A usable, functional, and well-designed website is crucial for Raleigh-based businesses and beyond. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Top Design Firms, 42% of respondents said they’d leave a website with poor functionality. That same survey found that 50% of respondents believe web design is important for a company’s overall brand.
Just like getting a website in the first place, business owners need to consider when it is time to invest in redesigning their website.
At Vaulted, we work with Raleigh business owners and business owners across the country every day to redesign and maintain their websites. To know what to budget, you must also talk to different web design companies about prices. If you don’t work in web design, you may not know what goes into a website design quote.
That’s why we wanted to create this guide to how we develop website design pricing and what you need to consider about the overall value of a web design company. Using advice from our web designers, marketers, and content strategists, we’ve compiled a comprehensive primer on what you need to know about web design pricing. This guide can help you understand the process and how best to budget for your website redesign.
Read the full web design pricing guide to learn everything you need to know, from how pricing works to determining if a web design firm is the right fit.
3 Aspects of Web Design Pricing
When taking on a web design project, web designers and their teams need to consider three major aspects when considering the pricing of a website:
- Scope of the project
- Size of the website
- Technical requirements
Each aspect determines the level of skill needed and the number of hours in each project. This also helps organizations like Vaulted determine the project timeline and the required team members.
Below, we break down how each of these factors helps determine pricing.
1. Scope of the Project
The scope of a web design considers each of the deliverables to determine the amount of skill or labor needed for each aspect of the project. As we covered in 10 Questions to Always Ask a Web Designer, beyond the final website, typical deliverables can include:
- Wireframes. These are skeletal frameworks in a website. Usually delivered in 2D schematics, they help establish how users move through the site and what content should be on each page. You can consider them the blueprints for your website.
- Prototypes. Prototypes are examples of what you will see on the finalized website. These can include high-fidelity mockups that are presented to clients to allow them to “step through” the website. These can also include examples of repeated components on the website, like clickable links, buttons, navigation, interaction, and even animated elements. Prototypes save time for creating repeatable elements and ensure consistency across the site.
- Responsive Mockups. Because mobile browsing is integral to how people interact with brands online, web designers often also deliver responsive mockups of how the website will appear on smartphones and tablets. More changes than just the size of the screen of mobile websites, so to boost usability and accessibility for mobile users, these mockups are crucial for any project.
- Branding Materials. These are the guidelines and materials on the website that establish your business’s brand identity. Branding documentation may include logos, brand kits, brand colors, fonts, and other branded assets on your website.
- Other Design Elements. Beyond specifically branded imagery, the web design team may also deliver design elements like the photos and illustrations on your website, videos, and other visual materials.
When you discuss what you want from your website with a web design team, like the Raleigh-based team at Vaulted, you need to discuss all of these deliverables and what you need out of the website. Your web design team can share what most of their clients require to help you envision what you’ll ultimately need created.
By considering each of these deliverables throughout the design process, the design team can calculate the number of hours and expertise required to determine the scope of the entire project and thus the total cost of your web design project.
After we look at each of these deliverables, we need to consider the size of the whole project.
2. Size of the Website
The type of project, industry, or business can determine the size of a project. While some companies can thrive with a one-page, brochure-style website, larger enterprises could involve several pages and types of content. That’s why, beyond the traditional deliverables of a web design project, web designers need to consider the overall size of the website.
In this process, you may be asked questions like:
- What pages do you need on your website?
- What assets or resources do you need to host on your website?
- Do you sell products or services on your website? What are they?
- How do users currently find information on your website?
- Do you have any examples of websites you would like to emulate?
- Will any content need to be gated, meaning behind a login page?
With questions like these, designers can get a sense of the number of pages, what type of pages, and the existing issues on the website. Depending on the existing size of your current website, this could involve performing an audit of the website to determine what currently exists and what should remain on the website. For some businesses, this could even include undergoing usability testing to determine how users navigate the website to identify what issues a website redesign can resolve.
In addition to the website's size in terms of design, you should also speak about the content and marketing capabilities you need. What is on each web page and what you need from each area of the site contributes to the overall size and cost of the website.
When more web design team members work on different aspects of the website, additional hours and areas of expertise are incurred. Having a conversation like this early on will prevent extra costs from being added later.
By getting this information about the size of your website, web designers can determine the full scope and size of the project as they calculate total website cost. Handling several pages and assets could add significant time to a project and could require additional expertise.
Keeping scope and size in mind helps a Raleigh-based team like Vaulted understand the shape of what the website will look like and the overall cost.
3. Technical Requirements
Finally, beyond the website's scope and size, web designers need to understand what technical requirements are necessary for the project. This includes the website platform, hosting issues, and whatever add-ons your business needs.
If you need your website built in WordPress, you need a designer who can handle the ins and outs of managing all the different plugins and themes required. If you’re also integrating HubSpot or need specific HubSpot landing pages, you need someone with that area of expertise as well. For ecommerce, whether you’re using a plugin or a robust platform, you need a web designer to handle everything to ensure your shoppers have a great user experience.
Web designers also consider technology when building out pricing. Different technology requires different levels of expertise and time investment, which impacts the price. Web designers also need to know about the software because if they’re doing additional marketing functions and content production, they will need to see the level of effort required to utilize the platform.
When considering technology, ask what integrations to other tools your website will need. Common integrations could include:
- HubSpot
- Google Analytics 4
- Salesforce
- SurveyMonkey
- Asana
- Mailchimp
Building your website and content for the website can be a different experience on HubSpot than on Wix, WordPress, or other common platforms. The team needs to know what software is preferred or if you’re interested in migrating to a new platform, so they can effectively scope out the project.
If additional training and onboarding are needed once the project is complete with the specific software, the web design firm can build it into the pricing and the scope of work.
