COST OF DEVELOPING A BUSINESS WEBSITE IN NIGERIA

The cost of developing a business website in Nigeria – One of the things we have learned since the inception of cyber technology is that websites are here to stay. They are no longer a luxury for businesses; they have become a necessity. Your website is where customers can always get valuable information at any time or day. You are probably reading this piece because you have become aware of some of the many benefits that accompany owning a business website and you will like to estimate the cost of having one.

In as much as we will like to swing our magic wand and give you a fixed cost, the many variables involved as made it impossible for us to do so. In actual Naira, the cost of building a business website could be less than ₦100,000 or more than ₦1,000,000 depending on the complexity of your website and infrastructure usage. Why is the range so wide? We’ll attempt to explain this by bringing your attention to the variables below.

1. Domain Name:

Your domain name is your digital address. As a Nigerian business, the “.ng and .com.ng” are more preferable. Except for the “.ng” extension that ranges from ₦12,000 – ₦15,000 per annum, the maximum amount to procure a domain name is ₦6,000 per annum. Since the hassles of getting a meaningful domain name are similar to those incurred when searching for an email address, you are advised to start the search for a suitable name as early as you can.

2. Hosting Fee:

If the domain name is likened to your digital address, this is your warehouse. It’s your website’s location on the internet. Depending on your bandwidth needs and traffic projection, there is a hosting plan for you.

The following are the types of hosting plans available:

• Shared hosting: This plan is suitable for startups. By putting multiple users on a server, this plan can go as low as $60- $100 (depending on the hosting firm) to website owners. Please note that your website might experience downtime if you or any of your co-users experience a surge in web traffic.

• VPS: Virtual Private Server (VPS) is an upgrade of shared hosting. They offer a higher bandwidth and are more resistant to website or server downtime caused by traffic surge. This plan is suitable for small to medium scale enterprises. The price ranges from $240 – $1000 annually.

• Dedicated Hosting: As the name suggests, this plan comes with a dedicated server for a business website. It is mainly for websites with guaranteed high traffic. The annual cost is from $1,000 – $10,000.
• Cloud Hosting: Regardless of your bandwidth needs or traffic projections, there is a cloud hosting plan for you. The annual cost can be as low as a $100 or as high as $10,000.

3. SSL certificate:

SSL certificates are not only needed for e-commerce websites. Having it on your website will definitely increase its ranking and make users trust it. The annual fee is from $10 to $300. Some hosting companies incorporate it in their hosting fee.

4. UI designer’s Fee:

Before a website’s code is written, its User Interface (UI) must be designed. This design is created with the end-users in mind. How will the website appear on a laptop, tablet and mobile phone? The UI designer will provide the visual answers for you. The alternative to hiring a UI designer is by using one of the free UI templates available on the web. While the option of using a template is alluring, it is not suitable for businesses intending to be unique. The cost of hiring a UI designer in Nigeria is from ₦30,000.

5. The Developer’s Fee:

If the UI designer can be regarded as the architect, the developer is the builder. A developer can either build your website from scratch or use a template. Building a website from scratch is costlier and also customization friendly. Depending on the complexity of your needs, you might need to hire a front-end developer and a back-end developer. A front-end developer handles the construction of what the clients see when they visit your websites and the back-end developer makes sure that users can log in, create and modify data on your website. The developer’s fee is largely determined by the features on your website and its size.

6. Marketing and SEO Optimization:

You have been following since the first line because you want to have a website that will improve your business. Regardless of the technical depth of your website, you can only benefit from your website if your clients (and prospective client) engage you on it. How can you be engaged by your clients if they don’t know that you have a website? By teaming up with a digital marketing agency, your business website will get the publicity and Search Engine Optimization it needs.

7. Recurrent Cost:

If you have been following from the first line, you can already predict some of the recurrent costs associated with owning a website. Yearly renewal of your domain name and hosting plan is mandatory. All things being equal, you might need to subscribe to a higher hosting plan as your web infrastructures increases.

Without the technical knowledge of website maintenance, you will also need to pay a periodic web maintenance fee to an agency or a group of individuals (content writers, Digital Marketers, a web developer and other professionals in the web development industry) to ensure that your website remains at the top at all times.

At this point, I am certain that you have a price range of the cost of developing a business website in your mind. Well, the best quotation that you can get without speaking to a web development agency or other related professionals is a range (a wide range at that). For the exact estimate required to build a website that will serve you and further your business interest, contact us at Lead Web Praxis and we will be ready to offer a free consultation.