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At our web design agency, we are often asked similar questions from clients regarding website design and development. Building a new or existing website can seem daunting and complex, depending on your familiarity with the industry. This article aims to tackle some of the most common questions we receive.
On average, a marketing-style (showcase) website takes around 10 weeks to complete. This includes going through the following stages: planning, wireframe layouts, design, front-end coding and back-end development. A simple eCommerce website takes approximately 12-14 weeks to complete.
These times are rough guides and can vary dramatically. More complicated eCommerce websites with high-level functionality and back-office integration with accounting, inventory, CRM and POS systems can take several months.
The time a website takes to build is usually determined by the following:
A simple marketing website showcasing a few products or services will take much less time to develop than one requiring more complex functionality. Requirements that are likely to increase the development time include:
The size of a website will directly impact the development schedule. The more pages and sections a website has, the more additional design, front-end coding, and development work will be required.
At ID Studio, virtually all our websites include a CMS so that you can manage the day-to-day tasks of keeping a website up-to-date and fresh. The benefits of a content management system are outlined below:
If you have a website requiring frequent updates, a CMS allows website owners to quickly and effortlessly make updates at their discretion. They do not need to wait for a third party to make the updates and can process them in-house in real time.
Most modern CMS enable website owners to make SEO changes to their websites without coding. It allows users to make subtle SEO changes to their URLs, page titles, descriptions, URLs, alt tags, headings and general content.
Some websites, such as banks, healthcare providers, governments, councils, and law firms, have legal obligations to keep their information accurate and up to date. CMS makes this process simple and fast.
Utilising internal resources to make updates and not employing the services of a third party can help reduce website running costs.
As your business grows, a CMS can easily add new pages or sections to a website and automatically update the main navigational menu to reflect this.
The cost of a website will depend on several factors, the main two being its size and its complexity (in terms of functionality). Below are some of the most common influences on pricing:
Giving your web design agency a detailed website brief will ensure your requirements are clearly defined and agreed upon so that accurate times and costs can be supplied.
All projects undertaken by ID Studio, no matter how small, will be allocated a Project Manager for the entirety of the build. A project manager ensures a website stays on track by coordinating communication and managing timelines, budgets, and resources while maintaining quality control. Their role streamlines the entire web design and development process, preventing delays and scope creep.
At ID Studio, we charge a fixed fee for designing and developing your website. There are no hidden surprises. If additional changes are required and fall outside the agreed project scope, we will provide you with costs and only carry out the work once approved.
In addition to the initial website build, some ongoing costs are associated with keeping a website up and running. We have listed some of the main expenses below.
We will work with you to ensure that the website is GDPR compliant. We include standard GDPR practices by default, but any special requirements must be communicated with us in advance, as the client is still responsible for GDPR compliance.
At ID Studio, we understand that your website maintenance and support needs can vary. That's why we offer ad hoc support for those occasional, one-off tasks and retained support for consistent, ongoing needs that come with priority responses and a guaranteed SLA. We take the time to listen to our clients and tailor our retained support packages to fit your specific requirements.
We offer flexible hosting solutions for your website. We can host your site through AWS, Digital Ocean, or WP hosting. Alternatively, if you prefer, we can assist you in setting up your website with a hosting provider that suits your specific needs.
If you are considering having a website designed or redesigned and have additional questions, contact our team and schedule a call.
