Frequently Asked Questions

The trick to what a website costs is understanding its value. Value is typically tied to effort; more effort means more time means more cost. Cost can also be tied to efficiency, thoroughness, scalability, freedom from errors, and ultimately achieving your business objectives. In other words, is your website a Yugo or a Ferrari? They're both cars, after all.

Ultimately the answer to the question will depend entirely on what is produced and who produces it. We've seen sites that cost less than $100 and more than $50 million. Apis is positioned somewhere in the middle.

The length of time it takes to build a website will typically depend upon the following factors:

• The size and complexity of your site
• Our availability
• Your availability

Size and complexity is pretty self-evident. A simple, static site can realistically be completed within a few weeks. Heck, we once built an entire site in three days. As for our availability, that may impact the start of your project by a week or two. As for your availability, this is your ability to review and approve in a timely fashion. And if you're involved in certain aspects of the project itself (e.g. a draft of the content) then this will also depend on your workload.

Hmm. How do we answer this question without seeming too biased? I don't think we can, so let's get the obvious out of the way; you should work with Apis Design

There. Now that that's taken care of... choosing the right web designer. This decision will depend on the following factors:

How important your website will be to your overall business.
The more critical your website to your overall business operations, the more time, energy, and money you want to invest in it. If it's not that critical, you have the leeway to consider independent, or even offshore providers. You'll find that these individuals are less expensive, but produce a lower quality product. Ultimately, it won't achieve too many of your business objectives but, hey, if you don't have any objectives then that's just fine.

How sophisticated your website will be (i.e. what sort of advanced functionality, multimedia, etc. will you require)
If you're in need of what amounts to an online application, you'll be safer by steering clear of the individual/offshore option. Focus on finding an organization that can identify and solve your problems. In other words, someone who can identify and plan a web strategy for you. Website builders are plentiful; you need to select the right website architect.

What your budget is.
Generally speaking, if your budget is less than around $5,000, you'll have little choice other than to seek out an individual/offshore provider. Mid-tier web design companies typically start around $5-10,000 and will go up to around $100-250,000. These companies will have anywhere from 5 to 50 employees. If your budget is larger than $250,000 then you'll probably already have a larger web design organization in mind, or even a communications/marketing company.

What your timeframe is.
One key benefit to individual/offshore providers is that they can be quite fast. That's the nature of their work, however. They're not performing the more time-consuming analysis, planning or prototyping. Ideally, your timeframe should be created after your project is properly planned, not the other way around. But, as they say: Fast, cheap, and good. Pick any two.

What your "other" requirements are.
Do you need to have regular meetings with your web designers? This may necessitate choosing a local organization. Or perhaps your organization is looking for an organization who is closely aligned with your own values; community involvement, charitable donations, etc. All of these will play a role in your final decision.

The bottom line
Talk to about six web companies, and get formal written quotes from the three you feel most comfortable with. Meet them; presentation is important, and you want to make sure you know who you're dealing with. And don't get many more than three quotes; it's too time consuming for you. Three should provide you with enough details and enough choice to make the right decision.

For more information, read our article on How to Choose a Web Designer.