There is an age-old statement: “just tell me what my website redesign will cost.”
And, to tack onto that, the age-old reply is: “well, it depends.”
Well, what the heck does website design pricing depend on?
What goes into the cost of a redesign?
If you want a full list of everything you should think of for your redesign, you should check out our checklist.
Branding Modification
Your brand is the foundation of your business. If it’s going to change, that needs to be done before thinking about a redesign.
Some good questions to think about are:
Content
When thinking about your website redesign price, one of the largest factors of cost is how you want to handle content. There are two core ways content can be managed:
Over the years, this is where we have seen the most scope creep during the website redesign process. Without defining the number of pages that actually need to be custom-written, timelines end up getting expanded, and costs increase drastically.
Custom-written content
When we have completed the site mapping process, we go through and earmark a handful of pages that are critical to tell your story to your potential customers.
For most redesigned marketing sites that is between five and ten pages.
It’s easy to get caught in a trap of re-writing almost every page within the sitemap. However, I want you to think about your sales process. What key pages will help you tell your story to your potential customers? Sure, there are a lot of “nitty-gritty detail” pages that some customers will find valuable.
The Pareto Principle applies here. Make sure you’re focusing on the correct 20% to get your website redesign launched promptly.
Migrated content
The rest of your content will be migrated over as-is. But, how is this done?
Typically, in a web design process, building blocks are designed. Rather than designing every page custom from top-to-bottom, 10-15 elements are designed that can be used across every page of the website (like puzzle pieces).
Your web team will look at the original content that needs to be migrated over and massage it into the redesigned website using the new puzzle pieces that line up with your brand aesthetic.
eCommerce functionality
This one will be fairly obvious: you either have eCommerce functionality or your don’t.
I do want you to consider one question though: is your eCommerce platform holding you back?
There are a few big CMSs in the industry:
Each of them have a long list of pros and cons. Depending on how you run your business and define success will determine which of those platforms would be the best fit.
Determining what CMS you want to be in is a key factor to determine before beginning the website revamp process. Each platform has structures, templates, and functionality that designers need to know before they start designing.
Staying in the same CMS
No matter your content management system, it will almost always be more cost-effective to stay within the same CMS. Migrating to a new CMS is much like moving to a new house: The square footage of your new house may be the same as your old house. However, the rooms are laid out differently, and therefore, your furniture may not fit well in your new home.
Yes, a CMS migration may be necessary to have a simpler administrative experience, but it will come at an increased cost.
What type of agency should I choose for my website redesign?
To start off, none of these options are bad. There is a season in almost every business where partnering with different types of vendors makes sense. However, when looking through a ton of companies’ websites, it’s hard to tell some of them apart.
Freelancer
If you want to go direct to the source, hiring a freelancer is always your best bet. You’re getting a single person’s full attention to your website until it’s done.
A website relaunch is made up of a lot of different pieces:
Typically, an individual does not have expertise in every area of the process. When hiring a freelancer, ask questions about what areas they are most proficient in. You’ll then need to decide whether or not you are comfortable with the areas where they lack expert-level skill.
Do-It-All Agency
These agencies can help you with a lot of things marketing-related, and websites are one of those things. They probably aren’t specialists in building websites, but they will know how to ensure all of your marketing efforts are connected back to specific pages of your website.
The price point on a website they built will be a good middle ground between a freelancer and a website specialist. Many of these marketing agencies will also be able to partner with you long-term on other marketing objectives (such as email, social media, ads, and/or SEO).
In this particular segment, many of these agencies are hard to tell their differences. If a website is key to your marketing success, always ask the agencies you interview how their websites are built.
Website Specialist
All these companies do are websites. Most of the time, they specialize in a particular CMS and can build you a website that can be the foundation for your marketing efforts for years to come. They also typically have a tried-and-true project plan that will guarantee you get a website you can grow into over time.
You typically want to partner with a website specialist agency when you’re looking for:
These agencies will be able to bring expert-level designers, developers, and content writers to the table to create your newly redesigned website. This will be the most expensive option. However, if your website is the foundation of your marketing efforts, it tends to be an investment that pays off dividends for conversions and ease of keeping it up to date.
Website redesign cost calculator
Now that we know all the different levers that can be pulled let’s dive into what the average cost for website redesign ends up being.