Do you need a new website for your Calgary business? Or does your current website need a facelift? Whether it’s the former or the latter, you’re probably considering one aspect right now: the price.
And while pricing is important, it’s also important to understand what you’ll be getting for that money. Your website is an important part of your online presence and marketing campaign, making it imperative for your business’s long-term success.
So, before we jump into the price of a website design in Calgary, let’s look at:
- the importance of investing in a quality website build
- the pros of a custom website vs. a templated build
- what affects pricing
- the average costs of website designs
Investing in a Website Build
Your website is the soul of your business, and the way it looks and operates makes a difference in its overall performance. Let’s analyze this statement a little more:
A custom website is more than just a place your audience can find your products or services. It’s the face of your business, representing your mission and vision while highlighting your credibility.
Your website has a massive impact on how your audience perceives you and has the power to convince them to take action on your site — such as buying a product or booking an appointment. According to Blue Corona, 48% of people cite that a website’s design is the No. 1 factor in determining a business’s credibility, while BP Studios stated that “94% of people cited web design as the reason they mistrusted or rejected a website.”
This means that anything from boring content and layouts to confusing navigation and slow speeds can negatively impact your website’s performance. A poorly designed website can easily deter a potential customer from returning, and you’ve lost them forever.
On the other hand, an attractive, custom-made and professional website can instantly hook your audience into your brand and messaging, encouraging them to take action. That impact is so powerful that you can immediately turn your audience into customers for life.
And while there are plenty of options out there for free or cheap DIY website building software to help you with this, it’s best to invest in the best possible choice — a high-quality, custom-made website created by a leading website design agency.
Pros of a Custom Website Build
If you want to ensure that your website is one of a kind and completely personalized, a custom website is the way to go.
Better Credibility
The more professional your website, the higher the credibility of your business.
Remember that “it takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember a brand,” — so you want to make the best first impression with your website.
Users will immediately detect if your website is cheap, poorly-made or a template, and they’ll be turned off and head directly to your competitors.
You can truly enhance the professionalism of your business by constructing a website that reflects it properly.
Cohesive Brand Personality
Your marketing should convey your brand’s position and vision. A templated site won’t communicate the same way as a custom build, with only a limited capacity to showcase your value and messaging.
Custom designs, on the other hand, open up a world of possibilities for your website and your brand. From colours, fonts, images, and graphics to effective messaging, storytelling and structuring, the essence of your brand will be infused into every page and every scroll. We’re talking about changing the way people feel when they think about your brand and establishing cohesion across every element, from your website to the experience when a customer walks in your door.
Presenting your brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%, so when we say you should think of your website as your online storefront, we mean it.
Original & Authentic Design
When you choose a template, there is no guarantee that a competitor won’t choose the same one. After all, there are only so many to choose from.
Having the same design and feel as your competitor is not a flattering look for your brand and can be confusing for customers.
Templates might work as first websites if you’re just starting out, but as you begin to build up a client base, 86% of consumers say that authenticity is key when deciding what brands they like and support. Be original and stand out from the crowd. It will be better for your business’s online presence.
Better UX Experience
Many templated sites offer poor UX experience and little flexibility for improvements. They’re built for quick and easy duplication but not necessarily quick and easy navigation.
Web FX states that 89% of consumers will go with the competition after visiting a site with a poor user experience. It makes sense. It’s easy to get frustrated by slow site speeds and loading times, unresponsiveness and disorganized content and design elements.
On the other hand, a seamless UX design “can boost conversions by up to 400%” — and you can only really do that with a custom website. You’ll get what you pay for and more with a website that is responsive and user-friendly across any medium, including tablets and mobile devices.
Optimized for Mobile & Tablets
Speaking of mobile, your website should work seamlessly regardless of where or how someone accesses it. When was the last time you looked something up on your phone? It wouldn’t be surprising if you were reading this very article on your mobile device. That means there’s is a high possibility your customers are also using their phones to do research and find the products and services they need, including yours. Have you checked out what your website looks like on mobile lately? It might be time to take a look.
When 72% of users expect companies to have a mobile-ready website design, you have to deliver on those expectations. Plus, with 57% of consumers not recommending a website if it doesn’t have a mobile-friendly version, there goes your word of mouth referrals if your mobile site isn’t in tip-top shape.
Consider the impression you want to leave with your customers. Wouldn’t you rather they use their phone to give you a call and book services rather than throwing it against the wall in frustration after attempting to navigate your site? The choice is yours.
