Website Design cost in Nigeria varies a lot from one designer to the next. Truth be told, there is no generally accepted cost for any website Design project.

A website is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education, commerce, entertainment, or social networking.

A website is where customers can always get valuable information at any time of day. You are probably reading this piece because you have become aware of some of the many benefits that accompany owning a business website, and you would like to estimate the cost of having one.

In this article, I will endeavor to give you an idea of what it will cost you to design a functional quality site. With years of reviewing everything from web builders to hosting providers, you can bet we’ve made all the usual mistakes – meaning we can help you avoid them the first time!

The cost of creating a website can be divided into 3 basic categories. These include;

• Domain Name
• Hosting Plan
• Development/Design Fee

There are three main ways to build a website: using a website builder; building with WordPress, or hiring a web designer. Whichever method you choose will have a huge impact on how much your website costs. For example, creating content is free with a web builder, but can cost over $1,000 (₦580,000) if you’re using a web designer.

On average, though, it costs around $200 (₦116,000) to build a website, with an ongoing cost of around $50 (₦29,000) per month to maintain it. This estimate is higher if you hire a designer or developer.

Website builders are usually the cheapest way to build a website. While WordPress is technically a free, open-source platform, you have to pay for hosting, themes, plugins, and even professional help from a developer, which can increase your total cost.

Hiring a web designer is the most expensive option. Realistically, you don’t want to pay less than $1,000 (₦580,000) for a web designer, otherwise, you might end up with a disappointing end result that you’re not happy with, but that you’ve still paid a few thousand for.

You need to choose the right method for you. Hiring a web designer is expensive, but it takes the technical hassle out of your hands. Using a website builder is cheap and easy, but you don’t get the same level of control as you do with WordPress. WordPress gives you flexibility, but it’s the most time-consuming and hands-on approach.

We’ll walk you through each option, explore the various costs involved, and explain how to ask the right questions to get the most out of your money. Ready? Let’s go!

How Much Does a Website Cost Using a Website Builder?

Website builders are tools that allow the construction of websites without the need for manual code editing.

Using a website builder is the cheapest way to build a website, and is best for:

• Technical novices
• Anyone who needs a website live sooner rather than later
• Personal websites and portfolios

The full range of website builder prices ranges from free all the way up to around $500 (₦290,000) per month. However, most new sites will fall within the $6 to $50 (₦3,480 – ₦29,000) per month range. 

If you’re building a website that anyone else is going to see, you need a paid plan instead of a free plan. This is because free plans come with various limitations, the most common being:

• Adverts displayed on your website
• A free, non-custom domain, such as www.mywebsite.wix.com
• Limited features, such as low storage and bandwidth allowances
• No eCommerce features, meaning you can’t sell online
• Basic customer support

The free plan is only suitable for trying out the website builder, seeing if it’s the right fit for you, and for building test sites to hone your skills and try out new ideas without any financial pressure.

It’s the free plan that usually gives website builders a somewhat bad reputation for being cheap and poor quality, but that’s not the case as long as you choose a good quality builder. 

Here are the top website builders and how we rated them:

Below, you can see a more in-depth breakdown of the prices involved with each builder:

Are Website Builders Worth Your Money?

With a high-quality website builder, you can create a truly professional website. Sure, if you choose poor tools, then you’ll end up with a shoddy product – but if you’re careful about the builder you choose, then you can set yourself up for success.

Website Cost Using WordPress

WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that makes it easy to create and manage a website. It is the most popular CMS in the world. Millions of business owners, bloggers, and publishers use WordPress every day to maintain their online presence.

Using WordPress gives you a lot more control over your website – and your budget. It’s best for:

• Those with a little technical confidence
• Anyone who wants full customization 
• Blogs, business sites, and very large websites

The cost of a WordPress website is pretty hard to pin down. It depends on a lot of different factors because there are a lot of different aspects to think about when setting up a WordPress site.

On the one hand, WordPress is free. There are free themes and plugins too, so in theory, it should be easy to keep costs low. However, you might find you need a premium theme, and then there’s hosting to think about (and pay for). If you hire a WordPress developer, your total website cost could quickly creep up into the thousands.

