Website Pricing Guide Spain 2014/2015

Transcription

1 Website Pricing Guide Spain 2014/2015

2 How much should my website cost? Today, and ironically thanks to the Internet itself, the price of building a website can be easily researched, either from articles or blogs (similar to this one!) or by reviewing the price lists that web design companies publish on their own websites. However, if anyone has recently compared web agency prices, or has even requested multiple quotes, they would have probably ended up more confused than before they started due to the drastic variation of prices agencies charge for websites these days. So approximately how much should you pay for a website? Before answering this question, we first need to address a rather concerning issue that has lately befallen our industry.

3 Free and low cost websites cheapening the web design profession The standard price of websites has plummeted over the past decade, as there is a worrying trend towards cheap or even free website offers, which is beginning to dilute the value of the industry and the quality of its offerings. For example, many host companies are now promoting free websites, which makes business owners believe that they can create their own website just by using a simple website builder tool, that ends up with them dropping in some text and a few images into some bland looking design template, which they will never be able to fully customise. Other agencies may offer full websites for only a few hundred euros, but again this will be an un-tailored solution, with no focus on how the content is delivered, whether it is user-friendly for visitors, or how the site will be optimised for search engines.

4 Of course, these options work well for small businesses with a very limited budget, which just want a presence online where they can direct customers to for more information about the company, but this type of website should in no way be confused with being an effective communications tool that will add any value to the business, or be able attract customers and convert visitors into actual sales. Also, when you consider the following stages of creating a website, you need to ask yourself, can all this really be included in a 5 page website worth 250!

5 Stages in creating a basic website Stage 1: briefing meeting to discuss and finalise the specifications of the site Stage 2: concept creation brainstorming to create an eye-catching design that delivers a particular message to the right target audience Stage 3: information gathering and collation writing content, searching for stock images etc. Stage 4: website build and development installing the content management system, personalising the design template with chosen design from stage 4, creating the pages and navigation menus, inserting content, installing plugins, widgets and modules, writing any custom code or programming, making the site responsive Stage 5: proofing and revisions Stage 6: search engine optimisation - so the website can be found in search engines such as Google following launch

6 How to spot a realistic web design quotation for a quality website? Of course, the cost of a website can vary considerably depending on the features and functions that are required such as a standard 5 page website compared to an online shop, however on a like-for-like basis, it is not uncommon for a company to receive a quote for 300, one for 2000 and one for 5000 for the same specifications. So, how do you know which of these is the most reasonable? Firstly, to ensure that you are receiving a realistic figure from a professional company you need to ask the following:

7 1. What questions did the agency ask before producing the quote? Although it can be a little annoying having to answer a multitude of questions when all you want it is rough price, in fact the more questions the agency asks, the more accurate your quote will be and it also shows their experience in the industry.

8 2. Was a price for online marketing included in the quote? If your company website cannot be found online, then there is very little point having one. The quote should include some mention search engine optimisation, whether it s included in the actual web design package cost, or as an optional extra.

9 3. Did they ask whether you would be supplying content such as text and images etc? The actual creation of quality web content can be very time consuming, therefore if you don t have any, or just think that a few paragraphs taken from a brochure would work (which won t), then the cost of content creation and any photography purchases will also need to be considered.

10 4. What is the lead-time of the project? If it only states two to three days to create a website, then do not think that you are going to get a solution of any quality, as producing anything of quality takes time!

11 5. Are specific features and functions itemised? Don t just assume that your quote will included specific features such as newsletter signups, slideshows, galleries, revolving testimonial widgets, photo manipulation or additional languages. These should all have been specified during the initial contact with the agency and therefore be itemised within the quotation if you require them.

12 6. Are you dealing with a professional agency? Check how long the agency has been around, generally the older the agency is, the more experienced and stable they are, so will not disappear after a year leaving you to clear up the mess with lost hosting passwords and out-dated coding etc. Also, check out their portfolio, what is the general quality of their work, do they look like cheap websites, or ones that have particular attention to detail and thought given to content.

13 So, how much should a website cost? The standard rate in Spain for quality web design services is around 25 per hour for basic HTML and CSS coding (used for custom design and layout of pages) and graphic design, and 40 per hour for more complex programming such as PHP (for more complicated features and functions not provided by existing plugins and widgets available with Content Management Systems. Therefore, for a basic website, which has been created using a content management system, such as Wordpress, with a template that has some CSS design customisation, it takes between hours to create from conception to completion, depending on the level of design customisation and additional functions, therefore it will be somewhere between 600 and Of course, for a completely custom designed website with extra features, additional pages and/or copywriting and graphic design services (such as the design of complex illustrations) it will be more. Every element needs to be accounted for, otherwise it will either be rushed or overlooked, leaving you with a mediocre, substandard website that will not perform its primary function of attracting visitors, and for businesses, bringing in leads and sales.

14 In order to calculate the approximate cost of a website, here is a quick breakdown of the main costs you may need to consider: Small basic website with CMS (5-10 pages) 600 to 3000 Standard e-commerce website 1200 to 5000 Fully customised feature rich website (10 50 pages) to 10,000 Completely bespoke or multinational website 10,000 plus Hosting around 70 for a shared host account, and anything from 300 to 3000 a year for large traffic or bandwidth heavy websites Domain name around 10 per year Copywriting services 60 per page (based on 300 words) Logo design or custom illustrations 250 to 500 each Search engine optimisation expect to pay around 250 for a small local business to 2000 per month for large national ones, and anything up to 10k a month for highly competitive products on an international scale. Social media 125 per account/profile/page setup

15 Of course, every website is completely different, so you ll never be able to fully calculate the cost of your website without speaking to a legitimate professional in-depth about your specific needs, but I hope this has given you a good idea of what you should pay for a good quality website, and remember that if you pay peanuts for your website, you ll most certainly get monkeys working on it!

16 Web Design and Online Marketing Agency arayoweb.com