How much will a professional website cost in 2023? All scenarios

Whether you're building a portfolio to promote your personal brand, developing a simple professional showcase site to promote your value proposition, or creating an e-commerce site that will enable you to sell and distribute your products, creating a website has long been a must.

Platforms like WordPress have made website creation much more accessible. But there are now many limitations to the tool (flexibility, security, design, for example).

What's more, the range of services on offer - from freelancers to agencies - is enormous. This makes it difficult to know who to work with, and for what budget.

And last but not least, it's hard to estimate exactly how much it might cost to develop a site, either in terms of money or time.

These are the questions we're here to answer.

What influences the cost of creating a website?

The design of a website involves a number of factors that influence its cost. From the complexity of the design and the technology used, to the type of content and functionality, each element can increase or decrease the final bill.

That's why you'll often find wide price ranges. And it's also why it's agood idea to have a scoping phase with an agency, to avoid any unpleasant surprises. A precise set of specifications can then be drawn up, and you'll be in a better frame of mind for the rest of the process.

Although it's complicated to define small price ranges, we'll try to answer the question from several angles:

1. The type of site: A fairly representative factor of a website's complexity.
2. Choice of service provider: Price varies according to service level
3. Additional expenses for branding and growth: Your site must serve a purpose.
4. The choice of using Nocode or code for your website

So it's all these points we're going to run through in this article.

💡 Important point to note: the prices we estimate refer to sites developed using Nocode tools. You'll have a summary table of relative prices for sites developed 100% in code.

How much does a professional website cost, depending on the type of site?

Rates can vary considerably depending on the type of site you want.

Please note that the amounts quoted refer to pure development costs. Illustration, logo, copywriting and other expenses to be considered will be covered elsewhere in this article.

How much does a one-page website or landing page cost?

Generally used for targeted marketing campaigns or to briefly present a company or product, One Page sites are often more affordable. However, even on a single page, design, interactivity and content quality can influence the price. Animations, integrated videos or personalized forms with integrations with your business tools (such as your CRM) can also raise the price.

A one-page site or "Landing Page" can cost from 500€ to 2000€.

How much does a showcase website cost?

Intended to present a company, its services or products, showcase sites are a little more complex. They often require a CMS (such as Webflow), several pages of content, and features such as galleries or contact forms.

A minimalist showcase site (just a few pages) can range from €2,000 to €5,000, depending on its complexity and the number of pages.

A showcase site with more content and a high level of personalization starts at €5,000 and goes up to €30,000, or even more for the most complex.

If you'd like to know which are the best tools for building websites, we've listed seven, including Webflow, which is truly the most versatile and effective tool available today. And let's not forget that WordPress is there too.

How much does a portal site cost?

More complex than a simple showcase site, a portal site (otherwise known as a "Web Portal") brings together a variety of information, services or platforms. It's like a central hub for users. Adding a forum, social media integrations, news feeds, etc., can all add to the cost of creation.

More skills are required here, with front-end (user interface) and back-end (database, security, relay between interface and data) experts.

The portal site is therefore a heavier project. Its price can fluctuate between €10,000 and €50,000, depending on the modules you wish to integrate.

Here are some suitable Nocode tools:

• Softr
• Glide
• WeWeb
• Webflow

How much does an e-commerce site cost?

The cost of an e-commerce site depends on the number of products, the functionalities required such as payment systems, customer reviews, personalized recommendations, and third-party integrations such as inventory management systems.

Taking all these variables into account, an online store can cost between €5,000 and €100,000.

Here are a few CMS tools that specialize in e-commerce:

• Shopify
• PrestaShop
• WooCommerce
• Magento (Adobe Commerce)

If you're not sure which platform to choose, we've put together two comparisons between :

• Magento vs Shopify
• Shopify vs PrestaShop

Alternatively, you can contact us so we can help you define your project and identify the tools you need to create your online store.

How much does a custom website in code cost?

The cost of creating a website entirely in code (without using a CMS, i.e. ready-to-use content management systems such as Webflow or Shopify) depends on many factors. It is therefore difficult to give a single, precise price without knowing the exact details of the project.

