How Much Does It Cost To Make A Website in 2023? Cost Breakdown

Website development is an individual project, and its cost depends on certain factors like the type, structure, size, and design of your product.

Generally, the cost of developing a website can range from $30,000 to more than $200,000.

Moreover, the cost of the same products by different companies often varies.

Within this price range, there are levels of website design and development:

• A constructor-based website will cost up to $1000
• A basic site with minimal functionalities is expected to cost between $10,000 to $20,000.
• An average site demands more investments that can be between $40,000 to $100,000.
• A complex site with highly advanced functionalities and savvy technological elements will cost more than $150,000.

This article will cover the cost of website development and the factors that affect it, the team composition required to develop a website, and reveal the tips for choosing a reliable web development partner.

If you prefer visual to text, then go straight to the bonus infographic “How much does it cost to develop a website”.

Let’s get straight to the point.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website?

The cost of developing a website ranges from $30,000 to over $200,000.

For a precise cost estimate then you’ll need to consider a host of factors. Amidst them are:

• The type of website, 
• Team type, 
• Location of the development team. 

For optimum assimilation, we’ll break down each point in detail.

The Cost of Website Development Based on the Types of Website

The cost of web development differs per website type. This is primarily due to differences in complexity, features, and, ultimately, the timeframe required for web development.

Below is a table depicting the cost of developing a website per type:

Type of WebsiteCost to develop, $Time, hoursLanding page500080Portfolio website6000100Blog website7000120News website7000120Corporate website10,000160Directory website17,000300eCommerce website60,0001000Web portal70,0001200Educational website60,0001000SaaS website75,0001200Entertainment website60,0001000Marketplace website73,0001300Social media website120,0002000

However, it is essential to understand the other aspects too, like team type.

The Cost of Website Development Based on the Team’s Kind

Another cost defining the cost of website development is the team type. And if you’ve searched the internet, you’ll notice several choices for hiring developers. 

To provide a detailed comparison, we’ll assume that you’re creating a website that requires 1000 hours of development time.

Team Type Development In-house $90,000Local agency $120,000Outsource agency $40,000Freelancers$30,000

However, it’s best to emphasize quality over price if you aim for an online platform that’s scalable, resilient, and secure. 

Another costing method to consider is the web development fee per development region. Let’s break down what this entails.

Option 1. Build an In-House Team

The cost of a website depends on the team’s size and each new employee hired. Hiring an in-house team can be costly because you employ a group of people.

The average cost of hiring an in-house team can be around $500,000 per year to maintain your team’s salary, taxes, accounting costs, the office, and its maintenance. You can use this calculator to find out more.

• ProsConsThe team knows your business
• They know your business goals
• They are available when you need them
• Key-person risk
• Limited area of expertise
• You may feel the lack of available resources
• It’s an expensive option

Option 2. Hire a Local Website Development Agency

Local agencies either charge on an hourly basis or contractually. 

With an agency, you are looking to spend:

• $15,000 to $150,000 on design and development
• Up to $60,000 per year on maintenance
• Up to $15,000 on Marketing

Added to these costs to build a website, there are various additional costs you have to bear.

Added to these costs to build a website, there are various additional costs you have to bear.

• ProsConsExpertise
• No Communication Gap
• Performant product delivery
• Easy to hire
• Expensive
• Low availability
• Work on their terms
• Takes more time

Option 3. Hire a Freelancer or a Freelance Team

A freelance website developer can take up to $10,000 for the work. You can get a website designer for $500 to $5000. 

Moreover, a freelance website developer can take up to $20,000 for the work. 

Covering these major costs, you can create a complex website for around $30,000.

• ProsConsExpertise and Proficiency
• Tech-agnostic development process
• Seamless communication
• One Channel for all delivery
• Dedicated team members for the project
• Cost-effective
• Reliability issues
• Gaps in communication
• No guarantee you’ll get your project done

Option 4. Hire an Outsourcing Agency

Since outsourcing agencies have the right expertise, they will charge a little more than freelancers.

But they charge way less than what the local US agencies might do.

So, if you are spending $100 per hour for a designer in the US, you will have to spend only $35 with the outsourced. 

Hence, the website creation cost, which takes around 500 hours, will cost only $17,500 here.

