If you’re looking to build a website for your business or organization, then you’re likely in the process of trying to find out the cost of website design.
You may have asked several web design companies for quotes and / or looked at available options to do it yourself and been left puzzled by the wide range of web design prices.
So how much does it cost to build a website in Canada, specifically in Ontario? Note that this article is only a guide, as in reality the price will depend on many factors that are outside of the scope of this article.
In this blog post, we’ll cover the basics of building a website, and all additional required costs you need to consider with the web project.
What type of website do I need?
This is the first question one need to answer. Four most common types of websites are: information-style (basic) site, small e-commerce site, large e-commerce site and custom site or system. And you also need to consider an inclusion of a CMS (Content Management System) for your website. The only one where you can skip it is information-style website, where, you can ask design company to maintain it for you, as CMS as the name implies allows you to manage the content on your own.
What Can I Expect To Pay For A Basic Website?
The starting cost for a regular website in Ontario is somewhere between $1,200 and $1,500, and increases from there depending on the features you want and the size of the site. This sort of website is your very basic setup, with only a few pages on it. Of course you may pay less for basic site depending on size, features and the company you are working with, especially if this is done by a freelancer.
What Can I expect to Pay For other Types of Websites?
If you want to build a small e-commerce website in Canada, the website development cost starts at around $1,800 to $2,000 and can go up to around $5,000 to $6,000.
For a large e-commerce website expect starting cost at around $5,000 – $6,000 and go up quite significantly if you want all the advanced functionality.
Large custom site or system, for example CRM (Customer Relationship Management), you have to be ready to pay $10,000+.
What Will Increase The Cost Of Building A Website?
What can increase the cost of a basic website varies but often includes one or more of the following:
- The number of pages.
- Interactive features, such as having forms, calendars, and embedded social media widgets.
- A registration system or forum where users can register and interact, similar to how social media sites work.
- An eCommerce component where products can be sold online, requiring payment security and verification. Here, as indicated you can have a small or large site. The difference will be in the number of products and functionality. For example you can add newsletter, recommended or similar products module, search, advanced filtering and more.
What Other Costs Should I Consider When Creating A Website?
There are other costs to starting a website that have to be factored in as well on top of the website itself.
- Domain name registration.
- Hosting services on which your website will be placed, influencing speed, stability, and security.
- Security services, such as SSL certification, to help protect your website against potential threats. Security has become a standard and you need it even if your website is not an e-commerce setup.
- Site maintenance, ensuring your website is properly maintained, updated, and supported.
- The cost of a merchant account for eCommerce services if you decide to sell products online. You can slightly offset that by using services such as PayPal or Stripe
- Marketing, i.e. Google Ads, SEO, and more.
Website Builders
The alternative to a website build by professional web design company is to use site builder such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Shopify or other. This is a topic that would require separate article, but you need to consider the following before looking into website builders: will they meet your requirements when it comes to functionality you want, do you have enough technical knowledge to work with them and most importantly will you have enough time to do that, considering your other duties.
Is Having Your Own Website Build by a Web Design Company Worth It In The Long Run?
There are too many benefits to having a website to consider the alternative. You establish an online presence 24/7 with a website. It adds credibility, allows you to expand your brand to more people, and gains unique insights on who’s viewing you. It also publishes all important information about how to contact your business, your products or services, and more. The cost, long-term, balances itself out fairly quickly when considering the advantages of your own website built by professionals.
Your best option is to hire professional web design company. In such case website is original and custom build. Done right and done professionally, this takes time and is why websites are priced individually based on the specifications. You want your website to work for you and be designed the way you want and including all the functionality required for your type of business.
For a quote on how much your website would cost to design, contact us directly. We’re happy to provide a custom quote based on your needs, free and under no obligation.