You get what you pay for when it comes to web design. Why? No, it’s not the ‘artist’ in my ‘web designer’ talking or the years of on-the-job training talking. It is TECHNOLOGY.
In the 10 years I have been in this business I’ve seen the pace of change in every aspect of web-based media pick up to a canter, from a gallop. It is not possible for an ordinary person who isn’t dedicated full-time to web design and development to really understand the scope of all this change.
For example, consider the explosion of Facebook in just six years … or the impact of cloud computing and web 2.0 applications in the last two years.
Then there is Web design which is an art and a science learned over time. Not just anyone can do it and do it well. So it is critical that you talk to your web designer and get to know him or her. Some web designers are very good artists, others are very good at code, a few are good at SEO.
Freelance designers these days have to work in all these specialties. Don’t forget to throw in social media!
The days of a static web site are over. The dynamic website is the new focus. Website designs today require content that is ever-changing and constantly updated. News, blogs, images, events, inventory and many other aspects of your web design will need to be updated frequently. A content management system, like a Word Press blog, will allow you to do just that without knowing any code.
So what should all of this cost? How many pages are needed? How much content will the client provide and how much content will the web designer create? How many images and graphics will have to be created? How many forms are needed and what is their complexity? And the list goes on and on.
A web design should run around $900-$1000. Large business websites will probably be around $2,000 to $3,000. Serious corporate sites would start at $5,000 to $10,000 and up. So if you spend $199, expect a $199 performance, if you spend $1,000 expect a $1,000 performance, and if you spend $3,000+ expect your site to look, perform and produce like a high quality web design.