Scalable for Growth
Custom websites can be modular and scalable, designed to grow as your company grows, whereas templated sites may not accommodate the addition of new product and service pages.
There’s nothing worse than dropping your budget on a brand new website, only to outgrow it a few months later.
Improved Performance
If your website is custom-made with easy navigation and detailed calls-to-action, you’ll see increased lead conversions. That means more sales and profits into your back pocket!
A custom website will allow you to adjust and constantly improve your loading speed and performance, ensuring that you always keep your audience online and happy.
Any dip in any performance can result in your website dropping off the grid. Too often, cheap sites are not prepared to handle high user volume or interactions, resulting in site crashes or halting site speeds.
By increasing the loading speed of your website, you can improve conversion rates by 27% while also reducing any potential losses by 7%!
SEO-Friendly
If you opt for a DIY website, who’s going to take care of the SEO? Search engine optimization is a skill set that takes years of practice to develop and ongoing study to stay on top of due to Google’s ever-changing algorithms. If you want your site to not only look amazing but also show up when people search, custom website design with SEO best practice integration is a must.
We could write an entire blog on the benefits of SEO alone, but it’s pretty simple when you break it down — the higher you rank, the more traffic and leads you’ll get, resulting in more conversions, sales, and profits.
Considering that 49% of top-ranking pages get the most traffic, getting to the top of that search result is a must!. What’s the point of a website that looks great if no one ever sees it?
Only the best marketing companies in Calgary know how to implement the most important SEO practices to achieve the hallowed #1 spot. At GrowME, we rely on the skill and experience of our entire team as well as some helpful online tools and techniques to secure your site’s SEO.
Cost-Effective Investment
Remember that while a Calgary website design may be a costly expense, you should look at it more as an investment.
Whether you are starting a business and require a new website or you’re looking to revamp an existing site, the investment is equally important. When you consider all the above benefits and the financial rewards that come with them, you can see why more and more business owners are opting for custom-made sites.
As the online storefront to your business, a website should have great curb appeal and amazing content. There may be nothing as significant for your company as the way you choose to present your brand to the public, and it all starts with a website design.
What Affects Your Website Design Price?
A custom website could cost between $10,000 and $25,000, but there is no magic number for how much you should spend on a website build.
Instead, you may want to ask yourself how much you are willing to invest in your company. There are some things to consider when evaluating the cost of a custom website.
Consider the Number of Pages You Require
A digital marketing company might charge a base price that includes a certain amount of pages and allow you to add on for an additional fee. If you need your site optimized for SEO purposes, certain pages may be necessary or recommended by the agency. Having different landing pages for each product or service is not only a good SEO play; it also improves user experience.
Take, for example, GrowME’s website:
- There is a page specifically for SEO
- There is also a page for Website Design
- And one for Digital Marketing
We also have pages for multiple locations where we offer our services, including Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton.
Following a similar strategy to this one is crucial. A properly structured site menu with the right number of pages can provide clear-cut information about each service, product and location, maximizing search optimization potential while making it easier for your customers to navigate your website.
What Custom Features Do You Need?
Multiple features might be required for your website to help it function while delivering a better experience for your audience. Here are some features you might need in your custom website design:
- If you want an easy way for customers to contact you through your website, a contact form might cost a little extra but is often the most efficient method for generating and converting leads.
- If your website requires an e-commerce aspect, a development team may need additional resources to allow for services such as online ordering. E-commerce stores require specific coding to work fluently without issues.
- Other custom development features include plugins and client login portals. A custom website build allows for these individualized aspects to improve the effectiveness and user-friendliness of your site.
- Custom graphics that require extensive time from a designer may also add to the cost of a website. Some agencies charge for these extras on an hourly basis. The more detailed you want your visuals, the more you’ll pay in the end.
How Much Content Does Your Site Allow For?
BP Studios say that “82% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content,” highlighting the importance of creating high-quality copy that is engaging. Further, unique, informative, and authoritative content is what Googe is looking for when ranking your site. You can try to write the content yourself or hire an online marketing company to take the responsibility off your shoulders.
Not only is it one less thing for you to do, but the precision and skill of an experienced copywriter will also improve your website’s readability and increase leads through optimized material and effective application of search engine optimization best practices. They’ll gather information regarding your services and products, using it to create lead-converting content. You can also provide guidelines to ensure the copy matches your brand’s style and voice.