But in our experience at Alegria.solutions, the cost of creation is generally multiplied by 4 when it's done 100% in code rather than with CMS and Nocode tools.

Summary table by type of site

We'll come back to these price differences in the last part of the article to justify them. Code is indeed much more expensive. So it's important to ask yourself the right questions, because it's sometimes necessary to integrate code into your projects.

How much does a professional website cost, depending on the service provider?

The choice of service provider can considerably influence the cost of your website. The main variable here will be the level of service expected for the creation of the website

Cost of creating a site in-house

The question of whether or not to develop the site in-house is a frequent one when dealing with relatively simple projects such as a one-pager or a showcase site.

The advantage is that, a priori, you have better control over costs. A priori, because here you're on your own. As soon as you want to add complexity, such as adding animation or integration with your business tools (which we believe is essential), you may find yourself blocked and need to call on external resources.

The other advantage is that you'll be able to allow your employees to progress on the tools. We believe that the choice of tools can also improve your employer brand.

However, don't forget that the time spent by your employees on a web project must be translated into a cost in relation to their salary. This is the calculation you need to make.

Cost of freelance site creation

Freelancers are often more flexible and can offer more competitive rates than agencies. However, it's essential to check their portfolio and references.

The average daily rate is around 500/600€ for Nocode. It can exceed €1000 for traditional developers.

The main risk with freelancers is the lack of expertise on the different perimeters of these web projects: scoping, project management, design and development. The back-and-forth can be very frequent.

The level of service is therefore less advanced than with agencies - which will ensure a minimum level of quality (but this is obviously not always the case).

A final risk to note: if you're not satisfied with the initial person, you have to restart your whole search process without any guarantee that the second one will be the right one. Time spent is also a factor in calculating the price of the website.

Good to know:

Alegria.solutions provides customers with a network of Nocode-specialized freelancers, individually tested and selected, with a Customer Success team following the project to precisely reduce the skills and project management risks involved in choosing a freelancer on a traditional platform like Malt.

Cost of site creation by an agency

An agency can manage the entire process, from design to maintenance. Although this is often the most expensive option, it can offer peace of mind and in-depth expertise.

An agency often offers a turnkey solution and can cost between €5,000 and €150,000, depending on the complexity of the project.

The price range here is enormous, because we're here to define an agency's positioning in relation to freelancers.

The most important thing is to be able to carry out a scoping phase in order to properly measure the scope of your project and define the budget you need to allocate. Just as an architect sends you mock-ups that you may or may not approve - before you rush headlong into the work. 🙂

Ask for quotes from several suppliers to get a general idea. But beware of proposals that seem too ambitious and far-fetched!

What are the additional costs of a website?

The cost of technical components

Domain name and hosting

Your domain name is your address on the web, while hosting refers to the space where your site resides. Choosing the right hosting provider is crucial to the speed and security of your site.

Expect to pay between €10 and €150 a year for a domain name, and €50 to €500 a year for quality hosting.

Hosting services are included with many tools, such as Webflow or Shopify.

SSL certificate

Today, security is paramount. An SSL certificate encrypts the data between your site and your users, reinforcing their trust.

It can be as little as €0 (free certificates) or as much as €200 per year.

Maintenance

In addition to regular updates, maintenance also includes fixing bugs, ensuring optimum performance and protecting against threats.

Technical maintenance can vary from €500 to €10,000 per year for complex websites that are connected to numerous third-party services via APIs, for example.

Tools and Licenses

Some premium software and plug-ins can cost from €50 to €500 a year.

We invite you to consult the price table for each tool to get a clearer idea.

The cost of marketing elements

Developing a website is one thing. But sending traffic and turning those visitors into marketing leads or qualified leads for the sales team is even better.

So it's important to identify all the levers you want to activate in order to anticipate the budgets you need to set aside.

The cost of creating a website also depends on the content (Copywriting)

When budgeting for the creation of your website, it's essential to set aside an allocation for content. If web copywriting isn't your strong point, consider hiring a professional, whether freelance or from an agency.

