Right now, the internet holds roughly about 1.74 billion websites and 2.2 – 2.8 million apps in various app stores. And as we move into another year, these numbers increase substantially!
We all know what websites, mobile apps and web apps look like and how they work, but do you have any idea on how much money is spent in creating such functions? If no, then keep reading, cause the prices will blow you away!
WEBSITES
Websites have already become essential to us. From students, to employees and even up until the employers. And with such a huge volume of them thriving on the internet, it’s impossible to not find what you’re looking for online. All these sites vary in appearance and may seem quite simple at first, but the truth is, developing a website is complicated.
You see, the cost of building websites varies according to the following:
1.) Size of the business
The size of your firm heavily affects the amount you will need for developing your company website. The smaller your business is, the lower the amount you have to pay. For small scale businesses, the expenditures may range from $2,000 – $8,000. As for medium type firms, it may cost $10,000 up to $25,000. And lastly for big or large-scale businesses, it starts from $25,000 to $40,000. Pretty high isn’t it?
2.) Hired Individuals
However, not only does the price depend on how big your business is, it is also affected by the people who will be working on your website development. And in looking for individuals to do the job for you, you could choose either of the following:
Hire a Freelancer
This option is considered as one of the cheapest and most common ways in creating a website. Freelancers being hired in such fields most usually provide a quality work that is developed on what you want to achieve for your website.
However, oftentimes, freelancers focus on the design and tend to oversee strategy and another factor is that, there will be no ongoing support and maintenance to your website, which is very important.
So how much does it cost? Well, for this option it may cost you around $500 – $10,000. There is quite a decrease in the prices mentioned earlier but remember, the maintenance is not usually included in their packages.
Hire a Full-time Developer
This option may cost a lot heavier than you think. Since you will be paying for the employee to work for you full time. This may cost up to thousands to a hundred thousand dollars annually.
Hiring a Boutique Agency
As for this option, there won’t only be a single individual involved, instead a team will be handling the project. They are made up of members with varying expertise and each of which will be focusing on the specific functions needed in building your website. In other words, they get to handle all the strategic, design and technical work.
Even though multiple individuals will be working for you, it can still be cost effective since they won’t only be focusing on the front-end but also in the back-end and they’ll eventually come up with a website that can work for you and even drive customer traffic into it. How much? For a boutique agency it can go up all the way to $10,000 onwards.
Traditional Agencies
This option is the priciest one. These agencies are made up of bigger teams that can handle huge projects. This option is perfect for large scale business and these agencies create sophisticated websites and get big projects done quickly.
Although some agencies prioritize big projects over small ones. And oftentimes the business owner gets to talk to account representatives rather than the developers and designers themselves.
Wondering what the price is? Hiring a traditional agency to create your website goes about $25,000 or more.
Now that you’ve gotten a gist on what it might cost, you must be wondering, why is it so expensive to create a website? The answer is quite simple, it is all due to the reason that creating a website takes a lot of work and development on specific functions just like the following:
- Domain name
- SSL (Security Socket Layer) Certificate
- Website Hosting
- Website Design
- Content Management
These are some of the many reasons why website development is quite costly. If you’re worried what these terms cover, don’t worry, your hired developer and/or designer will give a more in-depth explanation on these.
MOBILE APPS and WEB APPS
When it comes to application development, the prices increase quite a bit. Almost every gadget is filled with applications in it and most of these are being used very frequently. But hey, how much does it cost?
The price of building an app varies enormously. It could start from $2,000 and may even reach up until $250,000! This value is also based on the content and complexity of the application. The more functions needed and the more complex it is, expect a higher price.
Aside from that, here are also other factors that affect the amount you would have to pay to create an app:
The functionality of the App
This covers what the application should contain and who the target users are. Does it require high user engagement? Or perhaps work as an entertainment for the people?
Supported Platforms and Device features
There is a huge variety of gadgets that could be purchased. Each of which are built with distinct and special characteristics. In creating an app, one must first decide the target platform. Do you plan to release on android app stores or in IOS app stores? Developing an application for IOS devices costs about $28,000 and $23,000 for Android apps.
Another question is the compatibility of the application across different devices. Do you plan to create an app that only works on mobile devices? Or even in Laptops? And what are device features to be used?
Web applications may cost a lot cheaper than native apps. Since web apps have the ability to function across multiple platforms without separately building the app on each platform. However, the device compatibility may quite affect it. Unlike for native applications that are highly compatible in devices but are built separately. And because of this, developing a native app is a lot more expensive than building a web app.
Integration points
This part includes whether third party applications will be integrated to the app being developed. Such as using Facebook to log in or syncing the app to another application.
Design
Design is one of the heaviest factors that influences the cost of application development. This attracts the users and increases the engagement between the user and the app itself. Design is vital, for people who tend to adore visually pleasing apps above everything!
And just like in website development, the type of people you hire for the job also impact how much your app would cost.
CONCLUSION
Before looking for individuals to develop your website and/or mobile and web applications, it’s crucial to ask yourself these questions:
What should it contain?
Who are my target users/audiences?
What type of website and/or application do I want to develop?
And lastly, what is my budget and up to what extent can I expand it?
Once you’re done, you can already match yourself and your business to the rates and to the individuals that you’re going to work with in your project!
Planning to build a website or perhaps create a mobile app? Contact us!
