What to take into account in a web budget – .com

In this tutorial we will see the things that we must take into account when we have to deliver (or value) a budget for web development.

We won’t talk about prices

This time we are not going to talk about numbers. I already did that in the tutorial. And on another occasion I also talked about . On this occasion we will talk about those key points that can affect the price.

The idea is to make a small guide that can serve both clients who want a website and developers who want to charge for them. A checklist of all those points that we should not forget to mention in a development.

Let’s talk about features

Let’s make a list of all those factors or characteristics that can make a web project more expensive, so that they can be considered within the budget.

Domain

Who is going to buy the domain? The client or the developer? It is totally recommended that the client buy it, since this way they can do it with their data and ownership, and there will be no problem for future renewals.

But in the case that the developer does it, the price must be agreed not only for the first year, but also for subsequent years.

hosting

Who is going to host the website? The client or the developer? Once again, I recommend that it be the client, to avoid problems in the future. But in this case, and unlike the domain, it is usually a very common practice for the developer to have a dedicated server or a virtual server where he hosts all his clients.

In the event that this is the case, the annual price of this service should be agreed with the client, and the client should always have access to the web control panel, as well as FTP and the database. You should also be able to “go independent” at any time, migrating the web to another server of your choice.

Design: Theme or custom development

Another key point, which can significantly alter the price (and delivery schedule) of the project is if you choose to choose a theme and make changes to it at the level of , or if you opt for a custom-made design, in which the designer will make a proposal in photoshop and then a model to convert into a unique theme.

If you choose to start from an existing theme, we must incorporate the cost of this in the budget, and the hours that will be dedicated to its “setting up”, which can be more or less. Typically the options are:

Leave the web “as in the demo”.
Leave the web as the demo, but with certain changes.
Use the demo as a base for structure, but with many modifications.

Thus, we must consider one price or another in this item, depending on the case in which we find ourselves.

In the event that we opt for an original template created from scratch, it will be necessary to count the hours of the designer and the designer. For more information on this, I recommend the tutorial and .

In this case, we must take into account that the price will be well above a website based on a template. While a premium theme can cost between $40 and $100, a design and layout can be between €1,000 and €2,000.

On this point, if you are interested in learning how to make your own themes, I advise you to take a look at , in which I guide you step by step.

Features: Plugins or custom development

Everything I just said about the design and the themes can be applied exactly the same in terms of the functionalities.

We must take into account if these functionalities can be done with plugins, or if, on the contrary, they do not exist, and they must be developed (interested to see the).

And in the case that existing plugins are going to be used, assess whether free plugins from the WordPress repository will be used, or premium plugins. And in that case, we should (evidently) add that amount.

content creation

Who is going to write the content? The client or the developer? Here it seems very evident that the correct answer is “the client”. We agree. I talk about it in more depth in the article.

But on many occasions the client will not have or want to create content. In this case, we can include in the budget the cost of hiring a content writer. I recommend that you listen to the episode in which we talk about this in more depth.

This point also includes everything that refers to web translations. If the client wants the website in several languages, but does not have the content translated, the cost of the translation services must be included, as well as the necessary plugins to manage it.

So, if the client creates the content, you don’t need to consider that item. But in the case that we or a partner do it, we must add it.

Images

Another item to consider is the images. In fact, we could consider it a “subsection” of the content.

Does the client have the images that are going to be used on the web? Do you have permission to use them? Or, on the contrary, should we look for them ourselves?

In the event that this is the case, we must include the cost of those stock images, or limit ourselves to using free images for free use. You can learn more about them in the tutorial and in the podcast episode

Upload the content

If creating the content is a game to take into account, uploading it to the web should also be another.

It is true that sometimes, when the web is very basic, this item can be ignored. If we are talking about a corporate website of 5 or 10 pages, that point is usually included tacitly.

But what happens if it is a web in which 300 posts must be entered? Or 3,000? Or an eCommerce with 15,000 products? Who will upload all that information? The client or the developer?

In the case that the client uploads it, no problem, it should not be included in the budget. But in the case that it is the developer, we must take many factors into account.

Where do we start from? Do we have to migrate from another CMS, or from a website made in HTML? Or do we start from nothing, and we must collect all this information from a PDF catalogue?
Do we have the possibility to “import” all that content automatically, with plugins like , or are we going to have to spend 150 hours copying and pasting from a Word document?
How many references are we going to have to enter, and how many fields and information for each?

In order to get an approximate idea of this game, I advise you to upload 5 or 10 references (articles, products or any other content) and make an approximate calculation with a rule of 3, to know what it will take us to finish the task.

Maintenance

Another point that should be mentioned is maintenance. Today, the trend is for websites to be built on a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal.

And as we already know, both the CMS and their themes (themes, templates) and plugins (components, modules)They have updates and improvements. Some minor, some major, some with improvements, and some critical security patches.

Weather

Finally we must also consider the time factor. It is not the same to make a website in a year, than in 3 months than in 48 hours. Sometimes the client may be interested in launching a project before a deadline.

In cases where time is a factor that causes the developer to incur more costs, such as hiring a collaborator, or even their own , it must be included in the budget in a broken down way.

And everything you want more

This list is NOT exhaustive or complete. There are many other points that would be worth considering here. But these are the ones that I know from experience that can modify the price of the development.

But if you think something is missing, please, I’ll be happy to include it. Send me your suggestion through the contact form and I will gladly add it.

Summary and conclusion

A web development is a complex project, which has many points to consider. Whether we have a high or low price level, there are certain characteristics that we must take into account.

Points such as domain, design, hosting, design, content creation and introduction, translations, and image search, maintenance, and time (among others) they are key.

So, whether we want a website or if we are going to offer one, let’s keep all these points in mind and ask the other party about them, so as not to discover halfway through the project if they were included or not 🙂