A well-designed website is a gateway to your business. It allows you to be just a click away from your customers. If someone wants to learn about your services, the first thing they typically do is search for you online.
For instance, when you search often for a review of LLC registered agent LegalZoom, the LegalZoom review pages provide insights into their services and reputation. This demonstrates how a well-designed website and its associated content enhance visibility and accessibility.
But what does it take to develop a website for any business? It is a stepwise process where you have to pay for certain services and you are ready to host your website to take your business ahead. Here is a stepwise breakdown of the website development process. Go through it to make your website development journey more simplified.
Domain name
The domain name is going to be the identity of your website. It is the web address that appears on the search results when someone searches a related context in a search engine. After selecting the domain name, choose the extension, such as .org, .com, or .edu. You have to pay a certain price, which can be generally between $10-$20. The price depends on different factors, which are listed below:
- Domain registrar: You will purchase and register the domain name from the domain registrar. They will charge you as per the duration of the subscription. A longer subscription will charge you less.
- Top-level domain: Domain names such as .org and .com come at the end of the website name. They can cost you more than the other domain extensions such as .site. The popularity of the keywords in the domain name will also impact its charges.
- Privacy features: Some users might want to go anonymous with the website where they do not want their personal information to be shared with the public. You have to pay the registrar extra for such privileges.
Website development
You have to develop the website to display it. Website development can help you display all necessary details and use SEO tags to optimize your website to rank at the top of searches. A website can be a great idea to update your business in Google My Business which can help your website in SEO ranking. You can use website builders such as WordPress.org and Shopify or hire an expert. You will have to pay a minimal amount for web development.
Web hosting
Web hosting will help you display your website to the public. After paying for domain name, and website development, you have to pay for hosting the website. The requirements of website hosting can be different for different businesses. You can opt to get a dedicated server if you are planning to get all your activities online. You get different options for website hosting such as a scalable cloud or VPS hosting. Different services come with different features and prices.
You should consider certain factors before selecting the hosting plan. These factors can be website complexity, technical requirements, traffic, and scalability. You can get basic hosting plans for about $3 per month. It can go more than $200 per month if you opt for cloud and other scalable options. Many website-building sites offer hosting services with their subscription fee. If you want to develop your own website then you have to look for website hosting service providers.
Website Designing
We are talking about website designing after website development, as designing includes many elements. The website architecture and features can influence the cost of the website. There can be a significant difference in the price of developing a simple website with 7-8 pages and an e-commerce website that displays hundreds of products. There is always a DIY approach available to develop and design your own website. You can also go for website builders. They have many pre-built templates for different niches and themes. A drag-and-drop editor will help you easily customize the website. You have to pay extra for the premium features in website builders. They may also offer you a free SSL certificate.
You can hire an expert to develop a personalized website in a short time duration. They can charge you between $30- $200 per hour. You can ask the website designer to integrate every feature and element, such as Google Analytics, to analyze the performance of your website. The price of the website development can go up with the increase in the complexity of the feature.
Maintenance and security
You have to pay for the maintenance to make sure that the website is up and running in the long run. Going ahead, you have to pay for hosting and domain renewal fees after the subscription is over. You have to consider different aspects like SSL certificates, premium security plugins, regular backup, testing different features, fixing bugs, and fixing broken links. Each of these elements is going to cost you. Website builders like WordPress can help you with many features such as adding security plugins to the website. It can cost you between $49 – $499 per year. A professional web developer can help you integrate every aspect of your website.
Factors to consider before building a website
Website development can cost you a lot if you have no definite idea about the website. You can think of the following aspects and calculate the expenses before developing a website.
- Features and their complexity
- Scope of scalability in the future
- List of website builders that offer you hosting, website development, and security features
- List of required maintenance and security features
- Segregation of DIY activities and the activities to be done by a professional
- Expenses on extra efforts such as content creation and marketing
Once you have decided on these factors, you will be in a position to decide your budget for website development.
Conclusion
Website development includes expenses on the domain name, website development & designing, website hosting, and maintenance. After developing the website, you may need to invest in marketing the content. A clarity on the requirements will give you a good start in website development. The rise in the number of web developers has made website development very affordable. With careful planning, you can have a professional website to reach your target audience. For small and basic websites, you can go with DIY to save on some of the expenses. However, a professional website developer can develop the best version of the website for your business. Follow the mentioned steps to develop a website that helps you scale and gain profits in the long run.
