This article by Content Branding Solutions on website design and development explains associated costs regarding images, graphics, and SEO. Additionally, we share information on the best ways to develop your professional website design budget to include everything needed to complete a working business site.
Ask yourself this question: Is your website design making the right first impression and helping your business generate leads 24/7/365? If not, it's time to go professional, get expert help, and improve your results.
Fact: You have 15 seconds to convince prospects to delve past the first page of your website, so if your site is not attracting Clients to stay, it is not doing its job.
- Have you thought about a website refresh or a new website?
- What will it cost you?
- How much should you budget?
- What do graphics and images cost?
In our first article in the series on Website Design and development, we cover Images and Website Graphics. Later the series will cover content, SEO, blogging, and social media, finishing with marketing and the simple tools that all professional firms should be using.
Content Branding Solutions has laid out some tips that will benefit you in your decision-making process. In our first article in the series on Website Design, we discussed utilizing licensed images and graphics costs for Small Businesses' website design, single practitioners, lawyers, accountants, and dentists.
Costs for Contractors and architects will vary dramatically from those in this article.
Building a website is a daunting task for any professional business, but it is a make-or-break proposition for small businesses.
First impression
The first impression counts. Many websites start with a slider, with an image that will make or break your site. Images can say a thousand words, so successful websites that are graphics-heavy, with eye-catching slogans and hooks, lead you into the content.
Graphics
Graphics and site layout, form, flow, and function can make or break a website.
Having licensed images is necessary; you cannot steal images from another site. All websites and their content, images, graphics, and words are copyrighted. Scroll down to the base footer of the site, and you will see a © with a year and the copyright owner's name. You must ask for written permission, or you could face serious consequences.
A dentist we know has images stolen off another website!
The copyright owner's name is visible in the lower-left corner of several images.
As a professional, he should know better.
Licensed Images
Having great images that help tell your story is paramount to your website's visual look and style.
Content Branding Solutions create or buy all of our images on behalf of our clients. Therefore, having licensed images from a reputable source is crucial in keeping your company out of legal jeopardy. Shutterstock, Deposit Photos, and many other sources have multiple types of licenses for images.
The most popular image and graphics license types for royalty-free stock images and graphics are:
- Standard - $10 / image
- Enhanced - $100 / image
- HD Video Clips - $ 80 - $400 / clip 13-40s
These images must be edited for the site, including size, color, text, etc. This cost is usually around $10 each. However, at Content Branding Solutions, we like to include pictures in the project's overall cost, so we are not nickel and diming our clients.
Unique Graphics - One-Offs
We primarily use or create unique graphics from multiple licensed images. The impact on a Visitor of a unique Graphic that tells your client's story can be dramatic.
The image above tells a local client that his offices are in North Denver, he specializes in family-based immigration law, and that any contact is regarded as private and confidential. All features are essential to his clients, DREAM’ers, and DACA kids.
Suppose a unique graphic is created out of multiple images. The price can vary from $125 + the cost of the licensed images ($20) like the one above to complex infographics at $1,200 based on the project's scope and complexity.
Wendy Nelson's website Wind River Wealth Advisors contains over 24 unique licensed images, an excellent Wealth Advisors firm website, produced for around $9,000, including SEO, content, and all images. If you would like a website like this, claim your 30% discount code.
Cheri and Peter Lucking's book launch "Bestseller Campaign" website for TIPS TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: Secrets to Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Wellness available on Amazon
contains a similar number of unique images and produced for approximately $3,750 with an image budget of $1,200. Much of the content is from the book and the website design development.
Small Business Professional, Single Practitioner, Website Design Cost Example for Lawyers, Accountants, and Dentists:
- Licensed Image Budget: Use a $100 per image - Low end $500 of the shelf images - high-end $1,200 - $2,400 for fully tailored images
- Website design costs Low end $3,750 + (Images) to high end $8,500 and includes full SEO, SEO integration into content + SEO’d images ($2,400)
- A mega website Design like DLAA with over 75 pages will cost around $24,000 - $50,000 with fully integrated SEO images etc.
- If you need a content rewrite and or SEO integration into your content, add around $50 - 100 per page or 500 words
- Expenses
- Hosting $2.95 - $100 per month, you get what you pay for!
- Paid Website Hosting- Paid website hosting is the best option for businesses and all serious websites
- Global Web Hosting- Globally hosting your website will help ensure high server availability and performance
- Theme $69 - $150
- Images $100 per image + license fees say $99 for 10 images
- Image optimization - Short Pixlicensee Optimizer 9.99 (this speeds up your site)
- All in one SEO Pack $68-$99 (SALE) - $99 or similar
- Hosting $2.95 - $100 per month, you get what you pay for!
If a one-off graphic or infographic is created, the cost will vary from $125 – $2,400, dependent upon the copy, scope, and complexity.
So what should you Budget for Graphics? $100- 125 per image + license fees or $1,200 - $2,400 per site
Often data can be converted into a great graphic quickly using Microsoft Excel as the base with excel charts that can then be exported to an image. An example we used for Arturo Jiménez'ss book, “The US War on Immigrant LatinX Children.” By the way, the Content Branding Solutions team co-authored as part of our thought leadership services and published and provided editing services.
Utilizing Excel can create dramatic images at low costs if the data is provided.
An HD Video created from clips and images will range from $2,000 to $7,500 for a three (3) minute production, dependent on scope and complexity.
At Content Branding Solutions, we like to develop the concept website design and then provide the graphics as a job lot, based on complexity and scope; this will include a budget for licensed images for our clients.
How do we estimate the costs? We base it on all the client information you give us, and then together, we can create a concept layout and design to narrow expenses down. Everything on the website can be tailored to you and your firm’s branding.
Our experience is that graphic costs are neglected continuously by many web design contracts and are tagged on at the end as an expense! Not a good idea; this is a practice we frown upon; remember, a picture does say a thousand words. In today’s world, bombarded by so many messages, stunning graphics or photos can grab the target's attention and hold their interest to dig deeper into your product or service. Why does Instagram work so well? You're telling a story, sharing a moment or emotion through a picture. Pictures connect.
Graphics production costs and licensing image expenses are vital components of every successful website.
Conclusion
Website design and development, branding, and content marketing are ongoing processes. Consistently posting relevant, quality content helps to build up a continuous flow of traffic to your site for years to come if you follow the outlined procedure.
Attraction Marketing copywriting, content, copy and SEO that tells your story and convinces your target market that you are the thought leader and the Knowledge expert to trust in your industry will attract clients., and sell products.
If your Thought Leadership articles, content marketing pages, and images are SEO optimized with a compelling Meta description and Meta keywords targeted at your core clients and services will drive prospects to consider you a valuable resource of information, which increases your credibility with them.
Website Design and Content marketing
Engages with Prospects to Grow Your Business Day after Day!
If you aren’t currently integrating content into your overall marketing strategy, now’s the time.
If you need help, contact us for construction industry marketing and content advice!
