Every day, billions of people get on the internet to search for goods and services. That means if your company doesn't have a website, you're missing out.

Even if users can find your business on Google and check out reviews, they'll choose your competition if you don't have a website they can go to. The question is, how much does it cost to build a website?

When you're first starting out, you may not have thousands of dollars to spend on a professional designer, and that's okay. There are ways to keep the cost low.

Check out this guide to learn what kind of website prices you can expect and find out how you can save money.

Website Builders

Depending on the size of your website and the method you go through in order to build it, you could spend hundreds of dollars or thousands. The cheapest way to go about it is to use website builders.

They are open-source programs that are free*. You'll have to pay for web hosting, plugins, and themes.

You'll spend anywhere between 6 and 50 dollars for a monthly subscription. Most web builders come with a version that is completely free; however, it has limitations.

Advertisements will get your customer's way while they try and browse your site; you won't own your domain name, you won't have access to e-commerce features, and you'll only get basic customer support.

Website builders are best for online portfolios, small business owners who don't have enough technical know-how to DIY, and anyone who needs their site up in a hurry.

Hiring a Professional

Depending on the complexity of your site, it might be a good idea to put the project in the hands of a competition web design company. They'll take care of all aspects of the process, so you can focus on running your business.

The problem is that hiring a designer can be expensive. You'll pay thousands of dollars for a monthly subscription, security, hosting, and professional help.

Web Hosting

Building a website using an open-source option will require you to pay for your hosting.

If you're trying to save money, shared hosting is going to be your best bet. As the name suggests, it involves sharing a server with several other websites. It will only cost a handful of dollars a month.

If you get a substantial amount of traffic, shared hosting might not be able to handle it. You'll have to upgrade yourself to dedicated hosting. You'll pay over a hundred dollars a month, but your site will be less likely to get bogged down by traffic.

Domain Name

Again, free web builders will provide a domain name for you. The problem is that it won't be a unique one. You won't stand out to users, and not having your own domain name doesn't look professional.

The good news is that registering your domain name won't cost you too much. You can expect to spend about $12 a month.

You also have the option to add privacy and protection. It will be an extra $10 or so dollars a month, but you won't have to worry about your personal information getting out online.

Keep in mind that if you plan to keep your domain name for a while, you can pay for a year subscription. It will cost more upfront, but many platforms will give you a discount for going this route.

SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate is a feature that you can't go without. It will ensure that your customer's passwords and banking information stay private. Most hosting platforms include an SSL certificate as part of the package.

If your hosting platform doesn't include it, you'll have to buy it separately. Doing so can be as cheap as $7 or as expensive as $200.

Website Features

An SSL certificate isn't the only website feature that you need. If you have an online store, you're going to have to pay for e-commerce plugins.

E-commerce features will add a few thousand dollars to your bill, but they include payment processing, order fulfillment, delivery options, and a customer portal.

Membership portals are closed-off parts of a site that are only accessible by members. Limiting your content to members gives it a sense of credibility and will help you grow your customer base. The downside is that it will cost hundreds of dollars a month.

Education

You can save money by designing a website on your own, but if you don't have a lot of technical know-how, you're going to have to do some studying.

You'll need to invest in an online course or at the very least, a book or two. You can educate yourself for as little as $25.

Maintenance Costs

Things happen. Links break. As time goes on and you build your customer base, you may need to grow your website.

If you hire a professional web design company, they'll take care of all of this for you. If you decided to use a website builder, you can take care of the maintenance yourself or hire a freelancer. Either way, be sure to budget at least $50 a month on maintenance.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website?

Without a web presence, your business isn't going to get too far. The problem is preparing for the cost to build a website.

You have to decide if you would rather use a site builder or hire a designer. There are also hosting costs, and you'll have to register your domain name. A website isn't much of a site without features and plugins, and don't forget about maintenance.

For more tips that will help you keep your site up and running, visit the Web Design section of our blog.