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How to Calculate the Cost of Your Website Redesign
Editor’s note: Valerie helps you roughly define the cost of your website redesign project even before it starts. If you’re looking for a web design agency to handle your redesign, be sure to look at ScienceSoft’s website redesign offer.
As a UX designer and business analyst, I know that for many clients the cost of their redesign is one of the main factors in deciding whether to redesign or not. And while I always explain that there are just too many aspects that can affect the price, I understand where the need for knowing at least an approximate cost range comes from.
In this article, I explain what affects the cost of a website redesign project in most of the cases and describe the steps that help you get a ballpark estimate.
Four major cost tiers
First, let’s take a look at the key tiers of a website redesign cost range:
- $100 - $1,000
- $1,000 - $5,000
- $5,000 - $15,000
- $15,000 - $50,000
Contrary to what you may expect, lower costs don’t always imply shabby quality. Depending on the combination of certain factors, you may not need to pay a high price for a very decent-looking website.
Now, let’s see how you should tackle the 4 main cost-influencing factors to understand which tier your redesign project will most likely belong to.
Assess your website’s size
The larger the website, the longer the redesign process takes and, therefore, the higher the cost is. To understand how large your website is, find out the number of pages it has by inserting the “site:yoursitename.com” line in Google.
- 1 – 50 pages: a small website that will most likely fit in price tiers 1 or 2.
- 50 – 200 pages: a medium website that often falls into tiers 2 and 3.
- Over 200 pages: a large website, which redesign costs will range from tier 3 to 4.
Consider integrations
Existing or planned integrations of your website with a content management system (CMS), payment services, live chats, or other software solutions affect the website redesign cost drastically. The thing is, even existing integrations often have to be redone from scratch due to a new website design, which can prove to be difficult. Some older tools and systems may even cause conflicts with your updated design, so you’ll probably have to migrate to their newer versions.
It’s complicated to give even a rough estimate here because combinations of integrated software are unique. But the essence is that the more integrations you have, the more testing and bug-fixing efforts your redesign project will require.
Choose the design class of your future website
The class of your redesigned website depends on the type of your business. Keep in mind, however, that it should be the business you will be content with in the long run and not the one you have now. Otherwise, it won’t help your business evolve, and you will keep redesigning again and again.
Basic
Such a design is a good fit for websites of startup companies and small businesses. It doesn’t boast any sophisticated content presentation forms but looks attractive and creates a positive image of your business. Usually, it belongs to tier 1 in the price range.
Competitive
Targeted at mid-sized and large businesses, competitive design helps present a polished brand image that sets you apart from your major competitors on the market. The content of such websites is often rich in animated elements that spur more user engagement. Redesign costs can range between tiers 2 and 3.
Cutting-edge
This design is for large enterprises and corporations that want to strike visitors with the posh and expensive look. The price for a small website of this class can fall into the second half of tier 2, while larger websites will bring higher costs.
Decide who implements your website’s redesign
Last but not least, the cost of your website redesign depends on a person or people who will perform the redesign. Again, you have several options here:
Do it yourself
Free online tools that allow amateurish DIY redesign are your cheapest but the most reckless redesign option. I wouldn’t recommend taking such risks, especially if your website is one of the sources of your business’ revenue.
Hire a freelancer
In case you aren’t after some renowned web design professional with their own brand, this is an affordable option that keeps you within price tiers 1 and 2. In return for the savings, however, cooperation with a freelancer can create such issues as staggering deadlines and ever-changing prices. Moreover, a freelancer will most likely not be able to handle your website’s integration challenges.
Hire a web design agency
The most pricey but surely safest option is to let a company of design professionals take full responsibility for your website’s redesign. Not only will they be able to deliver the project in time and on budget, but they will also deal with the integrations on their own. The redesign of an average website (medium size, competitive class, no complex integrations) by a web agency usually falls into price tiers 2 and 3.
Get in touch for a more accurate cost
After you combine all the above factors, you can get a general idea of how much the redesign of your website will cost. To learn a more precise price tag, you should discuss the individual characteristics of your website with an expert, who will also be able to estimate the timeframe of the project. If you are ready to get into more specifics, don’t hesitate to turn to my team and me.