If you’ve spent even 5 mins researching web designers you already know the price can vary drastically! How can one designer advertise building you a website for $5000, yet another offers the same thing for only $300? Meanwhile you get in contact with an agency and are quoted a price of $10,000! It can certainly be confusing and make you question if you are qualified to interview or hire a designer at all!

I encountered this exact situation before getting into web design myself, so I definitely feel your pain. How can you know who is a quality designer? Can you trust the people offering work for rock bottom prices? What exactly are you getting for the money?

Let’s dive in!

Platforms

You probably already know there are quite a few different platforms on which you can build a website. From Wordpress to Wix, Squarespace to Shopify, things can quickly get confusing! These platforms vary when it comes to coding knowledge and technical requirements, so that’s something to keep in mind when you’re shopping for a web designer. Website builders that require any amount of coding are going to cost you more when working with a designer, because there’s more work that goes into making your site. On the other hand, finding a designer that specializes in Shopify or Squarespace will likely cost less because the platforms are easier to navigate and build with.

What’s the difference between these platforms, and which one suits you best?

It all comes down to the intent of your website. What does that mean? It means that if you’re primarily selling ecommerce items you’ll want to use a different platform than someone who is primarily blogging, because your needs are different. Do you prioritize aesthetics, ease of use, or flexibility? While Squarespace might be the visual winner, Wix is more beginner-friendly. Wordpress is the clear choice for someone wanting a ton of customization to their website, but there’s no dedicated support which means you’ll be scouring the internet for answers to any problems that arise. Another thing to keep in mind is the anticipated size and complexity of your website. Will you want something large and intricate? (think 90+ pages) If so, you’re 100% better off working with an agency who can build your mega-site from the ground up and provide support once it’s live (we’ll dive into this in more depth later on).

You’ll also want to think about how you’ll update your website down the line.

Will you want to hire out someone to make changes to your site? If you do, I would highly recommend keeping a designer on retainer, as your website should be updated fairly frequently (be sure to factor this ongoing monthly cost into your website-building budget.) Will you want to make minor, day-to-day changes yourself? Then consider a platform that is more user-friendly and has a more gentle learning curve. 

This is absolutely the approach I recommend to my clients, as I am an avid proponent of DIY-ing the little things to save money. You can also create a hybrid approach, where you make most of the day to day changes yourself, but bring in a designer to build out bigger aspects down the line. Figure out what makes the most sense for you, and go from there.

Quick sidenote: if you’ve already decided Squarespace is your winning platform and are ready to shop for web designers, go ahead and check out my Services and Portfolio pages!

Agency vs. Individual Designer

Ok, you’ve narrowed down the field to 1 or 2 platforms that will work best for you. What’s next? Interviewing and hiring a designer! Which leads to the age old question: 

Should I hire an individual, small team, or professional design agency?

Honestly, this decision will be the leading factor in deciding how much you spend on this project.

You might have seen people listing their website-building services on Fiverr, Upwork, or even Facebook for what seems like pennies. It is definitely possible to get a decent website built from one of these designers and save yourself a ton of money in the process.

But the problem lies in being able to weed out the quality designers who don’t know their worth from the less skilled ones (or even scammers!). No shade to any web designers advertising themselves on these sites - I would just caution you that it’s going to take a decent amount of work (and what might feel like more of a gamble than you’re comfortable with) to get that result. Again - not impossible - just know what you’re signing up for.

So what’s the difference between a small team and a full-on agency? Price, complexity, and length of time to complete the project. Since we’re talking all about that monaayyyy today, let’s start with price. By nature, a brick and mortar agency is going to cost you more because they have more overhead than a small design team. Think office rent, heat, lights, designer salaries, benefits, etc. On the flip side, a small design team is likely fully virtual, eliminating office rent, heat, and electricity costs. It’s also unlikely a small team is shelling out for benefits and a 401k for their staff, so they won’t need to bake those things into their project cost.

A design agency will absolutely be the best choice for a large, complex website build because they have many designers and therefore more collective experience to pull from when completing the project. A smaller design team may be able to handle your request, but they also may not! It’s definitely more of a gamble, so keep that in mind when making your decision.

