There is a problem with this question. Can you spot it?

Here's a hint: amazon.com, google.com, and abilityseo.com are all websites, but they have very different price tags. They cost vastly different amounts to build, and vastly different amounts to market.

If you are asking, "how much should I pay for a website", you are probably a small business owner or one of the founders of a startup or other new business. Perhaps it felt intuitive to you that your business needs a website. "You have a business, therefore you need a website," you think. I'd like to challenge you to think a little deeper.

Your businesses probably does not need a website. Businesses that deliver products through the Internet need a website. Google can't deliver the results of your search without a website. Amazon cannot show you all of the products you can chose without its website. But if your business does not deliver through the internet or provide the service of shopping through the Internet, your business probably does not need a website. But you'll probably want to have one anyway, but for a different reason.

Your business needs clients. You need someone to buy your products and services. You need their attention and their trust or you will not be able to stay in business. You don't need a website, but you do need a way to get the attention and trust of the people whom you wish to serve. A website can be a good way to do that.

You might want a website to be a part of what you do to attract attention and gain trust of the people you wish to serve. If you do, then you can ask a different question than, "how much should I pay for a website". You can ask, how much should I spend to get the attention and trust my business needs? And how much should I spend to build a website that will be a part of that process?