Note: I am a person, not a large corporation, so I’ll work with you to accommodate your budget. However, I have to make a living. A deposit is required before any work starts. Payment plans or installments available.
I work on an hourly rate, so the cost for you depends on how long it takes me to do what you want and need. That said, I generally work pretty fast and I use WordPress to create websites.
Why WordPress? WordPress is a free, open source software that runs well and is community supported. Because it is free for me to use, does not mean that it will be free for you, though. What I charge is for the work I do to set it up, install it, and customize it with your site design. It is free software, though. So you benefit from being able to use it. It means I can install it into your website location and we can have as many member logins to your site as you wish. It is secure and safe to use and it means you can use it to post updates through a browser. Basically, I set up the backend of the site (the engine), then I set up the frontend of the site (the color, the structure, and the features) and then I hand you the keys, so you can drive it.
Basically, I choose and set up an existing WordPress template, the coding is already done and we customize it to fit what you want the site to do. That allows some shortcuts and will cost you less and will allow you to have a site up quicker. Some templates are free and some cost anywhere from $30 to $150. Why such high hourly rates? Because although website design looks easy, it is not. It takes a long time to go through the design process, there is a lot of trial and error and then the coding takes twice as long as the old way of designing.
I also try to design all my sites in Responsive Design. A responsive design means that the design will adjust from a desktop browser to an iPad to a smaller tablet to a smartphone size. This type of design means you have to design it basically 4-5 times in different sizes. It’s a complicated process and is not easy, but you can target visitors based on what device they are using to view your site. This is the newest type of design and it does take more time and it is not easy. There is still a lot of work to be done, even though I know how to do it. Each site is different. So if you want a website designed right, you should expect it to take time and to cost some money.
You should expect to pay at least $2,500-$3,500 for a small site, which has about 4-10 pages and some plugins. Some of the design costs are a customized logo or header design. But whatever work I do for the site from design to coding, it is the hourly rate.
A larger site with design, coding and shopping cart would be about 9-15 pages, plugins, and a shopping cart. A larger site, depending on what your needs are could be anywhere from $3,500 to $6,000. I do everything I can do to cut down on hours and make it more affordable, so we can be creative in how we proceed. For example, we can launch a site gradually. That means we launch and add features when you have enough money to do so. Maybe put off the shopping cart section or a Facebook or Twitter page until you can afford it. Contact me to discuss a plan.
Full-Service Web Design Plan: Starts at $3,000
- Everything in the Basic Web Design Plan
- Everything in the Add-On List
- Everything in the Exit List
- Unlimited pages
- Up to 2 custom forms (Charges apply for additional forms)
- Unlimited plugins
- Custom Design & Editing Services
- Writing & Posting Services
- Custom Coding (Charges may apply)
Plugin examples:
- Facebook ‘like’ buttons
- Contact form
- Testimonials
- Social media icons
- Portfolio or Gallery creators
- Widgets
Examples of work or features for a site:
- Extra plugin installs or lessons on how to do it yourself
- Facebook Page & customization (profile pic/timeline pic design)
- Twitter Page & customization
- Avatar & Favicon
- Business Cards
- Newsletters, brochures, programs, letterhead
- HTML e-mail design
- QR Code
- App graphics design
- Full website or template, totally customized and built from scratch
- WordPress Training
- Logo
- Custom artwork
- SEO setup and help
