How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Web Developer?

Website development is the primary step for any business to digitalize its services. Currently, there are 1.14 billion websites in the world. Not only that, with every passing second, three more websites are popping up on the internet. At this rate, it is no surprise that you, too, are looking to hire web development services. After all, 24/7 availability and exposure to a global audience are unprecedented opportunities for your business growth.  

Now calculating how much does it cost to hire a web developer is not an easy task, mostly because no two websites are alike. Based on your business requirements and other factors, you can create a close estimate for your budget. This is what we’re doing with this blog post. Here we have uncovered every factor you should consider before deciding the cost to hire a web developer for your tailored web development project. 

What Are the Factors That Affect the Cost of Hiring a Web Developer

Deciding how much does it cost to hire website developers depends on a variety of factors, including the type and complexity of the website, the timeline of the project, and the selection of the technology stack. Let’s dive deeper into all these factors to estimate the cost of your project. 

Different Types of Web Development Projects  

The foremost factor to consider while estimating the cost to hire a web developer is the type of your web project. While there are many categories, your project can fall into, and more often than not, your entire project will have a combination of these categories. But for the sake of calculating a simple cost to hire a web developer, we have discussed the seven major web project categories below: 

• Informational Websites 

These are the most basic websites that can be made even with a single webpage. Even multi-page informational websites only have hyperlinks directing either to a different section of the same page or a new page. Here the users only land to gain some information and then leave the website without making any changes to it. Since the content of such websites is only text and images, it only requires a front-end to show that content and a back-end to store the same. With these simple functionalities, a static informational website can be developed by a junior-level developer with low per-hour rates. 

• Business Website 

These are the websites that are part static and informational and part dynamic. These are also among the most popular websites in today’s digitalization era. Business websites are used for marketing the offerings of a service company. The most common pages you can find on such websites include the homepage, service landing page, about page, portfolio, and contact page.  

Many such websites also contain a blog section, but its content, too, is uploaded from the back end only. The major difference between a business website and a simple informational website is an interface to enter visitors’ input. This can be for signing up for a newsletter or submitting a contact form. Since these details are important for businesses, the website needs to be integrated with a CRM system, which increases the development complexity of such a website by a little. 

• Blogs/News 

These are, again, a subtype of informational websites, but since they are built primarily for reading purposes, they have a different layout and sometimes may contain files in PDF or other readable formats embedded into the HTML page. Other than this, such websites may also contain a form for users to sign up for newsletters. These features require an experienced web developer, making these projects a little more expensive than the former two. 

• eCommerce Website 

eCommerce websites are among the most extensive web projects and require developers with various skill sets and extensive experience. These websites take an entire storefront of a business on the internet. This requires not only the images of the products and description but a virtual cart and a module for safe payment and delivery tracking as well. Since eCommerce websites are so vast in their scope and functionalities, many even consider them not a website but web applications, another web project we’ll discuss later. Regardless, it is clear that an eCommerce website development is no small task, and it would take not one but a team of developers to reliably close this project. 

Also Read: How to build an eCommerce Website?

• Online Forum

The online forum is a client-side website where the server side only exists to provide an interface and showcase user-generated data. The most common example of online forum projects includes Reddit, Tumblr, Quora, and Stack Overflow. In all these platforms, users and visitors are presented with the functionality to start a new topic or interact/comment on the existing topics posted by other users. Such websites require huge data repositories since anyone on the internet has the facility to upload content here, and they expect the platform to make that content available 24/7. It is clear that online forums are no simple websites, and they, too, require the development efforts of an entire team of project managers, multiple developers, and QA engineers. 

• Web Application 

A web application is a piece of software that runs on a web browser. Some popular examples of web applications are Netflix, YouTube, word processors like Google Suite and SharePoint, and email platforms, like Gmail, and Yahoo, etc. These web apps are built with a purpose and core functionality. For example, in the case of Netflix, the objective is to stream videos and monetize this service. To support this objective, the app also offers personalization services, an authentication facility, parental control, etc. Since these web projects are way more dynamic and functional than normal websites, they, too, require a complete web development team. 

Web Developer Based on Technology Stack 

A website is a composite product of two parts- the front-end, the client-side, and the back end, the server side. For both parts, you will need different technology stacks and consequently different kinds of web developers. For front-end development, you will want to calculate how much it does it cost to hire a web developer in front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, Vue, JavaScript, Bootstrap, etc. Similarly, for back-end development, you will need programmers in languages like MySQL, PHP, Perl, etc. 

That being said, you would most probably want to hire developers for a complete web development project. In such a case, it is ideal that you hire a full-stack developer instead. As the name suggests, full-stack developers are the ones that possess skills and experience in both front and back-end development. Here are some of the more popular stacks for complete web development projects. 

• MEAN

Considered as the best web development stack, MEAN is ideal for web projects that are meant to run on multiple platforms. The stack consists of Angular for front-end development, Node.js for cross-platform functionality, Express.js for back-end, and MongoDB for non-relational database management. 

