Website / Blog Project: Typical Costs
Total Website / Blog Project Cost Includes 4 Essential Services
When you’re thinking about a budget for your website / blog project with Chaos To Clarity, you should factor in the 4 types of services that make up our process: web strategy, search engine friendly content creation, website / blog design & development, and maintenance. We know that our full process gives most clients the best product and experience, but in some circumstances the full process can be adapted to meet specific needs.
Strategy
A successful web presence project starts with strategy and that’s where our clients begin. An initial Web Strategy package for solopreneurs, professionals, and micro businesses costs $500. After a 60 minute phone meeting Jo Golden, our Digital Strategist & Web Content Wrangler, will send you a web strategy map and recommendations, then you will have a 30 minute follow-up phone call to address any questions or next steps.
A Web Strategy package for small businesses with up to 3 decision-makers costs $800. Jo Golden and Tracey Holinka, our Senior Web Designer / Developer, will meet with you for a 2 hour session to evaluate your current web presence or plan for the future. We’ll identify your goals, brand, and market, then you’ll receive a web strategy map and additional recommendations as well as a 45 minute follow-up phone consult to answer any questions and discuss next steps.
We typically revisit web strategy at least once during the content process to make sure everything is on track. These reviews generally total 1 – 2 hours over the course of the project and are billed at $125/hr in 15 minute increments.
Search Engine Friendly Content
When we develop your content, our process always takes your business strategy, web strategy, content strategy, brand story, and message into account.
Full content development for a website starts with a detailed review of any existing content, followed by an interview to clarify questions, request new information, or cover any other issues that come up. Next, we do keyword and competition research to inform the SEO strategy and the content itself–all before any serious writing can begin.
Cost is never about how many pages you have, but about:
- the complexity of your new site,
- integrating content from existing sites as needed,
- synthesizing new information you provide to reflect your business brand story and message,
- making adjustments to your strategy and site structure when new materials or directions must be addressed,
- the amount of interview time required throughout the project,
- the clarity of your business vision and how much time it takes to us to align it with your web strategy and integrate the two
- research required for SEO and marketing strategy, and
- total amount of search engine friendly text that must be created or revised to get the job done.
The larger and more complex the site, the more work it takes to effectively put everything together. Content costs generally range from $3,000-8,000.
Website Template vs. Custom Website Design: What’s going to work for me?
Start with your business needs, and then think about what you’d like to be able to do with your site, how much it needs to look a particular way to reflect your brand, and how much you are going to invest in your web project. You should definitely consider what your target audiences want and expect on the Web as well as taking a look at your competition. We will talk through the specifics of your project when the time comes, but read on for a general idea about the options.
Template Websites
A template can give your website a stylish professional look; you just won’t have an option to change the layout of the pages or the look of your site. You’ll be able to choose from several template designs specifically chosen to meet your needs by our Senior Web Developer Tracey Holinka. We would only recommend templates that fit your specific project needs and are search engine friendly, but you should know that some great search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can’t be executed in a template because they require customization of the site itself. To some extent your content will also have to conform to the template’s features and presentation—but quality content will shine through on any site. Life is all about trade-offs, and if your budget demands a template site you can be confident that any solution we implement will meet your needs as effectively as possible within the constraints of the template. Costs typically range from $2,500 – 4,500.
Custom Website Designs
A custom website design allows you to have much more to say about how your site looks from the beginning to the end of the design process. Custom designs are created by a designer who will make changes and adjustments as needed during the design process. A custom solution allows both designer and developer a lot more flexibility—which can translate into unique marketing and branding solutions based on your strategy work. A custom designed site also allows us to create unique features. For example, we can implement a customized system for displaying news throughout your site. We don’t offer this level of customization for templates.
If your clients are web-savvy they also may appreciate a custom design and be more likely to have a good perception of your business if your site has a certain level of sophistication. Or they may not even care—there’s no substitute for knowing your audience. Again, template sites offer cost-effective solutions and custom designs give you the most control over your look and the features. Prices generally range from $4,000 – 7,000.
Maintenance
Your website runs on software, and that software requires attention to keep it running smoothly. We offer maintenance packages by the month for $150 or you can save $240 by purchasing a year for $1,560.
