How Much Do Web Designers Charge? A Pricing Guide
In the online era of business, web design has become increasingly vital for companies of all kinds. Whether you’re creating a new website for your freshly-founded business or recreating an old one as part of a rebrand, almost all companies will need to look at the specifics of creating a website.
While there are tools out there to help the average person create a website on their own, these platforms can be limiting and generic, unable to provide the flexibility you need for a functional website. That’s when working with a web designer is your best bet. But how much does it really cost to get your own website from a professional web designer, custom-built and complete with security features and all the other important elements?
Web designers typically charge about $75 per hour. A company website, even for small businesses, could potentially cost between $5,000 and $10,000, with $6,760 being the average cost to set up, design, build, and create content for a basic website ongoingly. This figure also includes maintenance and training for the client. You should also note that a fully custom website will cost more, according to Website Builder Expert.
Whether you’re looking to hire the right web designer for your business or you’re a freelance web designer yourself, understanding what the typical website costs are is vital.
How Much Do Web Designers Charge?
Web design pricing is charged either by the hour or by a flat fee per project. Some website builders will only do one or the other, while others will use both payment models depending on the client and the scope of any given web design project.
Hourly Rate
Reasonably skilled freelance web designers make about $75 per hour. This figure can vary, though, according to CSS-Tricks.
Website Builder Expert estimates that the cost to design a website is $30 to $80 per hour, while the cost to actually develop the website is $100 to $180 per hour.
Freelancers typically make a higher rate than in-house web designers because they don’t receive health insurance and other perks that employees receive. Freelancers also have much less job security as they go from contract to contract rather than having a steady, reliable stream of work from an employer. A higher rate compensates them for the lack of long-term commitment from clients.
A few factors determine whether a freelancer will charge more or less than $75 per hour:
- Pet projects – A freelancer might offer a nonprofit, a friend, or a family member a lower rate.
- Project length – Long-term web design projects might deserve a slightly lower hourly rate in exchange for a greater amount of hours worked.
- Project difficulty – As a website builder, will you need help from a programmer, developer, or graphic designer? If so, charge more to cover the rate that these professionals will charge you.
- Uniqueness – If the project is similar to another one you did in the past, you can reuse the foundations of that project and complete it in less time. If you want to make a good impression on your client, you can choose to charge less, considering the time saved.
- Page count – More pages to design means more work for the website builder. Extras like a blog or an e-commerce component can also drive the total up.
- Commitment level – If you can only put in a few hours of work here and there instead of committing to the project full-time, consider lowering your price to make clients more likely to hire you.
- Client relationships – Some web designers will charge a new client less to land the project, though this might set a bad precedent with that client in the future. Alternatively, some website builders will offer discount rates for repeat clients in the hope of receiving more work from them in the future.
Flat Rate
Clients love paying web designers flat rates because they know exactly how much they’ll pay upfront. Web design freelancers often dislike flat rates because you can almost never be 100% sure how long a project will take, especially if the client asks for endless changes, according to CSS-Tricks.
It’s a good idea to question the client extensively before providing prices to make sure you understand their budget and project requirements.
Here’s a basic web design price list:
- Setup: $160
- Design and building: $5,000
- Content creation: $500
- Client training: $600
- Maintenance: 500
- Total: $6,760
The average cost of basic website created by a freelance website designer is $6,760, according to Website Builder Expert. This cost only covers the first year.
That said, each cost can vary depending on many things, from the experience of the web developer to the current market for freelance web designers. Setup can cost as little as $50 and go as high as $200, depending on the website domain cost and other factors. A custom website design will usually cost a minimum of $5,000 but can go upwards of $10,000 for more complex projects.
Content creation varies from $500 to $5,000 depending on how much content the client wants and how often they want it. Plus, the annual cost of website maintenance costs about $500 to $1,000.
Conclusion
For freelance web designers, developers, and website builders, understanding how much to charge is a crucial part of getting your business off the ground. It takes thorough research into the average rates, the current market, and an honest evaluation of your skills and experience to arrive at the ideal rate for web designers and clients alike.