The cost of copywriting fluctuates according to the length of the text, the subject, the research required and the delivery deadline. Generally speaking, rates range from €50 to €700 per page or article. For €50, these are usually freelancers living outside France. This can be interesting for translations from certain countries.

Integrating video content is also a wise strategy. Videos captivate your visitors more, optimizing your Google ranking. For a short, quality video clip (1 to 2 minutes), expect a budget of €3000 to €10,000, including all stages of production. Yes, it's expensive. That's why you need to think carefully about the distribution of this content upstream of production. You absolutely have to make this investment profitable.

If you think you can manage this task on your own, don't hesitate to try outgenerative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Jasper AI or MarkCopy. They'll be a great help. Be careful not to rely 100% on these tools. Proofreading and retouching are necessary to deliver quality work.

Search engine visibility (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial to ensuring optimal visibility of your site on search engines, especially Google. This strategy encompasses various techniques to position your site ideally:

Relevant content: Creating quality content, focused on keywords relevant to your field, is essential. This content must meet users' needs and be regularly updated to remain relevant.

Technical SEO: This concerns the correct structure of pages so that Google crawls your website more easily and quickly. Setting up tags (robots.txt, sitemap, meta title and meta description, etc.), managing 404 errors and 301 redirects, implementing canonical URLs. In short, a lot of technical tasks that make all the difference - put end to end.

Backlinks: Obtaining inbound links from third-party sites, known as backlinks, strengthens your site's credibility and visibility. These links are perceived by Google as marks of trust.

Local SEO: An effective local SEO strategy can significantly increase your visibility.

SEO often requires a monthly investment, ranging from €500 to €5,000 per month, depending on your needs.

Paid search campaigns (SEA)

SEA stands for Search Engine Advertising. It's a very interesting way for a brand to acquire traffic and/or leads.

In tools such as Google Ads or Bing Ads, advertisers include keywords in their ads, reflecting user queries. However, it's a bidding game: if a user clicks on an ad after entering a relevant keyword, the advertiser pays, hence the concept of "cost per click" (CPC). This CPC varies according to several factors, including the bids set by the advertiser and the competition.

Although the average CPC on Google Ads is generally between €1 and €2, it can fluctuate depending on the sector. But rest assured, the platform offers budget control, allowing you to set a daily spending limit.

So it's worth dedicating a small budget to a few highly relevant keywords to get you started.

Again, you can either manage it yourself, or delegate it to a freelancer or agency.

Advertising campaigns on social networks

The logic here remains much the same as for paid search campaigns. Paid search is more likely to capture search intent with a high probability of conversion.

Whereas campaigns on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok enable you to work on different levels, not least brand awareness. This is an important lever, because it enables you to reach an audience you don't necessarily have yet.

It's a good idea to keep a budget of around €1,000 a month to start with - if that's even possible. Make sure you have a tracking system in place. Because it's always important to measure your marketing and growth efforts.

Setting up a measurement system: tracking

The definition of a tagging plan and the implementation of measurement software (such as Google Tag Manager) for your website are essential and very often underestimated or even forgotten.

This is what will enable you to measure the performance of your website, make the right decisions based on analyzed trends, and also send data to the algorithms of advertising networks such as Meta Ads, Snap Ads, TikTok Ads, Pinterest Ads, etc., in order to feed them and get better results from your advertising campaigns.

Depending on the complexity of the tracking plan, the number of days can vary widely. Count on a few days with outsourcers for serious work.

Integrations (CRM, etc.)

What's the point of generating leads if they're never processed by the sales team? or even worse, if they're processed too late?

This is just an example, but integrating your website with your marketing and sales tools is just mandatory in our opinion.

As we saw above, a website is first and foremost a tool for transformation, not acquisition. Even if it's a showcase site, the aim is to build brand awareness and generate business.

It's therefore very important to be able to be notified in real time when a prospect fills in a contact form. As well as integrating with your CRM such as Pipedrive, HubSpot or Salesforce.

Another example: it's important to send a lead who downloads an e-book to your marketing tool (Brevo (ex-sendinblue), Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, etc.) in order to integrate it into a nurturing campaign, with the aim of having them come back to you one day to buy your product or service).

Nothing is left to chance: minimizing user friction and automating processes will save you time and make you more responsive.

