With high inflation, many costs have risen over the past few years, including developer labor hours. However, gains in the efficiency of technology, such as the energy used for competent AI output and cloud storage, continue to fall, and it has reflected in more accessible website building.
The core components of a website
Several elements go into the total cost of setting up a website. Domain name registration represents a recurring annual fee, but is usually modest for standard top-level domains (TLDs). Think of this as around £10-20 a year, unless you opt for a more in-demand domain.
Website hosting services present a broader cost spectrum. While the average cost is around £10-20 a month, companies like IONOS offer £1 a month promotions for the first year, not to mention the website builder, which sidesteps using a design agency. For a dedicated server though, you can easily reach three figures, but that’s only necessary for high traffic or resource-hungry features.
Not all web hosts provide the building blocks for creating a website. If you opt for a low-cost freelancer to create a basic website, it could be around £500, but this easily goes into the thousands for something more complex or bespoke.
Decoding website building options
The development path you choose really impacts the project expenditure. DIY website builders like IONOS do package together web hosting and website building (with AI templates available), but most providers typically have add-ons and extras for more customisation and premium features.
If you want a self-managed CMS and opt for WordPress, the web hosting costs will be similar yet you will have to either use a free generic theme, a premium theme for a modest fee, or build your own (with the help of AI), which can be relatively drag-and-drop given the intuitive interface (but will take more time than you think). Ultimately, you can fill in the gaps of a DIY site by using a freelancer, which can cost you around £50 per hour for a local option, or cheaper when using overseas freelancers. Paying an agency for a finished custom site is often in thousands of pounds, and remember, you will rely on them for ongoing maintenance if things break or need updating.
Often overlooked costs
Beyond the initial development, several ancillary costs can sneak up on you. Professional content creation (copywriting, high-quality imagery and video production) can range from a few hundred pounds to several thousand. Paying per article isn’t a bad idea, and the cost of content (including photo) has come down due to productivity gains from AI). But remember, you need to give it some welly up the search engine results.
For an SEO or digital marketing expert, you’re looking at £500 to £2000 per month for a single freelancer, depending on their workload. Their tasks will include keyword research, content planning, technical SEO and potentially pay-per-click adverts, all of which take several hours each. It is possible to pay for a one-off marketer to do this and then write the content yourself, with the help of AI, but you will likely need to perform a refresh service a couple of times per year to keep it up to date.
Planning your website budget wisely
The cost of website can be as the little as few pounds per month, particularly with first year of promotions. Or, it can cost several thousand for the website alone, and a couple of thousand for an SEO blitz that might land you in the rankings if it’s not too competitive (if your niche is competitive, it may be a couple of thousand per month). Fortunately, with more AI tools that are quite bespoke, better websites can be made for less with low-code approaches.
