Professional web development is no more a cheap deal

In today’s age, getting cost effective professional web development services for your business could be slightly challenging. Even though website development still includes more or less the same components that were part of the process 5 years ago, the addition of features like responsiveness (compatible viewing on different devices), SEO optimization, and E-commerce have added the weight on the businesses’ accounts.

Elements included in a professional web development process

A professional agency will first and foremost outline the steps that they would follow for developing the website of the client. It includes the following:

  • Defining the concept – this includes taking a brief about the nature of business of the client, gathering details and planning the process of design and development. Getting a clear idea about the client’s objectives and listing down all their requirements, will help the agency in costing.
  • Website architecture – this includes creating the sitemap, and deciding on the layout and navigation of the website that could best represent the content and facilitate usability, as per client requirements.
  • Graphic design – the professional web development agency will build a website design accordingly, after taking down client requirements and would give alternate design options as well.
  • Content development – the next step is developing the content for all pages, writing/ editing the copy, performing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on all content to include keywords, titles etc, to best present information about the client’s business on the website.
  • Coding – this involves writing code for building the website based on the approved design, to transform the content and graphics into a website. This also includes checking for bugs, errors, and final testing.

After coding the website, approvals and handover stands the matter of payment. With terms agreed upon right at the beginning of the contract, issues arising with regards to costing are minimal once the contract is underway. However, finding a professional web agency that could provide value for money and cost-effective solutions is a tricky job. With such an intricate development process, it is no more a cheap deal to get a professional website.

A professional agency could charge anything from $2,000 to $100,000 for building a website, based on different client requirements. Basic features like menus, blog and galleries are all standard and are included in all websites. So the varying prices that different agencies present to the client are solely due to additional add-ons which are the necessity of today, that make web development expensive for the small business.

The modern website requires quicker loading time, less clutter, a wide visual appeal with video backgrounds and loud graphics, responsiveness in different devices, browser compatibility and a whole lot of extra features which has resulted in the cost being pushed higher.

Professional web development could be an expensive undertaking for any business, big or small. With right choices and clear information, however, the cost could be worth it, as websites which don’t feel modern could not be visited twice. Whatever the cost and the budget, a firm should go for professionals who live and breathe websites and the like.