How Much Does Website Development Cost in India?

Introduction

Having a website for your company is great it acts as social proof that users can trust. It’s not optional it is mandatory in the digital era. But those who don’t have a website have one question in their mind how much does website development cost in India?

The cost of a website depends on several factors which I will break down in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

What Determines the Website Cost?

Several factors define the cost of your website. Let’s look at the most important ones:

1. Type of Website

The website has many types so based on this cost is charged. Here are the types:

• Simple Website: A website with a normal design and which has fixed content is static. It’s great for individuals with small businesses or personal use. It will cost you between ₹5,000 to ₹20,000.


• Dynamic Website: This type of site has content that can be revised frequently and may contain blogs or up-to-date news. It may cost around Rs 20k-50k. Generally, these websites are SEO-friendly, which boosts their ranking.


• Online Store: E-commerce websites where customers make purchases online are more complex. These cost between ₹ 50000 and ₹ 200000. One thing you need to make sure that the speed of that website is fast otherwise you will see a high amount of bounce rate on your website.


• Custom Websites: However, if you require something unique like a custom application or platform, the price can start at ₹2,00,000 and go up to ₹5.00,000 and even more depending on the no of pages, graphics, and content.

2. Design

Design plays a crucial part. Every website has different requirements for design; most of the time it depends on your choice, like highly graphics-paid themes or a simpler one.

Here are the types of designs:

• Pre-Designed Templates: Using pre-templates is cheaper and relatively ranges between ₹ 5000/- to ₹ 10000. As it saves the developer time and he doesn’t need to think much and edit this type of design, it can be done by just drag and drop.


• Custom Design: As compared to template-based design, custom design requires more time and effort, because the developer has to make images by themselves or they will hire a graphic designer, so it is costly– it ranges from ₹20000 and goes up to 1 lakh.

3. Features and Functionality

If you add more features, then the price of the website increases. Here are some examples:

• User Accounts: If you want to add then Login and registration options can be for ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 additional.


• Content Management System (CMS): Web management platforms like WordPress cost about ₹15,000 to ₹50,000 to manage the content.


• Online Shopping Features: Payment gateways and shopping carts cost from ₹50,000 to ₹2,00,000. Generally, all E-commerce brands use this for prepaid options.


• Chatbots: Chatbots help get leads and conversions, so when it comes to conversion and leads everyone wants it, so developers usually charge high prices. It goes from 30k-11 lakh.

4. Development Team

Who you hire to create your website also affects the cost:

• Freelancers: These are the most affordable and safe options for those with a limited budget because the charge criteria are per hour. You can also filter out the prices. They usually charge Rs 500-2000 per hour.


• Small Agencies: They offer good quality at fair prices, costing around INR 200,000 to INR 500,000 for middle-size websites.


• Big Agencies: For those with a high budget and who want a highly premium website, it may cost them above Rs 10,00,000.

5. Ongoing Maintenance

Creating a website is not a one-time expense It is an ongoing process requiring regular updates. You’ll need to maintain it, too:

• Basic Maintenance: Generally, it includes Updates and minor repairs. Costing Rs5,000 – Rs 20,000 per year.


• Advanced Maintenance: Included new features and fixing major bug fixes which can cost up to Rs50,000 annually.

Breaking down the cost one by one

Here’s a detailed look at the costs involved at each stage of website development:

1. Planning

Estimated Cost: Rs5,000 to Rs15,000

Activities:

• Understanding the client’s requirement
• Planning website silo structure and deciding how many pages should be there.
• Conducting marketing research and finding out about competitors.

2. Design

Estimated Cost: Rs10,000 to Rs50,000

Activities:

• Design wireframes
• Designing logos, colors, and typography by developing mockups.
• Customise templates or design a mockup from scratch.
• Make sure the design is as functional as possible, will work well on any device, and be user-friendly.

3. Development

Estimated Cost: Rs50,000 to Rs2,00,000

Activities:

• Write the front-end code(HTML, CSS, Javascript) for the client’s website.
• Development related to the website backend including the functions of login systems, database systems, and APIs.
• Setting up, and creating content management systems and using existing ones, like WordPress or creating custom CMS solutions.

4. Testing

Estimated Cost: Rs5,000 to Rs30,000

Activities:

• Performing the tests across multiple browsers and multiple devices.
• Correcting glitches and improving sometimes slow page loading time.
• Conducting security audits in an endeavor to protect user information.

5. Launch

Estimated Cost: Rs5,000 to Rs10,000

Activities:

• Purchase a domain hoisting and set up
• Connecting the website to a hosting server and making it live.
• Conducting final checks for final publishing
• Training the user for the first time and/or providing manuals on how they could manage the site.

Additional Costs you need to keep in mind- otherwise you will lose your money

1. Domain extension

Every website requires a domain name and it is purchased from a domain market. Every domain extension has a different price.

Type of Domain extensions:

• If your website has powerful words, and you want a domain extension of .com or .in, then you need to pay above 50k
• Generally, you will get the domain for 500-1500 annually, if you choose a normal domain.

2. Hosting Services

Web hosting is the service that helps to maintain your website accessible on the internet.