• ProsConsExpertise and proficiency
• Tech-agnostic development process
• Seamless communication
• One channel for all delivery
• Dedicated team members for the project
• Cost-effective
• Time gap
• Difficult to source good agencies

Apart from understanding how much it costs to make a website by types of teams, we also need to estimate the cost according to its region.

The Cost of Website Development by the Team’s Region

Web development prices differ from country to country; the reason for this difference is the cost of living in varying regions.  

For example, the cost of living in the United States is 3X more expensive than in Ukraine.

Consequently, developing a website in Ukraine is way cheaper than doing so in the US. 

Below is a table detailing how cost varies from one country to the other.

The regionThe cost per hourAustralia$80 – $120The USA$100 – $150The UK$90 – $120Western Europe$70 – $100Ukraine$40 – $80India$10 – $40

As you can see from the table above, the cost of creating a website in the US is exorbitant.

On the other hand, Ukraine offers cheaper development, but it’s still higher than the creation cost in India. 

Websites created by agencies in India are often poorly made.

Use this calculator to predict how much you might be overpaying for in-house vs outsourcing agencies.

But this guide gives you an overview of website development costs.

Let’s explore some examples of costs involved in some successful web development projects.

Explaining the Cost of Web Development with 7 Examples

To help you ideally compare the cost of creating a website, we’ll discuss some famous examples and their web development price.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website Like Amazon?

Amazon is an American company that is the world’s most extensive in the markets of e-commerce platforms.

The company was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore and later diversified by selling literally everything.

 It currently has over 310 million customer accounts and sold over $500 billion in products in 2022.

The platform includes such features as:

• Shipping and delivery tracker, 
• In-app payment, 
• Profile management, 
• Goods sorting, 
• Reviews and ratings, 
• Product description.
• And more.

The website development cost for a site like Amazon ranges from $50,000 to $150,000.

If you’re willing to start an eCommerce business, you should take a cue from Amazon.

Another popular type to consider is Facebook. Let’s discuss this next.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website Like Facebook?

Facebook is a social networking site that eases connecting and messaging friends and family online. 

The company, founded in 2004, currently has over $300 billion market capitalization and made over $80 billion as revenue in 2022.

A platform like Facebook usually includes such features as:

• Dashboard
• Site settings
• Themes
• Plugins
• Languages
• Manage users
• Manage groups
• Manage pages
• Manage reports
• Scheduled Posts
• Site statistics
• Advertisement

The average cost for developing a social media website like Facebook ranges from $50,000 to $80,000.

Those features mentioned above are the primary ones your social media site needs to function. 

What’s next? Let’s discuss the cost of developing a website like Airbnb.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website Like AirBnB?

Airbnb is an online marketplace platform that helps people rent out their homes and helps travelers to find suitable accommodations for their trips.

The company was founded in 2008 in San Francisco, with a $15 billion revenue in 2022.

A platform like Airbnb includes such features as:

• Google Maps API
• Third-party integrations
• Built-in payment system
• Search and filtering options
• PostgreSQL database management system
• Switching user profiles
• Property listing

The average cost for developing a marketplace platform like Airbnb ranges from $100,000 to $150,000.

Another example we’ll consider is Fiverr.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website Like Fiverr?

Fivers is an online freelance platform where clients can hire services for as low as $5.

The company was founded in 2010 and currently has over 2.5 million freelancers on the platform.

A platform like Fiverr includes such features as:

• Sign-up/sign-in
• Switching user profile
• Time tracking
• Order tracking
• Payment gateways
• Reviews listing
• Search and filtering
• Dashboard
• Social media integrations

An average cost for developing an on-demand platform like Fiverr ranges from $50,000 to $70,000.

The next noteworthy example is Zillow. Let’s discuss this.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website Like Zillow?

Zillow is an online real-estate marketplace founded by a former Microsoft executive to ease property purchases and rents in many countries of the world.

Albeit founded in 2006, the company currently has a market capitalization of about $7.5 billion and revenue of over $10 billion.

A platform like Zillow includes such features as:

• Authorization process
• Filtering options
• Map integration
• Load speed optimization
• Search & Filtering Algorithms
• Listing profiles
• Registration and Authorization
• Push notifications

The web development cost for a website like Zillow ranges between $60,000 to $80,000.

Another website development cost example we’ll consider is Udemy. Let’s discuss this.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website Like Udemy?

