How Much Does It Costs to Build a Website? Surprisingly, Not Very Much.

Note: All $ is in HKD

You come across hundreds of amazing websites each day. Some of them exhibit remarkable design while others have top-notch functionalities. You may be wondering how much it costs to build a fully functioning business website. Here is the short answer to our title question: surprisingly cheap. 

Though affordable, a website could cost a hundred to a few thousand Hong Kong Dollars to make. A simple website costs as little as $700, while a commercial website with loads of features and stunning design may cost more than ten thousand. Costs for building websites are subjective to requirements, but hardly any website cost over a few thousand to build if you ignore labor costs. 

This is much like fixing a car: the parts cost a fraction of how much the labour costs.

Therefore, please don’t call your web designer and tell them that they are overcharging you. You wouldn’t call your interior designer and tell them: they shouldn’t charge you anything because it costs nothing to draw a few pictures. 

Are you planning to build a website for your business at a competitive price? Learning how to make a personal website as a portfolio? Then you must know about all the major website development costs to finally decide your budget. Before learning how to build your own website, the following guide will showcase a transparent explanation of costs related to website development.

What are the Major Costs Associated with Website Development?

It does not matter whether you are an expert in website development or a complete newbie; there are some fixed costs you have to pay for building your website. At the minimum, you mainly have to consider these 3 factors:

• Domain Name
• Web Hosting
• Website Development Tools/Content Management System (CMS)

Do note that for practical purposes, you don’t need to find separate service providers for each of the three parts. Most vendors offer two or all three parts of web development. That's why making a basic website, even an e-commerce one, is not complicated at all. However, going with the full-package does have some drawbacks, most notably the lack of ability to customize, which is the reason why the more complicated websites find their own hosting and build their website separately.

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Let’s dive right into the costs of these parts one by one.

Domain Name - $100 to $500 per YEAR

Pricing breakdown starts with the domain name. The domain name (or URL. For example https://mediastudio.hk) to your website is considered the identity of your website across the online world. Purchasing a domain name is a necessary part of website development; otherwise, you cannot launch your website for your audience.

Registering for a new domain can cost you between $100 and $500 per year, depending mostly upon the top-level domain. A .com top-level domain usually costs just above $100/yr, a .hk domain could cost around $280/yr, while a .io domain could cost up to $500/yr. The price tags also differ slightly by the platform you choose for purchasing a domain.

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Web Hosting - $25 to $300 per MONTH

Whether you have a small business website or a commercial one, you need a web hosting server to store your website data and to publish your website for a global audience. 

There are many web hosting providers online, each provides many types of hosting services. There is an informative article by Quick Sprout If you want to learn about different types of hosting. Here, we’ll look at shared hosting only for our quick consideration.

Shared hosting is the cheapest option with the easiest set-up process, and provides enough security and reliability features for most simple and business websites. This hosting service is quite cheap and costs as low as $25 to $70 per month.

Other hosting options such as VPS, cloud hosting, and dedicated hosting provide more room for customization and website traffic. They can be configured to do more than hosting a website. However, they could cost from $300 to $2000 per month. These features are also not going to make a difference if your site does not have thousands of visitors on any given second. That’s why we recommend shared hosting for most users and small businesses.

WordPress Hosting is also an easy option for those who decided to use WordPress as their development tool/CMS.

Website Development Tool/CMS - $0 to $400 per MONTH

Now comes the most pivotal part of website development. You don’t need to build websites from scratch. Small and large businesses across the world are spending smartly on website builders such as Webflow and Wix. They have premium themes and templates with superb support features for their business websites. We’ve also written about the differences between the most popular website building tools.

Some costs come in the purchase of premium themes and the subscription fee for using the tool. There are free themes that provide a decent and presentable layout, and premium themes can cost around $100 to $1000 depending upon the level of its popularity and the associated features. 

While most website builders have a free trial or a free plan, the bulk of the main features usually come from their paid plans. They could cost from $30 to $400 per month.

Apart from this, there are many paid plugins that you may need for your website functionalities, such as social buttons, eCommerce features, SEO tools, scheduling, and automatic translation. Plugins with simple functionalities and upgrades can cost up to $100. There are also plugins with specialized functionalities and worldwide popularity. The more expensive plugins can cost up to $26,000! A website rich with features would surely cost more than a simple one.

If you are trying to keep costs minimal, use something like HostGator WordPress Hosting at $50 to $120 per month and develop your website using WordPress.

Final Take — How Much Does Your Website Development and Maintenance Cost per Year? 

Simple Website - under $700 per YEAR

A simple website with common features and fewer plugins could take less than $700/year to run. If you are just building a personal portfolio website, or If you have a small business that targets a local audience, then a simple website is the best option for you. 

