Almost every business is pushing its boundaries to make new technological advancements and is making its presence on the World Wide Web.

Therefore, an effective website will increase your chances of standing out in the crowd, finding new customers, and scaling up.

However, it may be hard to tell how much a website would cost.

Building a website in 2022 would cost anywhere between $1000 for a simple website and $95,000 for complex custom or e-commerce websites; however, the price will vary according to your preference.

Moreover, the cost of building a website would depend on what type of website you wish to make and the custom features you want to add.

Let us guide you through the process of building your website at the best possible price.

Breaking Down the Cost of Building a Website

The cost relates directly to the amount of work required—the greater the difficulty of the site, the more complex work it needs.

Here are the factors that would make or break the website and something you should consider significantly.

1. Domain name

You must start by purchasing the relevant domain name for your new website.

The average charge to register a new domain is between $10 - $12. However, it may differ depending on the keywords and top-level domain factors.

For example, you will get .org for a comparably lower price than .com. Similarly, renewing the domain will cost $8.27-$29.99 per year.

Moreover, there are many domain extensions that you can choose for your site.

Extensions	Price
.com	$10-$20
.org	$15-$30
.net	$12-$56

2. Website hosting

Hosting any website starts from $100 per year; however, the prices would differ from one hosting company to another.

You can choose between cloud hosting and physical server hosting based on your requirements, such as website hosting, email server, cPanel access, etc.

Cloud hosting is a newcomer compared to other web hosting methods. In this type, you are not bounded to one specific place. The services and assistance that you need will be provided virtually.

On the other hand, Physical server hosting is a traditional hosting method that includes shared, VPS, Dedicated, and Managed hosting.

The availability and accumulation of server resources are faster and easier in cloud hosting than in physical hosting; hence, cloud hosting will be an excellent option if you want a well-managed service.

Moreover, it is up to you to choose between several hosting options and apply which is feasible for you.

Here are the rates offered by some hosting providers.

Service Provider	Cloud Pricing	Physical server
Bluehost	Not available	$169.99-$239.99
HostGator	$12.95-$19.95	$75-$119
Godaddy	Not available	$89.99-$129.99

3. Site Security

Security is the essential aspect of building any website, where you should take care of things like keeping plugins up to date, using a secure web host, and file transfer protocols.

Moreover, you can add HTTPS and SSL Certificates for network security. Every website requires an SSL certificate to make a secure online connection.

Nowadays, most web hosting providers include a free SSL certificate in the hosting offer package.

You can add it by paying extra if you don’t have a certificate in your package.

Here are some popular SSL providers with their starting prices

SSL Provider	Annual Price
RapidSSL	$11.95
GeoTrust	$44.95
COMODO	$7.99

4. Website themes and plugins

You can pick from many themes according to your choices, and thousands of themes are available online.

You can also use a free theme, as many free themes are available online, but it may cost you anywhere from $100 or more if you want a quality website theme.

Here are some popular themes providers with their starting prices:

Providers	Prices
Elegant Themes	$89
Themify	$59
Astra	$59 for a pro version

Similarly, further adding functionalities to your website will require plugins, especially with WordPress, Magento, and content management systems.

The foundation of any WordPress site is plugins. They allow your website to perform anything you need it to do.

Plugins add crucial features if you want to add contact forms, enhance SEO, speed up your website, build an online store, or provide email assistance.

Similarly, they add some specific components and extend the features as well as functionalities of a website.

For example, Yoast SEO is used to check the readability of a blog. Similarly, Jetpack is used in websites for advancing security, performance, and marketing.

Plugins especially come in handy while customizing the site without having technical knowledge.

Free plugins usually do not meet all your requirements; therefore, go for premium ones, which will cost you slightly more.

Using WordPress Theme or Creating a Custom Theme

Creating a website using a WordPress theme is more straightforward and quicker. There are a bunch of free WordPress themes available online.

However, consider using custom theme ideas or hiring web professionals if you want quality websites.

Creating a custom theme can take between $6,000-$10,000, depending on the hard work required.

5. Website Images

You cannot ignore the fact that images make a significant component of any website.