Another thing to consider is that an agency is likely going to take more time to complete your project than a solo designer or small team. Why? Because larger agencies usually take on multiple clients at a time, thereby delaying the overall time frame of each project.

Have you ever been working on something that required all your concentration, and then you got interrupted by something minor? A child needing attention, a coworker passing by with a small request, a pet making a mess, etc. How long did it take you to get back into your groove of concentration? Longer than you might think!

According to this blog post by Blake Thorne of I Done This (a productivity and collaboration tool) it takes 23 minutes to return to the original task after being distracted.

It’s the same way when a designer (or team) is working on multiple projects at once. Each time they move away from your project to work on something else, it’s going to take at least 23 minutes to get back into the flow of your project. That’s quite a bit of time! Agencies or larger teams will also likely have several internal meetings regarding project status, design ideas, etc. All of which take up even more time!

A solo designer or small team, on the other hand, will likely take on fewer (or even zero!) additional clients at a time, meaning you are the top priority. That will definitely cut down on project lead time, getting you a completed website much sooner. This is why I exclusively work with one client at a time, finishing each project in 2 weeks. If you’re interested in learning more about my process, check out the article below!

Experience

Often times a designer’s length or level of experience will be a factor in determining how much they charge per project. This is a concept you’ll see in a variety of fields - from airline pilots to social media managers to admin assistants. A more experienced designer has - you guessed it - more experience! They will be able to bring more suggestions, advice, and industry knowledge to the table than someone just starting out, allowing them to command a higher price. 

This is similar to what we talked about earlier regarding finding a quality web designer for a super cheap price on Fiverr or Upwork. Is it possible to get a good website built from someone with 6 months’ experience? Absolutely! But will it take a bit more digging and research to find those people? Definitely (interviews are super helpful here!)

Make sure you’re browsing through portfolios as well. Just because someone has only been at this for 6-12 months doesn’t mean they haven’t completed a TON of projects in that time! In addition to interviews, portfolios are another key indicator of a designer’s experience level. 

You might find you really connect with a particular designer’s work, or you might just love their general vibe! On the other hand, you might get a sense their work is more amateur-ish than what you had in mind. You can also keep this in mind when negotiating price!

Where You Found the Designer

We’ve already discussed sites like Fiverr and Upwork a bit, and by now you may have gotten the sense I’m somewhat against them! Let me tell you why.

When I want to buy a new pair of headphones you can bet your buns I’m going to do some initial internet research on what features I’m looking for and narrow down the results by price. But can I tell you how much I HATE sorting through a bunch of cheap vendors selling the same thing on Amazon? Reading reviews, looking at star ratings - it all gets to be a bit much when I have to do that 20+ times, you know?

It’s the same situation when looking for a good designer on Fiverr or Upwork. Can you get a great deal? Yes! But I’m not someone who’s willing to put in the time and effort needed to save that money. My time is worth more to me. Now, if you’re someone whose top priority is saving money then by all means go for it! I just don’t make it a habit to recommend this course of action.

What I am a proponent of is finding your designer through a Facebook group where you can see they’re really active and knowledgeable. Or through a recommendation from a trusted source (friend, colleague, family member etc.) Or even through a Google search that led you to their website where you can review their portfolio and kind words from past clients.

Are these methods going to lead you to a designer that charges more than what you can get on Fiverr and Upwork? Mostly likely - yes. But I want you to have all the knowledge and options because there is no one-size-fits-all approach!

Conclusion

So, what have we learned? That paying $300, $5000, and even $10,000 are all completely normal figures to spend with a web designer. But the important thing is that now you know what you’re getting at each of those price points and you can make an informed decision for yourself on making an investment for your business with those hard-earned dollars (score for knowledge!)

When do you decide to invest in your business, keep your ROI (return on investment) in mind! Shelling out some money for a website now will likely lead to increased sales and business growth in the future, and isn’t that what we all want?

Have you started shopping for a web designer yet?

Let me know in the comments!