You don’t need to add expensive customized features that are not under your business requirements. Go for the features that make your website fully functional for your intended users.

Commercial Business Website - $3000 to $10000 per YEAR

If you have a commercial business with a global audience, then having a lackluster website can tarnish your business reputation. Build a website with a customized premium design, diverse payment options, and other top-notch features. 

Other factors such as security, performance, page loading time, and function-specific plugins are the key factors to make a commercial website standout. You should expect costs up to $3000-$10,000 per year for your commercial website, barring development labour costs.

Start Building Your Dream Website Today Without the Risk of Overpaying

Now that you have got a basic estimate of building a website, try building a website with all the required features and attractive design within budget. A well-designed website with solid features can go a very long way, as well as the web building knowledge and experience.

You could follow our easy step-by-step guide on building a simple site or read more about the best website builders in 2021. (Coming Soon!)

Disclaimer: This article may contain affiliate links.

自己整網頁的費用

究竟自己製作一個網站需花費多少? 又或者你在疫情之下有造網站的打算，從而想對製作網站的成本心中有數？

其實要自架網站不需要很高的價格。

在資訊爆炸的數位時代，每天都會看見許多令人印象深刻的網站設計。這些網站的造價花費從幾百甚至到幾萬港幣都有可能。最基本的自架網站可以低過700元，但功能齊全、設計時尚的品牌網站，官方網站或電商網站的造價則可能超過幾萬元。

網頁設計

總括而然，如果不將人工成本考慮進去，自架網站的花費幾乎不可能會超過四位數字。

這就如汽車修理一樣：汽車零件費絕不會佔整張收據的大部分。貴就貴在人工。

因此，請你不要去抱怨網頁設計公司或freelancer收費過高，就如你不會因零件成本低而要求車廠減低修理費用。

不論是為你的企業建立網站或在建立個人作品集，你必須了解架設一個網站所需要的成本和細節而去決定你的最終預算。

以下，我會以個人經驗和行内知識公開所有架設網站的相關成本，幫助你學習如何建立自己的網站。

與建立網站相關的主要費用有哪些?

無論是網站建置專家還是新手，網站建置必會有一些固定費用。你至少要考慮以下三項花費：

• 網域名稱
• 伺服器
• 網站製作平台/內容管理系統

不需要分別去找供應商

大部分的網站平台會提供其中兩項甚全部三項。我個人通常會在101domain（有.hk和.com.hk）上找域名，然後在Webflow上建立網站，因Webflow會提供伺服器及開發工具。這個做法的最低成本大概是每年1,130元（Webflow的Basic Site Plan）。

當然，Webflow平台有免費方案，可以算是個免費架站平台，只不過其免費功能上有限制，而且不能自訂網址。

製作網站并不複雜。假如你想開網店，你能在一個較多人使用的網店製作平台上付約港幣$2371年費（Shopify Basic Plan）就可以滿足你三個願望（域名、伺服器、開發工具）。但是使用方便的網站平台是要付出代價的。要微調網站外觀或增加額外功能有時非常困難，而且要遵從平台的玩法。如果平台不支持某個功能或付款方式，沒有開發人員的協助下你也拿平台沒辦法。所以對於功能複雜的網站，分開為這三個項目找供應商是正常的。

如何自己架建網站

我準備了Wix的新手教學以及Webflow的新手教學。假如你有興趣自行整網站便萬勿錯過。

以下我會細說每一項費用：

網域名稱：每年HK$100至HK$500

網站域名（或URL。例如https://mediastudio.hk）是在網路世界中的地址。用戶就是靠域名去拜訪每個網站。因此，購買域名是架設網站中必要的項目之一。

註冊新網域的費用每年約HK$100至HK$500，價錢差距取決於域名的種類： .com的每年大概只需100元、.hk約為每年280元、.io域名的價格高達每年500元。價格也會因為購買域名的平台而略有不同。

伺服器：每月HK$25至HK$300

無論是小型企業網站還是商業網站，都需要一台虛擬主機伺服器來儲存網站數據。

線上有許多伺服器供應商，每間都提供了多種類型的主機服務。

在本文，我們僅對共享主機進行快速的說明。

共享主機是最便宜且最簡單便利的選項，它為多數的簡易和商務網站提供足夠的安全性和可靠的功能。共享主機每月費用約為25元到70元。

其他的虛擬主機選項有虛擬私人主機(VPS)，雲端主機(Cloud Hosting)和專屬主機(Dedicated Server)等。

它們比虛擬主機功能更多，但是費用也相對較高，每月可達HK$300至HK$2,000。如果您的網站沒有每秒成千上萬的瀏覽量，這些功能並不會有太大的差別。

其實大部分情況下因為怕搞CPanel及FTP的關係，如非必要小編我會盡量選用包自動伺服器設定的架設網站的平台（如Webflow或Wix等）。

对于复杂或大制作如需單獨租借伺服器，小編通常建議使用共享主機。

網頁製作平台/内容管理系統：每月HK$0至HK$100,000

接著是網站開發中最關鍵的部分－自架網站不需要從零開始。近年來，許多大小型企業都使用了網站架設平台來建立網站。這些平台有許多支援企業網站的出色功能及高級主題和版型供用者使用。