Udemy is an online educational platform with over 57 million students and over 200,000 courses.

The company currently has a market capitalization of over $1.4 billion and a revenue of $518 million.

A platform like Udemy includes such features as:

• Cross-platform support
• Lecture control
• Payment gateways
• Auto-generated captures
• Note-taking
• Filtering
• Switching users profile
• Dashboard

An average cost for developing an e-Learning platform like Udemy ranges from $60,000 to $100,000. 

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website Like Hackerrank?

Hackerrank is a platform that lets HR teams and tech executives interview developers through live-coding assessments.

The company currently has over 7 million developers, 25% of the world’s programmers.

A platform like Hackerrank includes such features as:

• Third-party integrations
• Assessment management
• Customizable tests
• Progress reports
• Activity dashboard
• Reporting and statistics
• Analytics
• Recruitment management

The website development cost for a platform like hackerrank ranges between $80,000 to $100,000.

You should keep in mind that these are examples of large platforms, and creating a large platform usually demands patience and investments of time and money.

That’s why if you’re a startup founder, you’d consider the cost of MVP development first.

Let’s provide a detailed account of how much it costs to make a business website.

We’ll first discuss the parts of web development that affect cost.

Parts of Web Development that Affect Cost

Web development is split into two distinct parts: the backend and the front end. Each has its differences, and both must be considered to understand website development costs. 

Let’s discuss both parts: 

• Name Explanation Tech stack required Frontend This involves the creation of the visible part of the platform that users directly interact with. HTML 
• CSS, 
• JavaScript and its frameworks. 
• BackendBackend development refers to creating server-side features that bridge user controls and database response. Python, 
• Node.JS
• Java, 
• Php, 
• Golang. 

Full-stack This process involves creating all backend and frontend features required for a website to be fully functional. Tech stacks for both frontend and backend development. 

Now that you’ve understood web development parts, let’s discuss the factors affecting the given cost.

Factors That Affect the Cost of Web Development or a Small Business Website

There are several essential factors that influence the final web development cost, precisely:

• The complexity of website structure and UX/UI design
• The complexity of website development
• Tech stack and professional level of developers
• Number of 3rd party integrations
• Location of development partner
• And hidden factors: marketing and maintenance

But when we get into the details, you can understand how essential it is to understand all these website creation elements.

Let’s begin with understanding the type of website and how it impacts the development costs.

How Does the Type of Website Impact the Website Development Cost?

While making the cost estimation to build a website, the type of the website usually plays one of the key roles.

Without defining your business website type, you may not be able to get a comprehensive answer to how much it costs.

Some things impact a website complexity:

• Number of screens
• Number of roles
• Number of features
• The complexity of business logic
• Number of third-party integrations

​​In a nutshell, the number and intricacy of the features are directly proportional to the cost.

Due to these individual website differences, the web development complexity levels also differ.

Complexity-led differences in development processes also decide how much it costs to make a website by over 300%.

Type 1. Landing Page

A landing page is a one-page site where a business promotes its product or service. Such a site is ideal for micro or small companies.

The cost of the landing page varies from $0 made with the constructor to $3,000 for the implementation of complex animations.

Landing pages are used for a presentation of particular services as a part of a large website, or as a demand validation tool.

There are a few examples of custom landing pages with great animation: Surprise and Agora.

Type 2. Blog Website

Blog websites have a lot of content but usually, they are not very complex.

The cost of the development ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 for a custom blog.

Blog websites have a lot of content. Due to this, they require integration with a content management system. 

However, one good thing about these websites is that they are not complex. Bloggers can do this with a minimalist design and save costs. 

But, it should not compromise on the website content and quality.  They should take special care on the SEO side of site design and development.

You can find good examples of blogs on websites like Microsoft Stories, Pando, and Fubiz.

Type 3. News Website

These are mostly simple websites made primarily to share products, news, and advice with potential users. 

How much does it cost to make a simple website, you may ask? 

The answer varies based on the structure and business model of the founders. 

 However, costs may gradually increase with site size and additional pages due to recent NEWS that is updated frequently.  

Furthermore, as a business grows from the seed stage to the mid-level, the site is bound to increase in size and volume.

The cost depends on the simplistic structure and ranges from $10,000 to $15,000.

Good examples of simple websites are FindLaw, Starbucks, Healthline, Century21.

