Irrespective of the languages that your client needs on his website, don’t shop for the cheapest LSP (language service provider). Nothing ruins your client’s reputation faster than an awkward, culturally unacceptable or incorrect translation.

Among famous translation snafus:

“Got Milk?” was translated for Mexico as “Are you lactating?”

Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”

However I feel:
a) Mentioning ”INDIA” was not required. Like other heading viz. Templates, Freelancers, Firms, this too could have been “Remote Firm” or some generic term.

b) Also delivery time can have an impact on the cost… Customer sometime want super quick delivery which means deploying additional resources, stretched working hours etc….

Although I agree with most of your post, I beg to differ with your “India” point.

We are based in Bangalalore and have developed thousands of websites for US Auto dealers and have nearly 6 % of the US market share in this vertical.

Although, it may be possible that a few of the overseas firms may not have their designers “attuned” to the US culture, but as long as you are dealing with a professional design firm, it makes no difference if the firm is based in India or Timbactoo!

As for Dreamweaver, I’ve heard the latest version is good, but it most definitely should not be your only tool. I’ve actually managed to stay away from it and intend to moving forward…looking at straight code is just far more elegant to me!

Also, I wanted to say that I agree with George Sweet’s post. Just because someone is a freelancer, doesn’t mean that it will take too long or quality would suffer. Most freelancers know they need to keep their clients happy because their whole business relies on them. They don’t have the comfort of relying on others to make up for their mistakes or keep the clients satisfied. Also, a freelancer doesn’t have the same overhead of large firms that pay for offices, cleaning crews, and sometimes secretaries and other non-design staff.

Even though most freelancers won’t be able to have the same knowledge base as a large firm would have to satisfy all of their client’s needs, most freelancers have connections to other freelancers that can do small side work on specialized areas.

Most business owners don’t grasp the idea that their website IS their storefront/office to people who have never visited their store/office. You don’t want to sacrifice quality for cost. You should want everything organized and easy to find. The example I sometimes have used with potential clients is that an unorganized/unattractive website is like having an unorganized store with your products in random places and laying all over the floor, with their cash register hidden in a back room.

I mostly hate seeing websites designed by the business owner. A business owner designing their website is like a business owner building their office building, and doing their own wiring and plumbing. It just doesn’t make sense so let the experts take care of it.

One last opinion – A web designer that has to use Dreamweaver is not a web designer. A good web designer can design a website with a word processor. If any business owners read this, please keep that in mind when hiring a web designer.

This question comes up a lot, and like you said is so hard to answer. A web “site” can mean many things to many people, and the capabilities you want built in are also a factor. Are we building a content management system? A custom application with a database back-end? A straight set of web pages? Add a little social media to the mix and all of a sudden there’s more than just a few options.

I agree with Denise’s post about considering who you want to reach with your web site. It’s so important to understand that the site is simply not about your business — it’s about who you want to reach.

I actually wrote on this very topic in our blog in a post entitled, “The Web Design Process: Building a Meaningful Web Site for Your Business”. I tried to speak to the business user and the kinds of things to consider when outlining a web strategy. Would love for you to check it out and provide your feedback!

There are so many factors, as listed in the comments above, that affect the development costs. One item not listed above is the implementation of data and customization of even already created content managed systems and/ or templates. So often the client thinks that because something appears “simple” on a website, it is simple to create. There may be a lot of data involved behind the scenes that cause the website to function in a precise manner.

The better questions for even startups to consider include “what do I want to accomplish with my website?”, “who is the person I am trying to reach?”, “what budget can I work with?”, and, as mentioned above, know what you can bring to the table in content, graphics, logo, and input.

Websites are a critical part of most business marketing strategies and should be created to set your best image forward with your online clients. As with most marketing, cutting corners to save a little can affect your client image a lot in the long run.

Also, of the four options you listed, Freelancers are the most likely to be willing to negotiate on the price, or put off immediate profits for future returns.

That is how I price my work. Generally set up is provided at cost to the client. I then must rely on the quality of my work and their satifaction with it, to sell them on buying additional services or requesting additional design work down the road. So when someone asks me “What does a web site cost?”, I simply answer “They start just under $300 and go up from there.”