現在流行的網頁製作平台包括wordpress，wix editor, shopify等。

雖然wordpress這個網頁創作平台已經出道很久了，但現在最熱門的架站平台 還是wordpress。

剛開始自架網站的朋友們一般都先選擇wordpress來作為它們的網頁製作平台來製作網站，因為畢竟網上有許多使用wordpress的網頁設計教材。而且有大量的wordpress插件來優化網站。

許多部落格的網站架設和網站設計都是用wordpress的。

我們The MSHK Blog陸陸續續將會推出關於這些流行網站架設平台的文章。

網頁製作平台的主要的費用來自購買主題和訂閱費用。免費的主題已經有不錯的顔值，而高級主題則會根據受歡迎的程度和相關功能而有價格差異，價格約在HK$100至HK$1000不等。

網站架設平台通常都有免費試用版或方案，但大部分的重要功能須付費才能使用。費用約每月HK$30到HK$700元不等。如果你想架構的網站需要買賣，這個收費更可高達每月HK$100,000（例如使用Adobe Magento）。

如果已經單獨租借了伺服器，一大部分的網站會選擇安裝WordPress來作為網站開發工具及內容管理系統。需然安裝及使用WordPress並不需要花一毛錢，但是整個過程需時學習及費時不少。當然也有伺服器供應商提供一鍵安裝WordPress功能的方案，為新手提供多一項選擇。

除此之外，您可能還需要付費外掛程式才能強化網站功能，如社交按鈕，網購功能，SEO工具，排程和自動翻譯等。最基本的外掛程式大約只需100元，而貴價的外掛程式價格可達HK$26,000！

網站的開發和維護一年共需要多少錢？

最基本簡易網站：每年HK$700

一個具有常見基本功能和較少外掛的簡易網站，每年花費可低至700元。如果你只求擁有一個網站或者是初次建立網站，這種簡易網站將是你的最佳選擇。

如果你對自己的網站沒有特殊需求，並不需要其他昂貴的自訂功能，只要選擇擁有完整功能性，並能符合預期效果的方案就可以了。

企業網站：每年HK$3,000至HK$7,000

如果你的企業用戶遍及全球，一個缺乏品質的網站可能會損害你的商譽，所以你會需要建立一個比較全面的自訂網站。當你和其他行家競爭時，網站安全性、網站效能、頁面加載時間和其他網站功能，都是能使你的網站脫穎而出的關鍵元素。

屈指一算，要建立商業網站的每年花費估計為3,000至10,000元（不計開發成本）。

電商（eCommerce）網站：每年HK$1,200HKD至HK$100,000

假設你想建立一個具有電商功能的網站，在香港較實惠的選擇是Boutir，價格由每年HK$1,188元起跳。

假設需要找Freelancer或網站公司整網頁，網頁設計費用大約需要什麼呢？

根據我的觀察以及行內經驗，在香港最便宜的網站架構公司只收取HK$2,800，較昂貴的則開價HK$100,000起。根據經驗，我估計花費起碼約HK$20,000才能造出不錯的網站。

如果大家能找到造價低於HK$20,000而看起來不錯的網站，請告知好奇的小編。

最近香港政府資助中小企業建立網站而令不少奸商收費大約HK$50,000至$300,000製作劣質網站"交功課"，基本上變相企業為開發商打工，所以我在此叮囑各位小心求證開發商的真材實料。如果你對你的網頁設計公司有疑問，歡迎聯絡我們免費查詢。

開始建立您的網站

現在你已經有了對建立網站的基本概念，你就必須有效地規劃你的預算。在不浪費非必要花費的前提下，開始建立一個具有完善基本功能且吸引人的網站吧！一個設計好且功能齊全的網站絕對能幫助你的事業在網路世界中快速成長。

如需開發協助，MSHK以收費透明及有效率的合作方式，再加上全行首創無限修改，必能把你腦海中的理想網站帶到現實世界中。

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要最大化 SEO 服務的效果，就需為您的網站建立高轉換率的網頁設計。我們的 SEO Hong Kong + SEO 網頁設計服務套餐能享有套餐折扣優惠，甚至能免去網站設計及開發收費！按此了解更多我們的 SEO 優化服務。