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How much does it cost to develop original website idea?

by ckbank
23 replies
Hi everyone,

I'm basically wondering if anyone knows how much it would cost to develop your own website idea. For example, what would you pay someone to develop a forum similar in quality to this one? Or, how much would it cost to have an apartment listing website developed? You get the idea. I hope.
#cost #develop #idea #original #website
  • Profile picture of the author lilc800
    It depends on what your need done in order to make the website.

    If you need to hire a programmer to make you a custom script or Can you Just a Tweak a Pre made script?

    Also who you hire can effect how much it would cost.

    So I personally can't you that it would cost X Amount.
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    • Profile picture of the author ckbank
      Originally Posted by lilc800 View Post

      It depends on what your need done in order to make the website.

      If you need to hire a programmer to make you a custom script or Can you Just a Tweak a Pre made script?

      Also who you hire can effect how much it would cost.

      So I personally can't you that it would cost X Amount.
      Well, I was looking for a ballpark. Let's look at it this way? Can you create something decent with a couple of thousand dollars?
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        Originally Posted by ckbank View Post

        Well, I was looking for a ballpark. Let's look at it this way? Can you create something decent with a couple of thousand dollars?
        Go to any freelance site and just post the job. See what kinds of bids you get.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas W
    you should first develop your ideas on paper.. Then figure out how much it will cost in developing your idea.

    Right now your all over the place and should focus on one idea.
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    • Profile picture of the author ckbank
      Originally Posted by Thomas W View Post

      you should first develop your ideas on paper.. Then figure out how much it will cost in developing your idea.

      Right now your all over the place and should focus on one idea.
      Hmm. I'm sorry, but I gotta say something. Not that I don't appreciate your response, but I can rarely get a person on here to say, "This might cost this much. And this might cost that much. Approximately. Or this is how you do this."

      Why is it that 85 % people on this forum don't make an effort to answer the question being asked, but rather over-complicate it by acting like the OP isn't sure what he or she is asking, the OP can't handle a simple answer and etc.

      Here is a better example:

      OP: What are 3 ways to make money with affiliate marketing?

      Answer 1: Well, you have to first buy eBooks and learn some techniques and get a mentor and believe in yourself...blah...blah...blah.

      Answer 2: Affiliate Marketing is old news. You can't make money with it anymore.

      Answer 3: Well, here is the thing? You have to decide what techniques you want to use to make money with affiliate marketing.

      Answer 4: Go Broncos.

      Anybody know what I'm talking about? It's like every time I ask a question, simple or complex, 85 % of the people talk about things other than the question.

      Note: Thomas W., I do appreciate your answer and agree I need to have more concrete ideas, but it is also not smart to share, general or not, original ideas with others. And this is not a rant about your answer, it's just how I feel on this forum most of the time.
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  • Profile picture of the author squadron
    The value in sites like this one is the membership base and the content that membership generates. Forum sites like Warrior Forum, Blackhat Forum and Sitepoint are pretty ugly to look at, but they have great content generated by thousands of active members like you.

    You can build a decent web site for less than $1000, but what's important is the big idea behind it and building that user base.
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    • Profile picture of the author ckbank
      Originally Posted by squadron View Post

      The value in sites like this one is the membership base and the content that membership generates. Forum sites like Warrior Forum, Blackhat Forum and Sitepoint are pretty ugly to look at, but they have great content generated by thousands of active members like you.

      You can build a decent web site for less than $1000, but what's important is the big idea behind it and building that user base.
      Thank you Squadron. This is exactly the type of answer I was looking for.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        Originally Posted by ckbank View Post

        Hmm. I'm sorry, but I gotta say something. Not that I don't appreciate your response, but I can rarely get a person on here to say, "This might cost this much. And this might cost that much. Approximately. Or this is how you do this."
        The fault does not lie with the answers, but your question.

        The more specifics you can give, the better the answers you can get - but even then you have to apply the old "results are not typical."

        Your initial question mentions a forum like this one or an apartment listing site. Which is it? Both are very different and based on where you live and how fancy you want to get with them the price can vary by thousands of dollars.

        Depending on what type of company you hire, and a plethora of other factors.
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        • Profile picture of the author ckbank
          Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

          The fault does not lie with the answers, but your question.

          The more specifics you can give, the better the answers you can get - but even then you have to apply the old "results are not typical."

