as some also have experience in web design or marketing and some may be skilled at setting up complex integrations. If you hire a full-service web design company (as opposed to a freelancer), they're more likely to have a team that can help you with all aspects of your website, from web design and development to marketing, SEO, social networks and content creation.

Of course, your needs are unique too. Here are some related jobs you may need in addition to the technical coding and complication parts of web development:

• Website design: If you don't want to use a ready-made web design template, your developer or agency can enhance the look of your site and include additional functionality. After you approve or give feedback on the designs, they will set you up with front-end development work. If the professional does not have experience in this, you can hire another team to work on the design. For example, some might charge between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000 to design a website with five or six different pages.
• Graphic design: This is slightly different from web design (this focuses on the layout and functionality of your website), graphic designers can help you with logos, illustrations and other visual assets that you put on your website. A graphic designer charges around $34,000 per hour
• Branding Jobs: Developers can go beyond web design and help with your entire brand. This could help develop your visual brand, voice, website, content, and your company's digital footprint from the ground up. Or maybe you have a well-established brand that just needs a website and a logo redesign. Either way, these services will increase prices
• Copywriting – Some web design and development agencies can also provide copywriting assistance, if you need help writing anything like your homepage or product descriptions.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): While your developer should implement basic SEO in their work, some may provide specific additional services to improve your website's search engine optimization. If they don't, an SEO professional will cost between $20,000 and $28,000

Web hosting and domain name prices

Hiring a web developer to build your website is not the only expense you will encounter. After launching a new website, here are some ongoing costs to consider when calculating the cost of a website:

• Web Hosting Pricing – The cost of your web hosting pricing depends on the website builder. It is the "home" where your website lives and ensures that your site is up and running 24/7
• Domain Pricing: You must purchase the domain name for your website (i.e. 2x3.cl) and you will pay annually for each domain name you own.

How much does it cost to build a new website?

According to one website building expert, having a basic site created by a professional front-end developer and/or web designer could cost around $2,700,000.

However, the price you will pay a web development agency to get your website up and running is very individualized.

For example, a professional could charge a flat rate of $9,000 per hour to update or change your WordPress site. They could also charge $600,000 and $1,000,000 for basic web design $1,400,000 for e-commerce web design projects.

Each developer will include different elements in their pricing packages and will give you various hourly price estimates and also tell you how that website will be completed.

What are the benefits of hiring a professional web developer?

You can build your small business website yourself and get it up and running for very little money. Although, even if you consider yourself a tech-savvy individual, there are a lot of things that go into building a website that you probably wouldn't think about.

Many simple website builder software make building your own website an easy do-it-yourself project, you could probably get a simple site or blog up and running for your small business. However, if you want a unique, professional-looking website, with e-commerce functionality, software integrations, it is worth investing in a professional back-end or front-end developer.

Hiring an experienced developer will help you get the project done faster, eliminate bugs, improve user experience, and help with website optimization.

While hiring a developer is an expensive investment, especially for small businesses, it is a worthwhile investment. A professional web developer can create the site and branding work you need to convert your website traffic into customers.

What should you look for when hiring a web developer or agency?

Before signing a contract, ask the professional about their background, clients, certifications and experience. They should be able to discuss:

• Website Trends. Ask if they stay up to date with digital marketing, website design, development trends, and the latest software on the market. After all, you don't want a website that uses outdated Javascript or lacks a responsive or mobile-friendly design.
• Experience with similar projects. If you need a web developer to work on a website you currently have, make sure they have experience working with the software you have or the programs you use to host, run and build your website, such as Wordpress. For the ecommerce side, look for a professional who has experience with specific ecommerce integrations
• Examples and previous work. Ask to see their work and examples of other websites they have created or worked on. Especially if you want design help, it's good to have an idea of ​​your aesthetic and whether it matches your brand vision.
• Availability. Ask how often they will be available to you, as well as their process for executing design or development changes for you over time. Some freelancers will include some review cycles in their work, so ask about this as well
• Years of experience and how that fits into its cost. Some professionals have many years of experience doing branding work and website designs, their rates could be more expensive than younger professionals because of the value and experience they bring.

How can you save money on website prices?

The high cost of a web developer means that the price of your website may be higher than you want. To save money, whether in the short or long term, here are some things you can do to save:

Ask your agency or freelancer about adjustments to their package

To ensure you get everything you need from your web developer, but also reduce unnecessary costs, talk to them about where they can make adjustments to their packages. This can help you reduce packaging costs without compromising the quality of the finished product.

Build your website on a platform you can use

To avoid ongoing costs every time you need to make a simple change to your website, such as editing content, posting to your blog, or updating images, make sure your website is built on a platform that you can use after your contract ends. the developer.

Some simple website builder software has great functionality for e-commerce and business websites and is a good choice for small businesses that don't need a ton of unique functionality or software integrations. A WordPress site is a good choice for blogs and content-heavy websites.

Even if your developer chooses simple but technical software, make sure they leave you instructions on how to make changes to your website. While you will likely need a developer to help you with website maintenance in the future, you don't want to pay a high hourly price just to fix a spelling mistake.

Choose a web development agency with a smaller team

If you are hiring a large web development agency, they may have many people working on your website design project. The overall price includes paying all of those employees for their time.

If you hire an individual professional or a small web development agency, prices may be lower because they have fewer people and possibly lower overhead to run their business.

Pay annually for ongoing services and expenses

You will get a discount for paying for the domain and hosting if you pay annually, not monthly. 

Provide site content

You'll save money on the overall project cost if you provide most of the content. The web developer may have experience in SEO (search engine optimization) and can advise you on the best content that will improve your search engine results or keywords that should be included throughout the site. 

Be flexible with the timing of your project

The phrases "quick turnaround" and "urgent" mean different things to different developers (and clients) but you should know that if you need a web development project done quickly, the cost will increase. A 2x3 professional has hourly rates of $36,000 for projects, but if the client needs their project done urgently (for him, two months) it will cost $50,000 per hour. Projects typically take about six months to complete, so you get it in a third of the time, but it will cost you much more.

Whether you're trying to launch a beautiful, custom website, or simply need help improving your small business website to take it to a new professional level, an experienced web developer can do it. Start searching for the best developer to take your business website to a new level today.