In Pittsburgh Web Design: Understanding the Costs Part I it was made clear that regardless of what type of website you currently own or want to have developed, there are certain costs involved that all sites must maintain. In the first installment of this series we discussed the costs associated with domain names and hosting. In this part we'll discuss the final three general costs associated with all websites: the design work, the development work, and specialized add-ons.
Pittsburgh Web Design Cost #3: Web Design
The design of a website can be as simple as a one-page email sign-up form or as complicated as a video hosting site. This is because web design incorporates so many different things that it's difficult to list or even imagine all of them:
*Colors, shading, shadows, borders, 3D effects, blending, gradients
*Navigational features
*Search engine optimization
*Social media integration
*Meta data management
*Coding/Programming, HTML, MYSQL, PHP, etc.
*Landing pages/capture pages/dynamically generated pages
*Language versions
*Bots management
Unfortunately, when most people think of web design they primarily think of how the site actually looks. And while this is a major part of what a good designer does, it's really only half of the picture. The physical design elements AND the site's functionality must be combined in order to make a website successful; without having all of the necessary elements you might as well have no website at all. That's because visitors don't respond well to poorly designed sites; nor do search engines – the life blood of the traffic you'll receive.
All of this makes it clear that website design can be quite complicated, and therefore it's nearly impossible to provide a cost estimate for general use. Consultation with a professional designer is the only way to develop this information accurately.
Pittsburgh Web Design Cost #4: Web Development
People need a reason to come to your website, and that reason is provided in the form of web content. Web development projects work to incorporate valuable content on your site in order to attract visitors and keep them on the site. This is accomplished by the publishing of high quality content such as videos, articles, blog posts, songs, games, news stories, and much more.
The cost of each piece of content varies according to where it is produced. Articles can range from $25 to $500 each. Videos can range from $200 to thousands of dollars. In some cases website owners are able to produce their own content, while in other cases this must be outsourced. Very few web design companies offer high quality content services, so if you discover one that does it's advisable to develop a long-term business relationship with them, as your site's content needs will undoubtedly change over time.
Ultimately, these are the two major elements of any site: the functionality and the content. Ideally one web design firm is used for all elements to ensure continuity; however, it can be difficult to find a firm or team competent enough to handle all such aspects.
Pittsburgh Web Design Cost #5: Add-Ons
There are an unlimited number of additional add-ons that can also "add on" to the cost of your web design bill. This includes:
*Premium contact forms
*Plugin development and management
*Email marketing development and management
*800 telephone numbers
*Dynamic forms
*Widget design and management
And much more.
The overall scope of many Pittsburgh web design projects are often much bigger and more complicated than it might seem at first. A great deal of effort and expertise must be put into action in order to make a website exceptional, and for most people this necessitates partnering with a professional web design firm capable of bringing all elements together successfully. To find out how we can do this for you, call the number at the top of your screen now.
