One of the most common questions I get is “how  much is a website?”.  It’s probably because most people have never been involved in developing a website and therefore have no idea what’s involved. 

Unfortunately there is no easy answer.  My typical response is that it’s just like buying a car.  You can spend $3000 on a car, used of course, or over $300,000, for a Rolls-Royce.  Websites have just about the same ranges with the exceptions of the very upper echelon of sites that can easily go in the millions of dollars.

Another common follow up question goes something like this… “How much will it be to develop a site that is just like www.somesite.com?”  Unfortunately this is also a question I can rarely answer.  My favorite analogy on this question is that it’s like asking a builder how much would it cost to build a house just like the one at 123 Main St.  However, if all the builder can do is look at the outside he has no idea on any of the following:

How big is the house,  3 bedrooms, 4 or maybe even 5?

Is the basement finished?

Are the floors hardwood, carpet, tile or something else?

What about the kitchen?  Are the counter tops granite?

This list can go on and on. 

Web applications are very similar.  We have created several sites which function more as web based applications where the public may have access to less than 10% of the site.  An excellent example is 9Health Fair.  This site is open to the public for general information and searching the database of health fair locations.  However, approximately 90% of this site is only accessible to the 9Health Fair staff with some portions available to those managing the individual sites. 

The fair has over 18,000 people who volunteer each year.  These people must be managed and assigned to appropriate sites matching the sites offerings with the skills of each volunteers.  Site coordinators need to go through a very thorough process of setting up their site each year by entering in detailed information on their fair which then must be approved.  The entire process is managed online and completely invisible to the average user.  These are just some of the many functions the website manages.

Assume someone wanted to start a health fair in another state and use the 9Health Fair as a model.  If they asked their developer what it would cost to develop a site like 9Health Fair, any response with even a fairly tight range would be cause for suspect.   It’s impossible to estimate a project when you only have 10% of the information, especially when you are unaware you only have 10% of the information.

The solution is a little old fashion hard work.  It takes some (or multiple) discussions with the developer going through in detail exactly what the site needs to do.  An experienced developer can walk you through this process, continuing to ask additional questions which are based on your responses from previous questions.  Only after this is accomplished and a requirements document written up can the initial question be answered, “How much does a website cost?”