Type 4. Corporate Website

A corporate website usually has more than 50 web pages because it has to cover a lot of ground.

The cost of the development ranges from $15,000 to $20,000. Read our in-depth breakdown of corporate website development.

The common structure of such a website includes a homepage, sets of product or service pages, blog, about us, and contact us. In blogs, services, and products, there could be an unlimited number of pages.

The database, hosting provider, and other maintenance systems need to be even more sophisticated with corporate websites.

Good examples of corporate websites are Pixar, Apple, BMW.

Type 5. eCommerce Website

These websites list products while allowing their sale against payments.

The cost of the development ranges from $30,000 to $65,000.

The main components of the eCommerce website are:

• Payment system integration
• Security certificates
• Choosing between pre-built templates or custom creating
• Target audience-specific ad campaigns
• Mobile compatibility

Here too, the structure and volume depend on business size and product inventory.

Good examples of eCommerce websites are Farfetch and Shopify sites.

Type 6. SaaS Website

SaaS platforms have specific goals and objectives that are conducive to their marketing goals.

The cost of the development ranges from $40,000 to $100,000.

These websites require powerful design and robust cloud systems.

The main components of the SaaS website are:

• One-step sign-in
• Subscription or membership-based model
• Data and application security
• Multi-tenancy model
• Elastic infrastructure

Cloud software products are complex and require a better infrastructure too, that’s why SaaS development costs are higher.

Good examples of SaaS websites are Trello, Slack, Figma, Dropbox.

Type 7. Marketplace Website

The major difference between a marketplace and an eCommerce website is product listing and the sellers. 

In a marketplace, multiple sellers have an inventory of their products. 

An eCommerce website has products from a single seller segregated into different categories.

The cost of the development ranges from $70,000 to $200,000

The main components of the marketplace website are:

• Quick seller onboarding
• Efficient product management
• Fast order processing and payment confirmation
• Promotional listings and campaigns
• Communication tools and services
• Robust product search
• Seller-oriented checkout system

Good examples of marketplace websites include eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Amazon.

But these examples by type of website do not represent the cost of custom web application development.

The reason is that it’s unpredictable, before the detailed estimation of the scope of work.

The complexity of a website is the next factor of cost-making we’d like to cover. Let’s continue.

Comparison of Different Complexity of Websites for Your Enterprise, Small Business, or a Startup

The complexity of the website determines the price of the development.

It can be a basic website with simple functionality or a complex multi-integrational website with many features.

If you are not sure which type to choose, below you can find the description of each one.

Basic complexity

The basic complexity usually works for corporate sites with simple functionality and costs from $5,000 – $30,000.

It’s a website up to 15 pages, with custom UX/UI design, CMS integration, a simple database on the backend, and custom animations on the frontend.

This type of complexity usually requires a minimum number of specialists: a project manager, WordPress or full-stack developer(s), UX/UI designer, and QA engineer.

Examples of basic complexity websites are landing pages, blogs, portfolios.

The time to develop is about 2 months.

Sites in this category are landing pages, blogs, and portfolio websites. An example is harbottle.com.

Average complexity

Such websites generally engage between 500k – 1.5m visitors per month, are quite complex, and produce regularly changing content.

The average cost of the development is from $30,000 to $80,000.

The average complexity of the website includes up to 50 pages of custom UX/UI design, a complex database, 3rd party integrations, a custom frontend with advanced animations, and search engine optimization.

This type of complexity usually requires a project manager, business analyst, UX/UI designer, seniors on backend and frontend development, 2 QA testers, DevOps, also support specialists, and marketing team: SEO manager, copywriters, link builders.

Examples of average complexity websites are large corporate websites and cloud software products.

Development time is about 4-6 months.

Sites in this category are NEWS and Corporate websites—for example, Spdload.

Difficult complexity

Complex websites require robust design, cloud systems, multifunctional integrations, higher infrastructure. The average cost of the development is from $80,000 to $300,000.

The complex website includes top-notch UX/UI design, work with multiple and huge databases, complex frontend interactions, and a huge maintenance team.

Long story short, difficult websites require the best professionals to deliver complex value.

Websites like Canva, Reddit, or LinkedIn are good representations of such development complexity.

More features mean more hours put into its development, hence the high cost.

The time to develop is about 6-12 months.