Common hosting types include:

• Shared Hosting: Suitable for small websites and which may cost between ₹2,000 and ₹5, 000 per year.
• VPS Hosting: Provides more tools and flexibility for the same price, ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 annually.
• Dedicated Servers: More recommended for large-scale websites for it costs ₹50,000 or more annually.

3. SSL Certificate

SSL protects your website by encrypting user data by using the SSL certificate. This is usually important for an E-commerce website.

Options include:

• Free SSL: Available on services such as Let’s Encrypt.
• Paid SSL: Provides added functionalities and suitable support possible, ranging from ₹500 to ₹2,000 yearly.

4. Third-Party Utilities and Applications

Additional software or tools may be needed for specific features, such as:

• CRM Systems: CRM tools like Hubspot or Zoho can cost you between ₹5000 to ₹50000 per annum.
• Marketing Tools: Email marketing tools such as MailChimp costs between ₹3,000 and ₹15,000 per year.
• Analytics: Paid plugins for analytics can cost at least ₹10,000 in a year.

5. Content Creation

Content plays a critical role in engaging users and taking some desired action on your site. It includes:

• Copywriting: Freelance writers normally cost between ₹1-₹5 per word for their work.
• Photography and Videos: Custom photos are free and some are paid but affordable, if you look for professional photographers for the shoot, then it may charge from Rs 5000-50k.

6. Website Security

Protect your site from cyber theft is important and you can’t compromise on it. It includes:

• Security Plugins: The basic tools were estimated at Rs 1000- Rs 5000 per year.
• Advanced Security Solutions: A Firewall and monitoring system can cost between 10000 to 50000 Rupees yearly.

7. Regular Updates and Upgrades

Regularly Updating your website with new features is necessary for a user-friendly website. It also comes with some features like:

• Feature Additions: New functionalities for the site can range anywhere from ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000.
• Rebranding or Redesign: A complete rebranding from scratch will take around ₹50000 or even more.

Tips to Reduce the Cost of Website Development

Hope you get the estimation of the cost but still some points can help you in reducing the cost of the website. Here are the tips:

1. Plan Ahead

Planning before a website development will help you save lots of your money. So before you begin, make sure you have to consider these points:

• The purpose of your website.
• Website type
• Silo-structure
• Your target audience helps you in avoiding high costs later.

2. Use Free or Low-Cost Tools

Use blogging platforms such as WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace that offer minimal or highly reduced prices on templates and plugins. These tools help build conceptual websites making it simpler to organize and implement them without necessarily having to pay a professional web designer to design and develop them.

3. Start small and make it big gradually

Plan your work on developing an MVP before moving on to the next set of priorities. First, include basic features and functions then add, next-level features as per your pocket. This approach will help you from being charged more than what you require

4. Hire the Right Professionals

Check their portfolio and reviews so that you can be in a position to hire the right team for your project. Smaller projects are well done by freelancers, while agencies are well suited for more complicated website projects.

5. Bundle Services

Most of the agencies and freelancers provide different offers for packages that include, design, development, and continued maintenance.
The option for such packages is a good approach, you should keep in mind if you want to reduce the cost of website development.

6. Optimize Hosting and Domains

Some hosting site offers discounts on particular domains, so if the domain name resonates with your company’s goal, then make sure you look out for those domains.
There are many affordable hosting providers such as Blue Host or Hostagator for small websites.

7. Invest in Training

You should learn how to manage and update your website. If you go for cheaper options like freelancers for update gigs, then they also charge a good amount of money, so it’s better you at least know the basic things about the website.

8. Reuse Existing Content

Make sure, you reuse content, images, and videos from previous projects. This reduces the time and cost of content creation on your website.

9. Regular Maintenance

Do not wait for problems on your website to arise and be forced to spend heavily on repairs.
Maintenance includes frequent updates of the plugins, fixes errors, and security-related content so that the website is running smoothly and escapes from expensive fixes.

FAQs

What’s more affordable: hiring freelancers or an agency for web development?

Freelancers cost between ₹500 and ₹2,000 per hour, while agencies provide additional services and reliability so their charges start from ₹2,00,000 for a medium-sized website.

What is the cost of maintaining a website annually?

Annual maintenance expenses start from ₹ 5000/- and go up to ₹ 20000/- while for advanced maintenance expenses price goes up ₹ 50000/-.

Are there any hidden charges in website development?

Yes, the extra expenses include a domain name, hosting or SSL certificates as well as additional tools, content development, and security enhancements. This increases the overall cost of the website.

Is it possible to build a website by myself?

Of course, it is possible to create a website using WordPress or Wix. It gives a drag-and-drop option which is very easy for beginners to try it out. However, for some advanced features, you require a technical expert to sort it out.

How long does it take to develop a website?

It depends on the complexity of the website, generally, the website takes 1-2 weeks. However, if a website is big, then it might take 2-6 months.

What steps must be taken so that my website remains safe?

Acquiring an SSL certificate is always necessary to use security plugins and ensure that your site is always up-to-date and secure.

Conclusion

In India, the price varies from the minimum price of 5000 for a simple website to 500,000 for complex work. However, this is just an estimation, the price may go higher or lesser, so to reduce the cost of the website development services, you should consider better planning and know the basic things about the website so that you don’t need to pay extra charges for a tiny work.

I hope you understand the costs, and most importantly, I assume you know the importance of the website for your website too.