There are various costs that can affect the total price of building a WordPress website, but the main one is hosting. You can get away with using free themes and plugins, but hosting is an essential and important cost that’s vital for getting your WordPress website online.

So, how much does it cost to host a WordPress website? It depends on your provider. There are tons of hosting providers out there to choose from, and some are better than others. For WordPress, we recommend using Bluehost.

Bluehost is the number one WordPress hosting provider, making it the highest quality host you can choose for your WordPress website. No, it’s not the cheapest on the market – but with prices starting at $4.95 (₦2,871) per month, it’s not going to break the bank, either.

Bluehost hosting plan costs between $4.95 – $79.99 (₦2,871 -₦46,394) per month, depending on which plan you need. Here are the starting prices for each of Bluehost’s WordPress-specific hosting plans:

• Shared hosting: $2.95 (₦1,711) per month
• WooCommerce hosting: $19.95 (₦11,571) per month

Bluehost’s WordPress-specific hosting plans come with features to help you run your WordPress site, such as automatic backups and automatic WordPress installation, to save you time and hassle.

Although Bluehost is the best WordPress hosting provider, it’s not the only option. Here is a quick run-down of the best WordPress hosting providers according to our research, and their prices plans:

Bluehost is the best overall, for both shared and managed WordPress hosting. A2 Hosting offers a strong set of managed WordPress plans, making it a great Bluehost alternative if you’re looking for something a tiny bit cheaper. HostGator only provides shared WordPress hosting, but it does it well – if at a higher price tag than its competitors.

Website Cost Using a Web Designer?

A Web designer is someone who prepares content for the Web. This role is mainly related to the styling and layout of pages with content, including text and images. 

Hiring a web designer to plan and create your site puts your project firmly in the hands of professionals. You don’t get to totally sit back and relax – you’ll need to work with your web designer to create a site you love – but it does take a lot of the heavy lifting away from you.

Hiring a web designer is best for: 

• Anyone needing a very complex website
• Those with zero time or technical confidence
• Big budgets and big, custom websites

This is possibly the hardest cost to estimate because different web designers will charge different rates depending on the project and their own experience. You might choose an agency or a freelancer, and this will also affect the cost.

What Affects the Cost Of Hiring a Web Designer?

Here are some things to think about when hiring a web designer, which will all factor into the final cost of building your website:

• How complex is your website plan? 
• Do you want the designer to handle hosting, domains, and plugins for you? Or do you just want them to design and build your site?
• Will you need them to carry out ongoing maintenance on your site? Or will you do this yourself?
• Do you have a premade template you want the designer to customize? Or do you want the designer to build your site from scratch?
• What sort of features do you need? For example, will you be selling online?
• How many pages is your website going to be? You’ll need to know this beforehand to get an accurate quote.

It’s often a good idea to manage your own hosting and domain name because then it’s in your name and under your control. This makes running your site easier, and gives you a bigger say over your site – for example, it’ll make moving hosting providers much easier.

Cost of Building a Website: Web Designer Breakdown

So, what exactly are the costs involved in hiring a web designer? The table below breaks down the different factors that you pay for, to give you a better idea of exactly what you’re paying for, and the average costs involved:

Read More: Website vs Instagram Account – Pros & Cons

How to Reduce the Cost of Hiring a Web Designer

Okay, you might be thinking you can’t afford to spend over $1,200 for a web designer to create your site. What you mustn’t do is find a designer with cheap prices to save funds – you won’t get value for your money this way.

If you’re super tight on cash, the reality is you should probably head to either the website builder or WordPress section of this article, because a web designer is supposed to cost thousands of dollars/naira. You usually get what you pay for when it comes to hiring a designer!

However, there is a way to slightly lower the cost of hiring a designer to create your site. And that’s to buy a domain name, hosting plan, a premium WordPress theme, and ask a designer to customize it for you.

This option is “in-between” a DIY website and a fully custom-built website design.

