It’s a common question, one I’ll try to address (but will probably end up confusing matters). Unfortunately there’s no simple answer for this question because it depends on a whole heap of factors: what you want your website to do, how many pages you need, what type of content you have, and unsurprisingly, your budget. Before you embark on having a website developed you need to sit down and think long and hard about the site.

Well, what sort of things do I need to think about?

To begin with you must remember that content is king. Without quality, well written content, your website is destined to fail and if that’s going to happen, don’t bother wasting your money on a website. Next you need to decide on how the website will work – what will visitors be able to do? Can they register? What can registered users do? What will you do with the users details? Do you want to send them newsletters? Can they buy things? How will they pay – cash or credit card? How will people find your site once it’s finished? The list is exhaustive but the more you think the more clear things become. Each little element can impact on the overall website cost so it’s best to get all the details sorted before the project starts.

I know what I want but why should I tell you my budget?

The most commonly used analogy in website design is to imagine you’re buying a house. When buying a house you specify how many bedrooms and bathrooms you require, the location of the property and so on and, of course, you set a budget. Similarly, to build a website you need to have a clear idea of how the website will work for you and what information will be available to your visitors and a rough idea of how much you are willing to spend. Once I know all this I can give you the website cost.

Right, you still haven’t told me how much a website will cost

Okay, here are some figures. They’re probably not accurate for your project but:

• The Basic Website Cost – A static website (i.e. one you cannot update yourself) with a few pages will start at around AED2,500. Nice and cheap but this doesn’t factor in Search Enqine Optimisation so few people will ever find your site. Additionally you can’t edit the site so you’ll need to pay me (or someone else) whenever you want to update things.
• The Common Website Cost – This is the sort of website that most customers want. It’s built on the WordPress Content Management System so you can add/edit pages, update content, upload photos and much, much more. It’ll take longer to design and longer to develop than the Basic Website and costs more; you’re looking at AED5-10,000 but, to reference the previous analogy, it really depends on how many bedrooms you want in your house. And whether you really want that sauna.
• The All-Bells-And-Whistles Website Cost – This is an all singing, all dancing eCommerce website. It’ll allow you to edit content like the WordPress Website but, put simply, you’ll also be able to sell stuff and make money. Expect costs to range from AED10,000 – AED30,000+

So there you have it – a website designed and developed by yours truly will cost anywhere from AED2,500 – AED30,000+. If you want an accurate figure, feel free to drop me a line with your requirements and I’ll get in touch.