First of all – why do we need a website?
The first thing worth mentioning when pricing a website is the analysis of the goal that we want to achieve through the new website. So why do I need a website?
Some customers who come to us say that they want a very simple website, such a business card, but that it should be prettier than the present one. After a long conversation, it turns out that the client needs a website with at least a few subpages, each of which is to look different, show different content, lead the user so that he can leave a contact. And then there is often a surprise – because it turns out that it is not a simple business card, but an extensive and well-thought-out page. Then the first stairs begin – because such a site costs more.
Why so expensive? It was supposed to be simple, cheap and cheaper.
So you want three different sides, right? If something is to be done quickly and professionally – it won’t be cheap. If it is to be fast and cheap – it will not be professional. In general, the word cheap and professionally next to each other does not occur in nature..
But others will make it much cheaper.
The market is so developed and wide that everyone has the right to free choice and can choose the contractor for the work they commission. Mr. Mietek will make cheaper tiles in the bathroom than a professional construction company, because he will not issue an invoice for it, he does not have to pay taxes, ZUS, he does not need to pay company costs such as premises, bills, equipment. Does not hire employees. Whether the quality will be comparable – it happens differently. However, while the curves of tiles in a private bathroom will not be a problem for some people, a badly made website for a company – it can take away its customers.
Another aspect is how many people work on such a project. If you employ a one-person agency, where its boss will prepare the graphics for you, code the website and do all the marketing – you will pay less than commissioning a larger agency that has separate specialists in marketing, coding, graphic design, etc. The larger the company and the more people he is working on the project – the higher the price. The more professional website – the higher the price.
Can I make the website myself?
Yes, there are many free Open-source scripts that are free to download. All you need is a server, a domain, a little will and knowledge (you can read). And you can set up such a page yourself. However, for it to work, you will need to learn certain things and spend some time (and time is money) to refine it. However, in this case, you have to take into account that our website will be similar to thousands of other websites and in case of problems, we can only count on ourselves. Remember that no one is forcing anyone to order websites from professionals. We can also make the aforementioned tiles in the bathroom ourselves. And build a house. You just need to buy tools and materials, and the tutorials will be available on the Internet. You just need to answer the question is it worth it. And will the time we spend on it, despite the worse end result, cost us more than commissioning it to professionals.
Companies also build websites on WordPress.
Of course – we also build some websites on open-source software (such as WordPress websites). However, in this case, the customer does not pay for the software itself – only min. for its implementation, configuration, individual graphic template, coding this page using various technologies, its security or subsequent technical support. Such work also requires tools and knowledge. Contrary to appearances, professional website implementation on free software requires a lot of time. It’s a bit like building a car from scratch – with only the engine ready. When it comes to WordPress pages in our company, it is the same – we only take the engine, the entire graphic theme, the structure of the page, its code – all this is created from scratch.
So what is the difference between the cheap side and the expensive side?
Production technology. Its quality. Safety. Fast. Guarantee. How it can organically position. What it looks like. Whether it fulfills its function well. Does it makes a money for itself.
After changing the website, our clients, on average, after a few months from its launch, record up to 60% higher footfall and increased sales conversion. One client once told me that after changing the website (designed by RedRockS) he cannot cope with all the orders he obtained thanks to the website. And the fact that every time it obtains better Clients. It’s always nice to hear such words. And I am glad that most of our clients are clients from recommendations – from other clients who are satisfied with our services. Because it proves our quality.
A website is an investment.
Not everyone treats a website as a brilliant source of income – which is a big mistake. Websites role is not only to be. It must be adapted in terms of information architecture to the target group and persona we want to reach. It must respond to the needs and questions of our clients. It must show our professionalism, range of products and services. It must show our company as professional and trustworthy (which should not be far from the truth, of course!).
Imagine a website with luxury products that cost a lot. If a product is made of high-quality materials, designed by a good designer, and finally its final effect costs itself (because it has to) – then if its website is an image of poverty and despair, looking like it was designed 10 years ago by a student at school basic, who did it in 5 hours to pass IT on his knee – will the target customer trust such a brand? How is he to believe that the product on it is of high quality when he sees that someone has saved a lot on the website? These are small things that we perceive subconsciously – and which build the image and awareness of our brand on the market. What it looks like translates into what kind of clients it acquires.
That is why it is important to treat the website as an investment that is not worth saving on – because it creates our image, shows the prestige of our brand and the quality of our products. A website or an online store is a great tool for acquiring the customers we want to serve. She is our headquarters, shop, showcase, image and all in one. Because in the age of the Internet, over 90% of companies and customers will check our website – before making a purchase from us or using the service. And if we do not attract their attention and interest for the first seconds, we may lose them irretrievably.
Sometimes we prefer not to accept an order, if we know that the client does not want to spend a reasonable budget on the website, than to do something on his knee – which we know will not work – and return the product below our quality. Because, however, care for the quality of workmanship and the guarantee that we give to our services – obliges.
Let’s check how the website is created.
