How much does a membership website cost? The three critical factors explained.

How much does a website cost? It's rather like asking, how much does a car cost, or how much does a house cost.

It depends on:

• Size: how many pages will your site need?
• Content: who will write this and is it ready?
• Images: will you need a photography, illustrator or 'stock' shots to be sourced?
• Functions & Features: will your website need a shop and checkout or other features?
• Urgency: do you need it really quickly?
• Domain name and SSL: Will you need to register a domain name and purchase a security certificate?
• Marketing: will you need help setting up Google Ads or Facebook Ads?
• Branding: what about your logo, will you need help here?

As you can see, the above, whilst not exhaustive, illustrates many of the things you need to consider. A good web designer can help you navigate these questions and more and together you should be able to come up with a budget that makes financial sense for your business and gets you the site you need.

How to keep your project on budget and schedule

I'm sure that if you're new to the world of web design and you're embarking on a new project, it can be slightly intimidating, while at the same time, exciting and motivating. The initial excitement can soon turn sour if you are not clear about what you need/want and your web designer isn't managing your expectations and providing the care and guidance you need. This is where an experienced web designer can really pay dividends.

In my experience - which is 20 years and counting! - web projects risk going over budget when:

• The client adds features not discussed at the outset when the price was agreed
• Content isn't ready and arrives in dribs and drabs
• The client changes their mind about the design midway through a project
• New people/stakeholders get involved near the end of a project

Keep in mind the above, and be prepared to ask questions and assume nothing. Your web designer should provide a detailed schedule of work and stick to the timings agreed. You will also want to manage risk, by checking what contingencies are in place in the event of their illness, injury etc.

But before we wrap this blog post up, let's return to the question: how much does a website cost? Well, the answer, dear reader, is a thousand pounds. And sometimes a hundred times that. Both answers are true and valid, and it all comes down to what you need, what you can afford, but most of all, and regardless of how much it costs, a better question is "does it deliver a return on investment'. And to answer that question and the ones below, requires another blog post. Coming soon...

Other questions you might want to ask:

• How much do web designers charge?
• What return should I expect from my website?
• How will I market my website?
• Should I use a freelance web designer or an agency?

Hopefully, this blog post is helpful, and I am happy to always help with any questions you might have.

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