          Your initial question mentions a forum like this one or an apartment listing site. Which is it? Both are very different and based on where you live and how fancy you want to get with them the price can vary by thousands of dollars.

          Depending on what type of company you hire, and a plethora of other factors.
          Jill, don't get defensive please. This was not an attack on anyone. It's just how I feel about most answers. Instead of going around circles, the least a person can do is say, "an apartment listing website would cost you at least xxx dollars and a forum such as this one would be around xxx to develop. No need to beat around the bush and tell me I am not asking good questions.

          Do you believe there is a big difference between the following questions:

          How much would it cost to buy a car similar to a Toyota Camry or a Jetta?

          How much does a 2010 Toyota Camry cost?
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          • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
            Originally Posted by ckbank View Post


            Do you believe there is a big difference between the following questions:

            How much would it cost to buy a car similar to a Toyota Camry or a Jetta?

            How much does a 2010 Toyota Camry cost?
            Do you want air conditioning? Do you want standard or automatic? Do you want the built in CD player or would you rather convert back to a tape player? Do you want one with an original engine/miles or one with a rebuilt engine? Do you want the one that was in an accident and has a giant dent in it or the one that came off a lease?

            Yes - I am very specific about what I want the majority of the time. I believe there is a huge difference.

            Once you decide on a specific platform it can be a real hassle to change it down the road should you find the set up not doing what you need it to be doing.

            BTW - I prefer the old roll down windows. Less electronics = less things to go wrong.
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            • Profile picture of the author kenzik
              The reason people are telling you it depends is because it depends.

              As a software engineer who has worked for 15 years in the industry, I can tell you it really does depend.

              I am asked for estimates (in effort weeks/months) all the time. Depending on what is asked, I might answer anything from 10 days to 10 months. That's a VERY wide range in terms of costs.

              Here's another way of looking at how most folks are viewing your question:

              "What's the ballpark price on a house?"

              Think about all the factors that change the price:
              1) Location
              2) Sqft
              3) New Construction / Previously Owned
              4) Swimming Pool
              5) Ad Nauseam

              Let's take #1 for example. A 4000 sqft house could cost you several million in parts of California. The same size house in Texas might cost you $300k.

              Having a swimming pool, depending on size, could alter the price anywhere from $20k-$100k+!

              I understand your frustration with the many poor answers in this forum. In this case, however, it is your question that needs a little work.

              It truly does depend on the features you want on your site. I've seen $27 WSO do it for you sites. Some sites on eLance can go from $1k all the way up to $10k.

              So the original answer was quite accurate. It depends.

              Until you describe in pretty decent detail the types of features you want on the site, how you plan on doing the design (yourself? with a designer), no one can intelligently answer the question.
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              • Profile picture of the author ckbank
                Originally Posted by kenzik View Post

                The reason people are telling you it depends is because it depends.

                As a software engineer who has worked for 15 years in the industry, I can tell you it really does depend.

                I am asked for estimates (in effort weeks/months) all the time. Depending on what is asked, I might answer anything from 10 days to 10 months. That's a VERY wide range in terms of costs.

                Here's another way of looking at how most folks are viewing your question:

                "What's the ballpark price on a house?"

                Think about all the factors that change the price:
                1) Location
                2) Sqft
                3) New Construction / Previously Owned
                4) Swimming Pool
                5) Ad Nauseam

                Let's take #1 for example. A 4000 sqft house could cost you several million in parts of California. The same size house in Texas might cost you $300k.

                Having a swimming pool, depending on size, could alter the price anywhere from $20k-$100k+!

                I understand your frustration with the many poor answers in this forum. In this case, however, it is your question that needs a little work.

                It truly does depend on the features you want on your site. I've seen $27 WSO do it for you sites. Some sites on eLance can go from $1k all the way up to $10k.

                So the original answer was quite accurate. It depends.

                Until you describe in pretty decent detail the types of features you want on the site, how you plan on doing the design (yourself? with a designer), no one can intelligently answer the question.
                Thank you for that answer, but I think a lot of people are skipping the part where I asked if one can get a decent website for couple of thousand dollars. If I mentioned that number, it's likely I can only afford couple of thousand and maybe a few hundred more dollars.
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            • Profile picture of the author ckbank
              Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

              Do you want air conditioning? Do you want standard or automatic? Do you want the built in CD player or would you rather convert back to a tape player? Do you want one with an original engine/miles or one with a rebuilt engine? Do you want the one that was in an accident and has a giant dent in it or the one that came off a lease?