How to Choose a Raleigh Web Design Company
Pricing shouldn’t be the only thing you consider when choosing a web design company to redesign your website. Since your website is so integral to marketing, you should also consider how well they can serve as an extension of your existing team.
You need to look at their additional capabilities as an agency, how they work and how well they complement your company culture.
At Vaulted, we recommend considering each of the following six aspects:
- Content capabilities
- Marketing requirements
- Timeline
- Long-term fit
- Values and culture
- Technical prowess and capabilities
You must consider all these aspects when considering different Raleigh design agencies because they all contribute to a firm’s overall value. As you look at the cost of a website design or redesign, look at each section below to help you evaluate the company's fit. When you consider each of these areas, you can determine what you’re getting before you start working with the web design team.
1. Content Capabilities
Many web design firms, like Vaulted, also offer additional services like content development for your web presence. This includes web copy on the pages of your website, blog posts boosting your SEO presence, and even downloadable guides for your email marketing campaigns.
Content and web copy can be one of the most time-intensive components of your website. Bringing in a web design agency that offers content creation and copywriting can save you time and ensure you’ll have SEO-friendly writing on your website.
The content you use for your brand tells your story to your customers, so to get a complete refresh of your online presence, you need to consider content as well. If the creative teams you are looking at do develop content as a part of their services, it’s a good idea to determine if they can create copy for your brand as a part of the redesign process.
When you evaluate whether a web design agency is right for your brand, you also need to look at the other projects they’ve done to develop compelling content. Ask them for some case studies of their prior work and what type of services they’ve provided for each redesign. This will help you get a sense of the kind of content they can produce for you and the level of quality that they produce.
2. Marketing Requirements
In addition to content, firms like Vaulted typically offer different marketing services. The push for a website redesign is often rooted in specific business needs, like having a website that can support gated content for a B2B campaign or needing a better process to identify potential leads. When evaluating the marketing and technical requirements you need for your website, you should also consider whether the firm has the chops to handle the job.
As a web design agency, we have complementary experience with Hubspot, Google Ads, email marketing, marketing automation, sales enablement, and more. In addition to creating beautiful, functional websites, we can support companies in marketing efforts.
This skill set adds to our overall value in transforming a business’s online presence. As you consider what marketing requirements you need in addition to design, ask the web design agency you’re interested in about their other services and examples of their work. That way, you can understand how they can help solve the problems that led you to a redesign.
3. Timeline
Getting an agency that can complete a project on time is critically important. That’s why looking at their track record and asking them about the general timeline to complete a project can be an excellent way to understand their process. When they talk to you about the potential project, they should be able to give general benchmarks and how the timeline works in the process.
It could be a red flag if they can’t provide much detail about how long the process will be and what every stage looks like. This part of the pitch process should involve a healthy amount of conversation about their current capacity to take on a project like your website redesign. Sometimes, accelerated timelines can incur an additional cost.
It’s also a good idea to ask them about past projects to get a sense of how they work and what you can expect in the process. Just asking them about the timeframe is a good gut check of how they work as an agency and what they can deliver for your brand.
4. Long-Term Fit
Some organizations fit together better than others. As you start a conversation with a Raleigh-based website design company, you should get to know them and their values, what they bring to the table, and if they typically work with clients long-term.
Web redesign projects often require weeks of collaboration, and you will need further updates down the line. In addition, if you add other services with a company like Vaulted and have ad management, copywriting, or other services, you want to ensure you can work together in the long term. This can also be a great time to discuss their standard payment terms for a website design and other services.
Get a sense of their company fit before you start working together, since understanding the fit will also help you understand the tangible value they can potentially offer your organization and processes. Depending on the project, the web design team could be working to support your brand for weeks or months to come.
5. Values and Culture
Beyond getting a sense of the web design company on a face-to-face level, you’ll also want to see its history of values and overall company culture by looking at experiences from prior clients. A good, established agency will have examples of previous work and case studies about other clients they’ve helped.
Look at their website and other marketing materials to understand their values and culture across different clients, and explore their reviews across the web. Reviews do a great job of detailing what the experience of working with the agency looks like.
You can also ask them about similar projects they’ve done and if they have other examples to share. You can determine how well they can serve your needs by getting this information from a Raleigh-based web design company like Vaulted. This will put the website design pricing into perspective and what you get when you partner with them.
6. Technical Prowess and Capabilities
Finally, beyond a web design agency’s culture and fit, you must also determine what they can do for you in terms of raw technical capability. You need to select a vendor that can deliver. Whether you’re just looking for a website redesign or a comprehensive site plan and copywriting, select a Raleigh web design company that can meet your company needs.
This includes different types of software capabilities and the services they provide. Be sure to look at their offerings and see how they align with your business goals. Ask the agency what platforms they typically work with and how they report on project updates and key performance indicators.
Also, request to look at some of their case studies to get an idea of the different types of solutions they’ve built with various software. You can also ask about their expertise to understand their depth of experience, which ties into the overall price.
Need More Web Design Help From a Raleigh-Based Team?
By considering what goes into the pricing of the website and the overall value proposition of the web design firm, you can determine if the web design cost quote fits the needs of your business. While this was just an overview of what to consider, we hope this was a helpful look at what you need to know.
If you want more information about web design, content, and marketing services at Vaulted, we’re always happy to connect about the process and any of your further web design questions. As a web design firm in Raleigh, North Carolina, we’re dedicated to building functional, modern websites that help businesses serve their needs.
Our team is dedicated to creating tangible results with an integrated approach to marketing, branding, and web design. We believe in the unlimited potential of our clients and collaborate with them to transform vision into reality.
Our web designers use branding and design to align your values and business strategies with your customers' needs and perceptions. Vaulted does this to help you tell your story to the right people.
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