How Much Does a Website Redesign Cost?

Redesigning a website is an amazing task, bringing fresh ideas and the opportunity for a fresh start.

But, the redesign process can be an overwhelming one. How much does a website redesign cost?

Website Redesign Costs $1,000 - $70,000

The consensus is that a full redesign costs anywhere from $1,000 to $70,000, depending on a few factors. Before we crunch the numbers, let's first understand the business case for a website redesign.

Reasons Your Business Might Need a Website Redesign

There are many reasons your business may need a website redesign, including:

Branding

A website redesign is a great way to brand or rebrand your company and create a cohesive look and feel throughout its marketing materials.

Reduce Bounce Rate

An outdated or cluttered design can make visitors feel overwhelmed, which leads to them leaving the site quickly. A high bounce rate will drastically affect your conversion rate, which is one of the most important metrics when doing business online.

Increase User Engagement

Poor UX design (user experience design) can lead people away from using your site. With an updated design, you'll be able to increase engagement by making it easier for users to navigate your site. Users can find what they need without distraction from unnecessary elements like ad banners or pop-ups.

Increase Sales

The goal of any business should be increasing conversions, especially for eCommerce sites that rely on converting potential customers into paying ones. Redesigning your online store may help improve conversion rates because it ensures easy access across all desktop and mobile platforms.

The Web Redesign Process

When deciding how to redesign your website, you must understand what type of project you're embarking on. In this context, "website redesign" means something different than it does when discussing a business or organization that needs a new website built from scratch.

The first step in any website redesign is the planning phase, where all the details are ironed out. What are we trying to accomplish with our website? Who is our target audience? How will users find us online? Does the website have a good UX design?

Only after answering these questions can work begin creating an actual visual design for the site that meets these requirements.

Designers work with marketing managers within an organization to lay this groundwork. Following the visual design, developers start building out components like database backends so they can integrate them into existing CMS software platforms like WordPress.

Website Redesign Scope and Costs

The scope of your website redesign will depend on what you want to achieve. If you're only looking for a more attractive design, you'll probably need minimal changes to the existing structure and content. However, if you want to completely change your business model or target audience, it will require more structural changes and new content creation.

Redecoration $1,000 - $5,000

Website redecoration is the most basic type of redesign and involves minor changes to your site's appearance. These changes might include changing the layout or adding a new feature like testimonials or an FAQ section. Redecorating can be done quickly and inexpensively, but with only limited results.

Rewiring $5,000- $15,000

Rewiring is an overhaul of your site's code, often removing all existing code from the site and adding new code from scratch. It usually involves changing database structures and making significant changes to database queries for performance reasons.

Remodeling $15,000- $30,000

If you don't want to go for an entirely new look but would still like some changes made, remodeling may be right for you. It combines aspects of rebuilding and redecoration by taking an existing design and updating it with new styles and features while keeping the core structure intact.

Rebuilding $ 15,000- $70,000

If you want a complete change of direction for your website, rebuilding is the best option. A rebuild will involve creating a completely new design from scratch. Website rebuilding gives you full control over every aspect of the site architecture and functionality so that it meets your exact needs. 

Rebuilding is not recommended for most sites because it is time-consuming and expensive. However, this may be the right solution if you have many pages with poor performance or security issues like cross-site scripting.

Factors That Affect the Cost of Web Redesign 

The cost of a website redesign can be as simple as a few thousand dollars or as complicated as tens of thousands. That's because the price depends on many factors:

The Project's Complexity and Scope

Is your site taking into account all of your business needs? Does it need to accommodate mobile users, search engines, and other devices? Will the redesign include completely new functionality (such as eCommerce)? These things will affect how long the project takes and how much you pay for a website redesign.

Your Goals for this Particular Project (or Set of Projects)

Are they long-term? Do they involve increased sales revenue? If so, those factors should also determine costs since they'll affect how much time developers spend meeting them versus focusing on other areas like aesthetics alone.

Content Management Systems

If you have a content management system (CMS) with hundreds or thousands of pages that need to be transferred over, it's likely to take some time for the developer to do so. You may have to pay more fees since there would be no quick way to transfer all those files from one website platform to another without additional technical assistance.

Databases

Another factor affecting how much your redesign will cost is whether or not your current site uses databases or other forms of database-driven content delivery systems. These types of sites tend to require extra work before they can function properly under another CMS platform.

DIY vs. Freelancer vs. Agency

If you're good at design work and have the time, it's probably cheaper to do it yourself. But this approach requires a skill set that many entrepreneurs lack.

Hiring an experienced web design freelancer can cost upwards of $50–$150 per hour for someone who knows what they're doing. Expect to pay even more if you want them to consult with you for an entire project. However, this is still significantly cheaper than hiring an agency or consultant.

If you want a website that works well across multiple devices and has a lot of functionality built into it—like eCommerce capabilities—then working with an agency may be your best bet. They'll also be able to advise on things like SEO and content marketing strategies that are essential components in today's online business world.

How to Estimate Web Redesign Costs

Cost = (Scope of Work) x (Average Hourly Rate) + (Estimated Overtime Hours)

Scope of Work – This is the total number of hours it will take to complete all tasks related to your website redesign. For example, if you want a new homepage with a slider and parallax effect, that could take two weeks.

If you also want three additional pages with modern designs, that may take another two weeks. So designers and developers will have four weeks of work to complete before the launch date.

Average Hourly Rate – The average hourly rate varies depending on experience and location, but an expert designer usually costs $50-$150 per hour.

Assuming a 40-hour work week, the costs of the redesign project would be $8,000 (40 x 4x 50) on the lowest end and $24,000 (40 x 4 x150) on the highest end.

Why Web Redesign Costs Are Rising

Web design costs are rising because designers are improving their work. As the industry has matured, more and more people are getting on board, creating competition for both clients and designers and driving up prices.

It's also important to remember that web design is a complex process with many variables. Designers and developers must consider compatibility with different platforms (desktop, tablet, and mobile), operating systems (Windows vs. OSX), browsers, digital advertising best practices, and so on.

Designing a site that works well across all these platforms requires extra technical knowledge and time spent by the designer learning about all those things in the first place!

And when new technology enters our lives (think responsive design), designers must learn how to adapt their skills or risk losing out on business opportunities due to a lack of familiarity with emerging trends. Learning takes both time and money.

Web Redesign Return on Investment 

If you make your site accessible, usable, secure, and findable, you will get a good return on investment. A website with a proper UX design increases customer loyalty and sales by making the online shopping experience more user-friendly.

Designing a website where people can easily find what they want while maintaining an aesthetic appearance is difficult. Therefore, if you want to create a successful site design that will help your business grow in the future, you must invest in the right teams.

Set Your Goals and Budget to Get Started

With all the factors to consider, it's no surprise that web redesign costs can vary wildly. The bottom line is that you need to calculate your needs and weigh them against the cost before making any decisions. Finding a web designer who can work with your budget while meeting your project goals is key to getting the best results possible.