              Yes - I am very specific about what I want the majority of the time. I believe there is a huge difference.

              Once you decide on a specific platform it can be a real hassle to change it down the road should you find the set up not doing what you need it to be doing.

              BTW - I prefer the old roll down windows. Less electronics = less things to go wrong.
              I see what you mean Jill, but most luxury packages I know about on such cars are usually 1 or 2K more. That's about 10 % extra on a new car. If I could afford 1K on a project, I can probably go with 1.1K. Just saying. If you want less electronics, I'd go with a bicycle. LOL. Just kidding.
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        • Profile picture of the author Big Money
          Well, if you want a forum like this one it is run on V-Bulletin platform. V-Bulletin.

          V-Bulletin cost $249

          Pay someone to install it about $50

          Pay someone to customize it about $100 - 300


          So around $400-600 for a site like this.


          Then the massive amount of time and money to get the site off the ground.
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          • Profile picture of the author ckbank
            Originally Posted by Big Money View Post

            Well, if you want a forum like this one it is run on V-Bulletin platform. V-Bulletin.

            V-Bulletin cost $249

            Pay someone to install it about $50

            Pay someone to customize it about $100 - 300


            So around $400-600 for a site like this.


            Then the massive amount of time and money to get the site off the ground.
            Thank you so much Big Money. Such a great answer.
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  • Profile picture of the author RenderTheWeb
    Originally Posted by ckbank View Post

    Hi everyone,

    I'm basically wondering if anyone knows how much it would cost to develop your own website idea. For example, what would you pay someone to develop a forum similar in quality to this one? Or, how much would it cost to have an apartment listing website developed? You get the idea. I hope.
    This is very hard to tell you. You need a designer that can design the template for you which might cost X amount. Then you'll need a developer to make all the functions work that will cost Y amount. There's no ballpark price for anything as people charge for services in different currency's as well as they believe they are worth Z amount.

    Your best bet is to figure exactly what you are wanting to accomplish then look around.
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  • Profile picture of the author HarryBee
    Banned
    Thanks guys for these info, i really wanted this.
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  • Profile picture of the author jkibbles
    When you're looking into script-run sites, don't forget about the open-source solutions. While they may not exactly fit the bill, a lot of them can be tweaked to do the job. A couple years back I helped out a friend of a friend with a classifieds site. We started out with an open-source script, I did about 4 hours of coding work and a bit of playing with the css files, and ended up with a site that worked wonderfully well.

    I can't remember the name of the site off the top of my head, but as far as I know it's still purring along.
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  • Profile picture of the author freeadstime
    Your example didn't work very well. On one side you said original site, then you said similar to this forum. It is not a original idea anymore if it is similar to anything. In terms of price, a forum like this can be made for free, through open source CMS out there. The difficult part is to get the traffic.
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    • Profile picture of the author ckbank
      Originally Posted by freeadstime View Post

      Your example didn't work very well. On one side you said original site, then you said similar to this forum. It is not a original idea anymore if it is similar to anything. In terms of price, a forum like this can be made for free, through open source CMS out there. The difficult part is to get the traffic.
      You missed the phrase "similar in quality." Also, original doesn't have to mean design. You can have similar looking sites, but one can be original due to content or some other variable.
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  • Profile picture of the author jazzygelable
    The best way to get an idea about the possible cost is to contact programmers in Elance, Odesk and other freelancing sites. First, create a website brief detailing all your requirements in design and development. It doesn't have to be technical. Just a quick list of what you expect the site to do will do. Then, create a job posting and let the lead programmer or project manager (if you'd like to deal with a team) read the brief. You'll soon receive bids on how much the whole development cost.

    I have been working part time as a writer/project manager so I know how these things work. If you'd like to keep cost low, dealing with one freelancer is better. However, complex requirements require a team. If you want to work on a premade script, development will be faster.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dhanishta
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  • Profile picture of the author tylerjaysen
    yeah dude this post is a little vague...

    Simply because you need to express more of what you actually want.

    Do you want a site that also has a forum on it?
    Do you want someone to put in all the content for you?
    Do you need a webform and autoresponder setup?
    What are you selling..niche?
    Do you need a product too?
    Do you need a sales funnel?

    And on and on ......

    You should post your job on Elance and get people to bid on creating it for you. I'm assuming you have budget.
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