The cost of graphics

When it comes to creating a visual identity or promoting a brand, graphic elements play a vital role. Whether logos, illustrations, infographics or any other type of design, they are essential to stand out and attract attention. But how much do they really cost?

The logos

Logos require unique design and attention to detail. Depending on the designer or agency involved, logo creation can cost from a few hundred to several thousand euros. It's also possible to create a logo on your own, thanks to solutions like Canva, which make it easy to create a visual design using examples.

Illustrations

Rates vary according to complexity and style. A simple illustration can be relatively inexpensive, while a detailed or artistic one can cost a lot more. The average daily rate is 382€ according to Malt. There are also free illustration banks, and some Nocode solutions, such as Softr, include them in the monthly price paid for use of the platform.

Infographics

They are designed to present information visually. This requires graphic design skills. Costs depend on the amount of information to be presented and the complexity of the design.

The average daily rate is €387.

Designer's experience

A novice designer or freelancer may offer lower rates, while an experienced designer or recognized agency will often charge higher rates because of their expertise and the guaranteed quality of their work.

The average rate is around €500 per day.

Good to know:

At Alegria.solutions, we work with designers who are able to work on your entire brand identity (visual identity, positioning, UX/UI...).

Licenses and copyrights

The purchase of licenses for specific images, fonts or illustrations may increase costs.

Alternatively, there are royalty-free image banks such as Unsplash. Or for the more adventurous among you, you can try your hand at MidJourney or DALL-E, two tools based on AI models that allow you to create images from text descriptions (prompt).

Revisions and adjustments

Some designers or agencies offer a certain number of revisions in their packages, while others charge for each additional modification. So it's crucial to clarify this before starting a project.

Software and tools

If you choose to create graphic elements in-house, don't forget to factor in the costs of professional software, such as Adobe Creative Suite or CorelDRAW.

In summary, the cost of graphic assets varies considerably depending on the type of element, the designer's experience, the licenses required, and other factors. Transparent communication with designers or agencies and a clear understanding of what's included in the quoted price are essential to avoid unexpected surprises.
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Website in Nocode or code?

The "Nocode" movement has grown in popularity in recent years, enabling non-developers to create websites and applications without having to write a single line of code. The cost difference between "Nocode" development and traditional code-based development can vary according to a number of factors. Here's an analysis of these costs

Platform cost

Nocode tools such as Wix, WordPress, Webflow or Shopify generally operate on a subscription model, with monthly or annual fees. You'll generally have different offers with more or less features and integrations.

When you develop your site in code, you're not dependent on a platform, so you don't have to pay any fees. You do, however, need to consider the developer's salary.

Infrastructure costs

This time, it's the other way around. Unlike "Nocode" platforms, which generally include hosting as part of their fees, a coded site will require its own hosting, which may entail additional costs.

This is generally specified because, in the case ofopen source tools, you'll need to think about hosting your site yourself.

Maintenance

Both Nocode and code-based projects will require maintenance. But first, some of this maintenance will be handled by the Nocode tools, unlike projects developed 100% in code.

And even though we may have to modify certain elements, Nocode tools are much more accessible and will require less technical skill and less time.

In other words, maintenance will cost much less if you go Nocode.

Price of a developer

We touched briefly on this subject earlier in the article.

The average daily rate is around 500/600€ for Nocode. It can exceed €1000 for traditional website developers.

Development time

The main advantage of Nocode platforms is their speed of development. Since most elements are based on drag & drop and predefined configurations, the time needed to create a site is generally reduced, which can also cut costs if you call in a professional to do it.

On average, it's estimated that it takes 3 to 4 times longer to develop a website in code than in Nocode. This is not insignificant given the price difference between Nocode Maker and traditional developers.

Here is a summary table:‍

So you're wondering what's the point of using code in this case (and you're right)? Here's a rundown to enlighten you.

Conclusion

Creating a website is a major investment. It's essential to carefully assess your needs, the type of site, the functionalities and the service providers involved, in order to anticipate your budget. You also need to take the time to find out what purpose your website will serve. By investing wisely, a website can become a major asset for any company.