Not only the website development costs but the maintenance and upkeep charges will also rise.

Due to these complex features and roles, other aspects also change.

For instance:

• The complexity of network protocols
• System and network management plus initiation
• Navigation and web page layout
• Privacy considerations

So, how much does it cost to make a business website? It mainly depends on the types of development.

How Does the Type of Development Impact the Website Development Cost?

Your website creation procedure, along with the tech stack, also influences the cost.

To create a website, there are three types of platforms that you can utilize:

• Website constructors – for basic websites
• A template-based CMS – for basic and average websites
• Custom development – for all types of development, especially complex website

Constructor-Based Website Development

These constructors allow you to DIY website creation using free tutorials.

With the use of a drag-and-drop editor you can add, edit, remove and manage the landing elements, items, layouts, plus other things.

All you have to do is pick up the elements you want on your website and then add the relevant content.

Based on the constructor’s functionality and approach, the cost of building a website ranges between $1000 to $5000 annually.

The main cost is getting the subscription and accessing the premium plugins and features.

The features and other aspects associated with constructors are:

• Ease of use
• SEO
• Customer support and friendliness
• Value for money
• Ability to modify the design
• Customer support
• Free plugins in a starter pack

Looking at their low-cost operation and accessibility, constructors offer a cost-effective way to build landing pages and blogs. 

These platforms require fewer functions. 

And based on their functionality and approach, the cost of building a website with them ranges between $1,000 to $20,000.

SEO holds a significant impact on the success of a website. Hence, it is essential to work with an SEO-friendly website builder, as it will help you climb up the SERP rankings.

The primary benefit of using constructors like Wix, Zyro, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Weebly, and others is the inbuilt SEO-friendly features.

Looking at their low-cost operation and accessibility, the constructors are favorable to build landing pages, portfolio websites, and blog websites.

Now let’s move to template-based website development.

Template-Based Website Development

Landing building software is different and more sophisticated than simple constructors. And in 99 out of 100 cases we’ll talk about WordPress websites.

The best cost-effective template-based website builders and their cheapest subscription costs are:

• Site BuilderCost, per monthWordPress$4 per month (Best for personal use)
• $8 per month (Best for freelancers)
• $25 per month (Best for small businesses)
• $45 per month (Best for online stores)
• Joomla$99 per year (Personal)
• $199 per year (Business)
• $399 per year (Agency)
• DrupalFreeWeebly$10 per month
• $12 per month
• $25 per month
• One.com$4.99 per month (Basic)
• $7.48 per month (Premium)
• $16.99 per month (Online Shop)
• Ucraft$10 per month
• $21 per month
• Webnode$4.90 per month 
• $5.95 per month
• $11.95 per month
• $19.95 per month

WixWix plans are divided for showcasing professional sites: 

• $4.50 per month (most basic)
• $8.50 per month (for personal use)
• $12.5 per month (for freelancers and entrepreneurs)
• $24.50 per month (Most premium)

For business and e-commerce: 

• $17 per month (Business basic)
• $25 per month (Business Unlimited)
• $35 per month (Business VIP)
• Jimdo$9 per month (for personal use)
• $15 per month (for a business website)
• $39 per month (Premium)
• Templatetoaster$49 (Standard edition)
• $99 (Professional edition)

They do have the necessary elements and items for building the solutions but you can also rearrange the layout and order to customize the design of your own website further.

Here, you can work with builders like Shopify, Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress themes.

59.9% of theAnother option is using a WordPress website builder, Like Elementor.

These platforms provide a code-free user experience, similar to the aforementioned website builders, within WordPress.

59.9% of the CMS websites are made with WordPress.

It happens due to two major reasons:

• Cost-effective plans
• Ease of use

They provide such features as:

• Professional premium themes
• SSL certification
• Shopping cart integration
• Store management
• Customer profiling
• Large community with open-source projects

But it is important to note that you can both work with theme-based website builders if the theme suits you.

Or involve a team if you need to customize the theme. This can make a big difference in price.

It depends on the final goal: launch an online store using WooCommerce or just a simple blog website.

If you’re interested to read more about it, feel free to check our up-to-date guides on how to develop a custom WordPress website and an overview of the cost of developing a custom WordPress site.

Continue reading on the original source - https://spdload.com/blog/website-development-cost/