You have made the decision to have a website developed for your business and you’re probably wondering how much does it cost to hire a web developer? The short answer is, the cost of hiring a web developer generally varies. It is just like hiring a motor mechanic. While some can charge really high, some can be pretty cool with their rates. However, the thing with hiring a web developer is that rates don’t tell expertise. Simply put, expensive doesn’t mean the best.
Ultimately, you should bear in mind that website costs differ according to types. The point here is that the type of website you are looking at creating determines the overall cost of your project. Some types of custom websites like some eCommerce sites and portals will typically cost more than the regular ones like say a blog.
Other cost determinants might include location and experience of your potential web developer.
What Type of Website?
Type of website you are looking at developing is a factor to take into consideration when hiring a web developer. Websitebuilderexpert.com identified some 11 most popular types of websites. They include:
- Blog
- Business
- Brochure
- Crowdfunding
- Ecommerce
- Educational
- Media/Entertainment
- Nonprofit
- Personal
- Portal
- Portfolio
But, we can just classify everything into two categories – basic and custom websites.
Custom websites apply when you are building a website from scratch or even modifying an already existing one. Typically, building a website from scratch involves a lot of coding and planning. That revs up the cost more than if you were building a basic website.
At the end of the day, no matter why type of website you are building, it is important that you make a responsive website as that is one of the top 20 SEO ranking factors.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Web Developer in Canada?
A careful study of hourly rates of web developers on international job sites like upwork.com, fiverr.com revealed that the average web developer on these platforms charge $75 per hour for their services.
The average hourly rate for a web developer in Canada is $50. More specifically, the cost of developing a basic website in Canada can range from $900 – $5,000. Cost of developing a custom website is usually not simple to calculate. The average cost charged for developing a full custom website is by the nature of the project. That is basically the programming language required and the amount of time estimated to be spent on the project.
What we think is that a web developer should charge for his service based on his expertise, living expenses and other applicable business costs.
For a web developing company, costs of projects should be thematically determined by the amount of resources going into the project. While some basic projects might demand just one or two guys with help of some interns, another might demand all in-house resources to get it done. So basically, this boils down to the category of website your client is requesting for.
Where Do I find Web Developers in Canada?
Finding the right web developer for your project could be quite a task if you don’t already know where to look. Lucky for you, we have a few helpful pointers for you.
1. Recommendations
Recommendations should be number one on your list of places to look when in need of an experienced web developer to handle your project.
If you are a big business and you’re looking to go all out and hire a team of web developers, your best bet is to hire a web development company by recommendation. You can ask people in your networks who built their sites for them. That way you get firsthand experience of your potential web developer’s competence level before deciding to hire.
2. Stack Exchange
Stack Exchange is a booming web developers’ hangout. They come together on Stack Exchange to share ideas and help each other. This is an equally a great place to look. That way you get to make a wide guess of their competence based on the problems they helped to solve.
3. Toptal
While Stack Exchange is an open community for everyone, Toptal is a closed web freelancers’ community. The good thing about this is that Toptal seeks to connect clients to only the best freelancers. In a bid to keep in only the best, they accept only the top 3% developers applying to join the platform.
4. Guru
Guru is another platform where clients can connect with potential web developers for their projects. Guru is a better option for those attempting to create a website on a tight budget. Guru platform allows you to post your project for web developers to bid.
5. Upwork, Fiver etc.
Although these international micro job sites are not limited to web developers only, they are great places to find experienced web developers for your project. The freelancers’ review feature of these sites also helps you to guess the level of competence and the quality of their work even before you contact or hire them.
Conclusion
Hiring managers are often plagued with the task of hiring a web developer or company but it doesn’t have to be so overwhelming. Following this guide will help you understand what category your project falls and where best to look for your potential web developer. Knowing the answer to the question of how much does it cost to hire a web developer ensures you don’t get charged more where you should be paying less.
If you’ve hired a web developer or perhaps a web developing company, where did you find them and how were you charged? Please share with us in the comment section below.