Please note that price information in this article was based on data from 2010, and may now be outdated.
A well-designed and executed website can do wonders for your business. On ServiceSeeking.com.au, web development costs anywhere between $15 and $500 per hour, with the average job spend $1,605. What’s included in this quote varies considerably, so before signing on the dotted line make sure you double-check exactly what services you’ll be receiving.
The domain name and registration may or may not be included in the web development costs, while web hosting is another grey area. Many companies will host your website for a period of between 3 and 12 months for no extra cost. A similar arrangement can be made for regular site maintenance and updates.
While tweaks here and there are often part of the quote, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is not normally included. For thorough keyword research and meta tag implementation, you can hire an SEO expert for an average of $61.69 per hour, or $877 per job.
If you’re after a fancier design than standard templates allow, you might need the services of a web designer. Web designers are obviously concerned with how a website looks, more than interactivity and mainly work with HTML and CSS. For an average of $57.19 per hour, which is slightly less than web development costs, a designer can give your website a completely original look. The average total job cost is $1,252 – this price is largely dependent on the number of pages required. Most web designers will provide unlimited mock ups, but charge extra to design logos or supply extra images.
For a more complicated site that involves flash animation or video you’ll require the expertise of a flash animator, this will set you back around $66.80 per hour. For unique web functionality such as eCommerce and content management systems, or more advanced database backed applications, you will have to employ the services of a website or application programmer who can write the functional code. Programmers write in many different coding languages. PHP, .NET, JAVA, and C++ are examples of common programming languages.
The average website development costs for websites with more than simple information is $1,648 for a site with eCommerce facility, $2,546 for a web application, $2,169 for a website with a Content Management System, and $1,927 for a database backed application.
This data was derived from more than 70,000 quotes submitted on the site between 1 October 2007 and 31 March 2010.
Did you know?
The cost of web design increased by 18% between 2008 & 2009.