At the beginning there are meetings, talks and preparation of the offer. It is the time of the person on the team who dedicates it. Although it does not have a direct impact on the offer, the seller’s working time is also included in the hourly rate of the company that provides such services.
Then, after signing the contract, we conduct competition analysis, develop a site map, structure the information contained therein, prepare a communication strategy through the website so that the user experience is the best and that the user trusts the company and wants to use its services.
When the conceptual stage is behind us, we move on to graphic work. Depending on the development of the project and schedule, one graphic designer or the entire graphic team works on preparing the appearance of the website. We prepare the appearance of the home page for a computer, tablet, phone. In addition, at every stage of graphic work, everything is consulted on an ongoing basis with our client, we also introduce corrections and modifications. We need time for all of this.
Once the graphic design of the entire website has been approved, we start programming. Here, just like in the case of graphic design, depending on the needs, we direct one programmer or the entire team to work on more complex projects. The programming stage is the most complicated and time-consuming – because it is responsible for the operation of the website, its security, correct display on mobile devices and ease of management.
At the end, there is the stage of hosting configuration, thorough website security, testing (on different devices by different people) and, as we are sure, that everything works as it should – transfer to the client’s server.
So where does this price come from?
The price is a component of all the steps described above. The rate you will pay for a professional website is for the work of the entire company, all the specialists who work for it, who have spent years learning and improving their knowledge, and are constantly developing. The IT industry market is developing so fast that we have to be up-to-date and follow everything all the time – to be one step ahead of the competition and provide services at the highest level.
There is an old anecdote that shows well where the market prices come from:
At the end of the 19th century in the USA, there were many steamboats on the Mississippi River. One of these ships broke down, the crew could not locate the fault, so the captain asked a specialist to repair the ship for him. The specialist checked all the steam pipes and tapped a hammer in one place and told the captain, „Done.” Surprised, the captain asked him how much was due for this service. The specialist said $ 100,000. The captain’s eyes widened and he asked „why the price, after all it was just one hammer on the pipe.” The specialist smiled and replied, „$ 1 for tapping with a hammer and $ 99,999 for knowing where to tap with the hammer”.
A specialist in a given field is a person who knows where to knock this hammer to make everything work. You can become an expert yourself and spend 10,000 hours studying, i.e. several years, or use the knowledge of experts – like those in our company, which has been operating on the market since 2013 and has solved many problems. And not one company helped to develop..
What could the average website prices be?
- 500 – 1,500 PLN net- without an invoice, most often from a student or a freelancer. Often without a company. Simple websites usually based on free templates or website builders. No warranty or after-sales care, because often made by people only temporarily interested in the topic, on ready-made page generators. Neither good nor fast – but cheap.
- 1,500 – 3,000 PLN net – one-person advertising agencies, where the head of the agency does everything by himself. Doing everything on your own, it’s hard to ensure such good quality as having a dedicated team, where everyone is responsible for their part of the work and can develop in it. But many agencies start this way, but such solutions leave much to be desired when it comes to the quality of the solutions used. Because when we do not have calculated hours for a project, which we actually devote to its construction, it often ends with such a one-man agency wanting to hand over the project as soon as possible in order to reduce the time and start the next one – which significantly lowers its quality, safety and user experience. when using such a website. It often ends up with such companies disappearing from the market as soon as they appear, and then we are left alone with the site. It’s cheap, it can be fast, but it won’t be good.
- 2,000 – 5,000 PLN net – websites based on free web wizards, such as Elementor for WordPress. It is cheap, it could be much better in terms of quality. Usually, there is no information architecture and rethinking the entire website, as well as an individually designed graphic template (only ready-made themes or blocks are used). But it is fast and relatively cheap. At this price, simple online stores can be started, most often based on free templates.
- 4 000 – 7 000 PLN net – very simple websites or landing pages that already present a certain quality, individually coded by medium-sized agencies.
- 7 000 – 10 000 PLN net – is the minimum budget in which medium-sized agencies (such as ours) start working on an individual website that has more subpages. The closer to the upper limit, the more thoughtful and „pampered” website is, both in terms of graphics and programming. In this budget, it is possible to make a website that is not very extensive, but decent, that will sell. We can devote a minimum of 50 hours of work to such a website.
- 10 000 – 25 0000 PLN net – in this budget, it is possible to make more extensive websites in medium-sized agencies, which will have the information architecture developed, the entire UX and UI, completely personalized for target customers and with an appropriate structure. Their quality will be high. Online stores, start at these prices, where we have designed the entire structure and graphics of the store from scratch.
- 25 000 – 100 000 PLN net – medium agencies are limited only by the imagination and budget of the client. It can do a lot of individual and non-standard solutions, as well as build thriving online stores. For large agencies, this price is still below the minimum.
- From 100 000 PLN net – really large agencies with the same reputation, serving mainly corporate clients and large enterprises, where design processes sometimes take months and are preceded by many market research – and the effects are monumental.
How to check how much time someone will spend on my website?