• MERN

MERN is also a great stack for multi-platform support and consists of mostly all the same technologies for the pre-mentioned purposes. The only difference between the MEAN and MERN stacks is that the latter replaces Angular with React. This transition makes MERN stack more effective since it gets additional library functionalities like JavaScript XML, Virtual DOM, etc.  

• LAMP 

LAMP as a stack is used more often for website maintenance and upgrades than to build a website from scratch. The technologies used in the stack include Linux, Apache server, MySQL database management system, and PHP programming language.  

• Serverless Stack

The ever-growing adoption of cloud computing services for both application usage and development has led to the birth of this web development stack. As the name suggests, the stack does not use on-premise servers. The entire development takes place in a cloud infrastructure with programming languages and database systems available on the chosen cloud service provider. Since the cloud itself is a more cost-effective technology for most digitalization services, the serverless stack is also considered among the cheaper and more effective technology stacks for web development. 

The Complexity of the Website Project 

This one is a no-brainer, yet an essential factor in calculating the cost of hiring a web developer. The complexity of a project can be categorized into three kinds- 

• Basic One-page Website 

These are the most basic websites that only contain one page with a button to submit a form or raise a contact request. These pages are ideal for a new product launch and single-page portfolios. Usually, a junior-level developer can create such a website within a couple of days, charging 15-40 USD per hour of their service. 

• Simple CMS Website

 Not all websites are equally challenging to make. In fact, making websites through CMS platforms like Joomla and WordPress is the easiest. A dynamic multi-page website that otherwise would take months to make can easily be completed within weeks through such platforms. You can easily hire WordPress and other CMS website developers at an average hourly rate of 30-75 USD. 

• Enterprise-level Website

When you develop a website for an enterprise, even simple five pages need to be developed and coded from scratch to maintain coding and security standards. This makes enterprise websites comparatively more time and resource-consuming. These websites are developed using languages like .NET, Python, Ruby, and variations of PHP frameworks. Regardless, you can still easily find dedicated resources for these websites based on your requirements and budget. For example, you can easily hire a Laravel developer for an Hourly average rate of 75-150 USD.

Hiring a Web Developer As Per Different Locations 

One may think that skills would be charged equally regardless of location. This, however, cannot be farther from the truth. Location is one of the most consequential factors when it comes to calculating how much does it cost to hire a web developer. Here is a brief overview of the same. 

• Hiring Web Developer in the US 

The United States is one of the most expensive places on earth to hire a web developer from. The primary reason for this is the high cost of living in the country and the consequent high wages. In the US, the general range for web developers varies from 40 to 120 USD per hour, based on the seniority of the developer. 

• Web Developer in Western Europe

Second in line when it comes to expensive web developers in entire west Europe. The reason here remains the same, the high cost of living and wages make it impossible for web development companies to offer their services any cheaper. Here the range for hiring web development talents is from 30 USD to 80 USD per hour. 

• Web Developer in Eastern Europe

If western Europe is still a bit too expensive for your web development project, you can consider hiring your talent from eastern Europe. Here, you can hire a web developer for as less as 20 USD per hour to 45 USD per hour. 

• Hire Web Developer in Asia

When it comes to calculating how much does it cost to hire web developers, Asia is the friendliest place for your pocket. The lower wages and cost of living and the region’s unparalleled thrust in software development education have made it a hub for all things related to IT development. When it comes to web developers, you can hire them for as less as 15 USD per hour. The upper range for hiring web developers here, based on seniority, is 40 USD per hour. 

How To Hire a Web Developer 

To calculate more accurately how much does it cost to hire a web developer, you need to factor in the hiring model as well. In this section, we uncover different ways you can hire a web developer and which of the various model would be more beneficial for your cause. 

Hiring Freelancing Web Developers 

Since web development is a digital service, you can easily hire freelancers to develop your website online. There are many platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, LinkedIn, etc., from where you can hire these resources at a commission rate. The chief concern about hiring freelancers for web development is a lack of commitment and assurance. 

Outsourcing a Web Development Company 

If you want reliable services, outsourcing a web development company is the best option. You can hire dedicated programmers directly with most such companies. Some of these companies would even let you augment your existing staff for web development. Such remote hiring services will enable you to work with a dedicated web developer, at the same cost but with greater reliance. 

Conclusion 

As you can see, when it comes to finding the cost to hire a web developer, there are way too many factors to come up with one figure. However, if you really want to calculate the cost of your project, what you can do is request a quote from a reliable web development company. Matellio is one such company that offers not only a free quote for your web development project but a complete project plan and timeline too. All you need to do is fill out this form with your requirements. Our experts will then conduct a feasibility analysis and create a project plan for you. Alternatively, you can also book a free consultation call with them. They will solve all your queries in a 30-minute consultation session so you can frame your technical requirements more clearly.