What will my website cost?

In Santa Cruz County web designers charge between $50 to a whopping $125 an hour. Why the difference? Those on the high end may have expensive offices and personnel to pay for, but, at the same time, they generally have more skill and experience. Those charging less may have less overhead to keep their costs down, but they may (or may not) also have little experience and/or talent.

So do you go with the $125 an hour web designer to assure getting a quality product? Not necessarily.

In sniffing out the field I've discovered that there a lot of very expensive web developers who are very talented at coding but have no artistic or design skills. Just take a look around the web and you'll see what I mean. On the other hand, there are "cheap," but very talented, newbies who are willing to charge less for their design work just to get their feet wet and develop a clientele.

Remember the reason for your web site in the first place is to broaden your market. Is that possible if your web site lacks quality and professionalism? Keep in mind that how you present yourself reflects on the quality of your product. With that reason firmly planted in your mind, choose a web designer, as evidenced by his or her portfolio, on that ground alone.

Quite often, someone in the market for a web site considers cost first, meaning they are looking for a deal. Don't make that mistake. Many have settled for a less than a professional appearance to save a few bucks. Insist on a designer who will give you the quality you deserve. Even if it means paying a bit more, it will pay off in the long run.

Here at Kat & Mouse, we offer web design services at a rate of $75 an hour. Though this rate is average, the quality we provide is anything but and well worth the investment.

So, how much is that a site?
Like I said, do you want a Mercedes or a Volkswagen? This does not mean we offer you either good quality or bad. (We always insist on exceptional quality.) We just have different "models," and some have more expensive features than others. Here are some rough estimates that may help.

Bronze package Entry level, 1-2 pages, compares to billboard
	Low-end, boilerplate, 1-2 customer-supplied graphics	$300-$500
	High-end, custom graphics	$500-$1200
Brass package 3-5 pages, more interactivity, forms, links, and graphics
	Low-end, customer-supplied graphics	$500-$900
	High-end, numerous custom graphics, possible animation, CGI, JavaScript	$1,500-$5,000
Gold package 6+ pages, even more interactivity, can include database connectivity, Java applets, custom CGI and JavaScript
	Low-end, customer-supplied graphics, freeware scripts	$1,500-$3,000
	High-end, the ultimate, custom everything	$3,000-$x,xxx,xxx

Keep in mind, a site rich in custom features will be considerably higher. Anytime you request extras such as database integration, custom programming, or custom graphics, you are looking at more expense.

Kat & Mouse gives free estimates, but when you call please have some specifics. Most often we get calls like "How much for a web site?" Or "How much for two pages?" Those questions are difficult to answer. Be prepared to let us know if you need custom graphics or forms and other scripts. A good suggestion is to work up an outline ahead of time and fax it in with a request or bring it along when we meet. And if you don't know what you want, that's fine, too. We'll be happy to help you develop a game plan from the ground up.

WILL YOU KNOW WHAT THE FINAL BILL WILL BE BEFORE WORK IS BEGUN?

If you insist. But we prefer to work off an estimate and feel it is to both of our advantages that way. Why?

Anytime a designer has to provide a fixed bid, he or she has to allow for unknowns that inevitably eat away time. Sometimes that means raising the estimated time another 25% or 50%, but it is not uncommon for designers to even double their time estimates to create a bid, depending on the type of project. This means that you may actually pay for time that was not spent on your project if everything goes smoothly and according to plan. So an estimate arrangement, in which you only pay for time spent, in most cases is to your advantage.

On the other hand, since they are only estimations, estimates can exceed your projections if you are not careful. Through experience, we know how long a project will take, but what we don't have experience in is you and can never really predict which clients will make a lot of design changes or want to add new features or require many consultations and hand holding. You may think a fixed bid might be the best option if you are that type of client, however, it is our policy to charge extra for changes to work already finished and approved. If that is the way we decide to work, Kat & Mouse will give you a rough estimate and will keep you apprised of costs as we go along to be sure we stay within your budget.

Unless it is piece work, before we begin a job we draw up a contract and we agree to a set price. I do not raise the price when we spend more time than I originally anticipated. (And this, to your benefit, is usually the case.) With a written proposal in hand you are then free to compare bids with other web designers to be sure you are getting a fair deal. (Don't forget to compare apples with apples, though.) The only time the cost inflates is when the customer requests additional features or pages that were not included in the original contract.

WHAT DOES A WEB SITE COST?

That depends. Do you want a Mercedes or a Volkswagen?