It is excellent if you already have high-quality images for your website; otherwise, you must spend a little extra money to acquire high-quality images.

There are various sites like Unsplash, Pexels, iStock, etc., where you can get relevant images for your sites for free or at some cost.

Here are some free image websites with their best offers:

Sources	Pricing per month	Downloads
Unsplash	Free	Unlimited
Pexels	Free	Unlimited
iStock	Free for one month	10

Here are some paid image websites with their minimum price range.

Sources	Pricing per month	Downloads
Adobe Stock	$29.99	Ten images per month
Shutterstock	$49	Ten images per month
Envato Elements	$16.50	Unlimited

Note: Using free or paid images depends entirely on your preference. Remember, paid images offer more variety and quality than free images.

How Much Does Building Different Websites Cost?

Websites differ based on their programming, structure, functionalities, and purpose.

For example, e-commerce helps you get customers and sell your products online, while a content management system (CMS) will provide features to edit content and adjust website layouts.

Here are a few examples of different websites that you can build.

1. E-commerce

E-commerce is widely used to make business deals and scale physical products online.

Moreover, E-commerce mainly promotes the exchange of goods and services online.

The building cost of an e-commerce website comes up with the charges of design, development, and further maintenance costs, which may cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 per year.

2. CMS

CMS is incredibly effective in building websites with numerous web pages and making blogging sites.

The main advantage of CMS is that non-technical users can add and modify the content themselves.

Website builders like Wix and WordPress Premium are commonly used these days to build CMS websites, as they include many free themes and plugins.

Did you know Wix.com is the most popular hosted website solution globally, hosting over 3.8 million websites?

The minimum cost starts from $50 and increases according to the customization complexity.

Otherwise, resort to using open-source software like Free WordPress and Magento to create custom CMS websites

3. Static single-page website

A single-page website presents everything the reader needs on one page.

If you are willing to make a static single-page website, the average cost will be $100-$500.

However, if you want to make it responsive, the cost would be over $500.

4. Static 5-page website

The minimum cost of building a static 5-page website ranges between $500-$1000.

The cost may arise proportionally with added functionalities and modifications.

Examples of static 5-page websites are resume and portfolio websites with limited content. They do not require frequent modifications and updates.

5. Blog website

Blogs frequently update new information organized in reverse chronology and maintained regularly.

There is a primary difference between blogs and other kinds of websites.

The content on typical websites is arranged in pages and is static; they are not constantly updated. On the other hand, a blog is dynamic and typically updated more regularly. Some bloggers post several fresh pieces every day.

These types of websites should be interactive and informational to the users.

Creating a blog website averagely costs between $50 to $200, depending upon the customizations.

6. Portfolio Website

A Portfolio website should contain demonstrations of one’s best work and accomplishments, a clear introduction, complete contact, and social media links.

These websites require professional hands to create a proper customized layout and design.

Creating a portfolio website averagely costs about $500-$1000, depending on the work needed.

Should Your Hire a Web Designer or DIY?

You have two choices: whether you are going to hire a company/professional to build your website or you are going to do it by yourself.

Did you know designing and deploying a professionally built website could take five to six months?

You can choose to do it yourself if you do not have the money to engage in a website design company or you cannot wait that long.

Hiring a web designer would be more proper to create the best impression in front of readers because they will create a professional-looking product.

However, you can do it yourself if you have the required technical and design skills.

We have listed out some differences between professional vs. DIY websites:

Hiring a Web Designer	DIY
1. Customized features and functionalities	1. Limited features and functionalities
2. Requires more cost	2. Budget-friendly
3. More customization options	3. Fewer customization options
4. Best SEO optimization	4. Prone to rank low in Google search

Conclusion

The main thing is different factors are required to build any website price, such as themes, domain, hosting, license, annual charges, etc.

In addition, your website will also require updates and manual site maintenance in the future times.

If you do not possess the relevant skills in the particular area, you may require hiring someone.

Drop in your comment to let us know whether this article has benefited you, and please feel free to express your opinions.

Get in touch with Searchable Design LLC., the best web development agency in Des Moines, to learn more about building effective small business websites.