You can hire a designer to help customize a premade template into something unique just for you. This is a good option if you are not ready for an entirely custom website, and if pre-made templates are not exactly what you want.

Overall, the most expensive option is to hire a web designer to build you a site from scratch. This will cost you somewhere around the $10,000 mark. There are certain things you can do to bring the cost down, such as keeping your site to a minimum number of pages and being ruthless with the features you need.

You can save some money by buying a premade theme, and then asking a designer to customize it for you – this customization usually costs around $600.

However, what you mustn’t do is try to save money by hiring a web designer on the cheap. You’ll still end up paying a few thousand, and chances are you’ll end up with a website you’re not 100% happy with!

Conclusion

Building a website is, in our opinion, one of the most exciting things you can do. And it’s understandable, even advisable, to have big dreams for your website. But don’t get carried away and expect too much too soon.

Here are some tips that we’ve put together, to help you save money further down the line.

Start Small

Everyone makes mistakes the first time they build a website, so take the time to practice. There are plenty of free and cheap options where you can brush up on your building skills, without the pressure of knowing you’ve got a lot of money invested in the project.

Starting out small limits your potential losses, and reduces the chance of you falling over common stumbling blocks later on (when you’ve got more money on the line). Just have fun to start with!

Be Realistic

You might have big plans for your website. You could be dreaming of all the bells and whistles, complex programming, shiny design features, and interactive elements galore – but remember to be realistic, and set achievable goals for yourself when you’re starting out.

A new website isn’t going to match up to the likes of Amazon or Facebook, for example. It doesn’t have to be boring, but it should be within your scope to create. There are three main things that determine how high you can set your website goals:

• Your budget – the bigger your budget, the more you can spend on fancy features.
• Tech skills – the more advanced your tech skills, the more you can do yourself.
• Your time – the more time you have, the more work you can put into your site.

This isn’t to say that if you’re broke, busy, or a total tech novice you’ll end up with a lame website – it simply means you need to spend your time and money wisely to get the best results. We’ll show you how to do this in the rest of our guide!

Here’s a quick summary to help you get an idea of which building method might best suit your needs and your budget:

• Website Builders: If you want to dip your toe into the world of website building without worrying about your technical skills or needing a large budget, website builders are perfect for creating a professional site without any hassle. You can run your own site without investing too much time or money.
• WordPress: If you want full control over your website, don’t mind handling the technical side of things, and have wriggle room in your budget, then WordPress is a sensible option. You also have the choice to hire a developer to help you if you want.
• Web Designer: If you have a big budget and would prefer someone else to handle everything, then a web designer can take the work out of your hands. This is also recommended if you have complex needs beyond your own technical abilities.

We’ve walked you through the costs involved in making a website, from using a website builder to hiring a professional designer to build it for you. Hopefully, you now have a clearer idea of the best method for you, and which one best suits your budget.

Remember that working out how much a website cost isn’t just about money. It’s also about the other resources you have, such as time, tech skills, and design skills. If you have tons of time, you can learn new skills, but if you’re pressed for time and have a large budget, you can delegate the work to a professional.

Thinking about what you want from your site, how much time and money you can realistically put into your site, and how you want to run your site on a day-to-day basis, will all help you make the most of your money in the long run.

Although every site comes with its own unique set of costs, here’s a recap of our estimates, to help you pick the best option for you.

We recommend using a website builder if: 

• You have a tight budget
• You’re a first-time builder
• You’re short on time
• You want to have a go at creating a site yourself
• You don’t want to deal with all the technical stuff

Using WordPress if: 

• You have a little more wriggle room in your budget
• You want total control over your site
• You have plenty of time
• You want a high level of customization
• You’d enjoy handling all the technical stuff

We recommend using a web designer if: 

• You have a large budget
• You don’t want the responsibility of creating a site yourself
• You’re very short on time
• You need a very complex or custom design
• You’d be happy letting a professional manage your site

Building a website doesn’t have to be expensive – as long as you pick the right method and get value for your money, your website will be worth every cent.

Your website is the smartest and cheapest salesperson you’ll ever hire. Treat it right.