Usually, when looking for a website contractor, as with many other services – we compare prices. There is nothing wrong with that, provided that, in addition to the price, we also compare the quality of the solutions used and what we will actually pay for. That’s why it’s hard to compare 1: 1 offers.
Market prices are very different, usually they start from PLN 100.00 per hour of work, you will often find prices of even PLN 300.00 net / h and more, because prices have no upper limit. Therefore, they want to count how much time the agency is able to provide us with a specific price, it is best to divide the offer by an average of PLN 150.00 net (this price is a reasonable agency rate) – which will allow us to at least get closer to the hourly differences that we have in a given option. Then it will be easier to see the difference.
Need an example?
We introduce a premium product to the market. We want to show its highest quality, what our clients can achieve thanks to it and why it is worth using the services of our company. The price for the product is high, therefore the target group to which the website will be addressed is people earning over PLN 20,000,000 per month. However, we want to show them how, thanks to this product, they can increase their income even more. We want a visually attractive website that will allow our potential clients to contact us.
After sending the brief, we received a response from 3 companies.
We have 3 offers to build the „same” website:
- company X will make it for us for PLN 1,500.00 net,
- company Y for PLN 7 500.00 net,
- company Z for PLN 15,000.00 net
- company W for PLN 22 500.00 net
We begin the comparison!
- The calculations show that company X will spend 10 hours on the construction of our website, which is a working day with a hook. Is it possible to create a website design that will appeal to luxury customers? For us, 15 hours is the minimum time that we would devote to the analysis and construction of information architecture on the website, in order to properly design the layout and predict user behavior. Maybe during this time it will be possible to build a website from ready-made builders such as Elementor. But this is not a top-shelf solution and will be made hastily, without considering and analyzing the audience. Such a website will not be properly secured against hacking, nor will it be especially fast. It will also not position itself well organically. It will be an ordinary business card – but are we sure we want such an ordinary business card to represent our company like thousands of others?
- Company Y will spend 50 hours on building the same website – it’s better, because it’s over 6 working days – so you can do a little more. It would be good to ask if this price also includes website testing and the entire concept. Will it be just a re-creation? Let it not be – in 50 hours you can make a basic website that will be definitely above average – but it will not be a page that will be preceded by analyzes and building the entire communication structure on the website, because it simply will not fit in these 50 hours. But by choosing an experienced agency that has experience in similar projects and has its own statistics and analyzes of similar industries, we are able to build a solid foundation here, which will be possible to develop over time.
- Company Z will spend 100 hours building the website. It is really good, because it is 10 times more time than company X and 2x more time than company Y. With so many hours, we know that the company will have time for us, to think over the project and introduce corrections. That she would not be rushing headlong but having time for everything – she would do it right.
- And finally, the W company – from the WOW effect that such a website will have on your customers. With 150h available, which is 15x more than the X company and 3x more than the Y company, you can go crazy. It is almost a whole month of work of specialists who have been gaining their experience for years to ensure that the service meets the highest standards, and above all – it returned to you after its launch, because a good website is an investment for years.
And life? Life shows that most seemingly simple websites often require between 100 – 300 hours. Sometimes, even in 50 hours, it’s hard to do something decent, if we have set goals that the new website is to meet, let alone in a shorter time.
Summary
Let us not save on our image – because we will not go to the customer with holes in shoes and a torn jacket, because we would feel bad and we would also have the impression that our customer would not take us seriously then. It is the same with the website – its prestige, well-thought-out navigation and the whole appearance show what quality company we are dealing with. And the first impression is extremely important. Even at the beginning of our activity, when we have a limited budget, in the first place we should even invest in what will help us gain customers and increase income. The subscription website can also be a solution. Often, the design process itself also takes a while, which is why in our agency it is possible to settle accounts with clients in two-week installments, thanks to which you do not have to pay the entire amount at once. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of the high price of the website – just look at what we can gain thanks to it. Because a good website is an investment and an excellent image and marketing tool – not just a business card.
A website is an investment, not a cost. A good investment more than pays off quickly.
In conclusion – we will come back to the automotive industry. We can buy a car for 5 thousand. PLN and for 100 thousand. zloty. Both will go forward. The question is whether each of them will reach the goal? Because sometimes it may turn out that the workshops on the way will leave us without a car and the possibility of reaching our destination, and we will throw the money spent on it down the drain. It can be the same with the website. Often, customers who wanted to save come back to us after a few months (and sometimes even years) to fix what another company did wrong. Usually, this other job ends up like a car in a junkyard – that is, the customer’s money is thrown down the drain, because everything has to be done anew. And it is the customer who bears the greatest price. Because we cannot complain – such a client, when he comes to us, has a completely different awareness and looks for a professional company solution that will help him, therefore he appreciates our work. Only often because he turned to us too late, he unnecessarily spent a lot of money and nerves on cheaper solutions. And sometimes it is worth remembering that what is really expensive is cheap.
So if you care about high quality at a reasonable and fair price – contact with us . Spróbujemy znaleźć dla Ciebie dobre rozwiązanie, które pomoże Ci się rozwijać i zarabiać jeszcze więcej.
