I can’t tell you how often I’ve been asked by potential clients, “How much to build a website?” It’s not always exactly those words, but the amount of information they supply about their needs or desires is the same. Other than expressing their desire for a website, they offer nothing in the way of what they want their website for or what it should do.
This straight forward question, “How much to build a website?” really irks me. Don’t get me wrong, building websites and blogs is what I do for a living and I’ll take all the jobs I can get, but this question by itself cannot be answered.
If you were to come to me and say, “I want a website. Can you give me an estimate on what it will cost?” I couldn’t give you an answer without first knowing exactly what your desires in this website are. Do you really want a blog instead? Are you selling something? Do you have a layout and functions in mind? What is it that you want in your website (or blog)?
There’s just no way I can tell anyone with any accuracy how much a website will cost without knowing the details first. It’s a lot like going up to a building contractor and asking them, “How much to build a house?” Without knowing what kind of house, how large of a house, or what’s in the house, the contractor has no way of giving an estimate. It’s the details of the project that allow them to give an estimate.
I understand that people unfamiliar with how blogs or websites are constructed may not understand that the devil is in the details. I’ve lost potential jobs from this, but without floating some sky high number to them to protect myself, there is no other way around it. Conversational examples that I’ve had to this effect go something like this:
Customer: “How much to build a website?”
Me: “Well, that depends. What do you want in your website? What is it that you want it to do?”
Customer: “I don’t know all about that yet. Can’t you just give me an estimate?”
When I am unable to give them a quote for the entire job, they sometimes leave frustrated. Sure, I could just state an hourly rate, but in my experience most customers would rather have a fixed price for the project, rather than deal with the “mystery costs” of websites done by an hourly rate.
So go ahead and ask me “How much to build a website?” My answer will be the same every time.
“It depends.”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dude, it’s comforting to just say ‘stupid question’ and move on, but you’re really doing the same thing as the customer, it just looks different from your POV. He hasn’t really thought about what his question means, but neither have you. As the professional, encountering a common question, it would be in your best interest to do a lot of work *once* to come up with a concise way that gives *most* customers enough understanding to decide 1) is it just totally beyond my price range, 2) a couple of specific examples of what other people got for how much. Of course, there are those that want a free education with no intent to buy, and those that want a complete spec before they’ll make any commitment at all, or even those that have a low comprehension/high temper that gets them through life. Any of those you wouldn’t want for a customer anyway.
It may be worth a few minutes of your time to put together a list of high level features the client may want. Asking them to take it and understand their needs/wants will help both of you. A blog is certainly a fraction of the price of a front end for an online store with products always changing.