The amount of content you require may affect the price of your website build, but it’s definitely worth the investment. Remember that 38% of people would stop using a website if its content/layout is unattractive, so it’s best to leave it to the experts.
How Many Revisions Do You Need?
Part of the website build process involves frequent updates and consultations with the website design company.
During these consultations, you have the opportunity to make changes and amendments as you see fit.
While revisions are often included in the scope of a project, excessive changes may add to the overall cost of the website. But if your requested changes improve the site, why settle for anything less than the best?
Consider the Cost of Website Maintenance
The cost-effective drag-and-drop DIY website alternatives are relatively simple to use, and there are usually several templates available, but the maintenance is up to you. While you could do it yourself, it’s best to rely on a Calgary marketing company to handle it for you. In addition to design, they can help you with:
- Branding
- Website hosting
- Technical support
- Upgrades (like updating specific pages or services)
- Updating plugins
- Monthly maintenance and upkeep
And while you might not think you need all this, you do.
Maintaining your website is as important as managing your business. If something were to go wrong on your website – say it crashes or the contact form isn’t working – that’s lost money for you. You need someone to focus on your website so you can continue focusing on your business.
Do You Need Ongoing SEO?
Not all website design packages come with SEO services. Although they are linked together, many marketing companies offer SEO services as an additional service outside the website design cost.
Pricing can vary depending on the type of SEO/marketing efforts you want for your campaign, such as:
- Number of keywords for your campaign
- The number of social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn) you need/want, their management and the number of posts per week (3 to 5 is ideal)
- Blogs per month (this can include both on-site blogs, which are posted on your website, and off-site blogs, which are guest blogs posted on other websites for link-building)
- Directory submissions (like on the Better Business Bureau or BrightLocal)
- Potential optimizations for specific pages in the future
The #1 page in the search results gets an additional 5%-14.5% more clicks from new customers each month (Ahrefs). So, if you wish to continue ranking high and making the most out of your new custom-designed website, it’s best to consider SEO services as part of the deal.
Consider the Quality of the Agency
Just like you would pay more for a better, more experienced, high-quality home builder who delivers outstanding services, the same logic applies to your website design team.
Leading website design agencies charge more than others, but they deliver high-quality workmanship that reflects your business and brand.
It also means fewer issues in the future, a smoother process from start to finish, and ultimately, a website that truly makes your business stand out from the competition and rank first.
The Average Cost of a Custom Website in Calgary
It’s important to consider the above factors when creating your website. When you know what you want and how much you can afford, the website agency can provide you with a quote on your website design project.
In many cases, digital marketing agencies charge a per-project basis for custom website designs. They assess what you need, advise you on the best course of action (such as how many pages you need) before calculating all the costs associated with the website design, such as the hours required for the project and all additional features. Finally, they will give you a detailed breakdown of what the project will cost you.
According to several web designers and companies, the average cost of custom website design in Calgary is as follows:
- Templated or DIY Build: $1,000 – $5,000 Most web builders don’t offer anything custom in this price range, but you could inquire about a template or an upgrade to your existing website. You can also expect to pay within this range for DIY software like Wix or Squarespace. These options offer little to no customization and basic design features.
- 7-10 Page Custom Design: $5,000 – $10,000 Custom sites within this range often include 7-10 pages, giving you room to feature your most important products or services, as well as a company page and a contact page. Expensive features such as e-commerce or custom plugins may require additional fees.
- 10-15 Page Custom Design: $10,000 – $25,000 A higher number of pages could allow you to feature all of your services as well as some additional features like a gallery, team bios, or an FAQ page. You could also get a small e-commerce site for around the $20,000 mark.
- 15+ Page Custom Design: $25,000+ When it comes to advanced custom website design, the options are endless. 15+ pages can ensure you’ll have pages for every service you offer as well as each location or industry you serve. You could also invest in fully optimized, high-functioning e-commerce design. In addition, a budget of this size would give you access to virtually any custom feature you can imagine.
Of course, there might be situations where you require work outside the project’s scope, which means being charged at an hourly rate. This can range from $100 – $400, depending on the type of work, size of the project and quality of the agency.
Now that you know what is included in the website design costs and you know the benefits of a custom-built site, the only question that remains is, when do you want to start?
Get Your Website Design from GrowME & Experience Next-Level Success!
Our websites are backed by the experience and dedication of a fully stacked design team. We perform everything in-house, including design, content writing, and custom development. All told, we offer the most value for our clients and the best ROIs. We are ready to create a website that will make all the difference for your business. Contact us to make your business come to life online!
