To create a custom WordPress website allows you to have your website customized. And to create a custom WordPress website allows you to stand out from the crowd on the Web. Not to mention the power of blogging that gives you really strong SEO, which only WordPress can give you – more than any other platform.
fantastic. but how much does it cost to create a custom wordpress website?
That’s the question that few people I work with dare to ask.
And yet, to complete your project, it’s one of the most necessary and crucial expenses you’ll have to make. So it’s super important to talk about it up front so that you can anticipate the costs involved to create your custom WordPress website for your business plan.
So, I won’t make you wait any longer, to create a custom WordPress website made by a pro costs between 3000$ and… 500 000$!
Well, the maximum amount is random, I agree. But what are the reasons why I say that to create a WordPress website costs at least 3000$? Well, there are several.
For my part, there are 4 factors that determine the cost to create a custom WordPress website and I discuss them with you in our first conversation.
Here are the 4 factors:
inspiration:
websites that light you up for your wordpress website design
One of the first things I’m going to ask you for when designing your custom WordPress website is 2 or 3 other websites that get you tripping and inspire you to create your custom WordPress website.
In addition to being super important and exciting, this step also determines how visually complex you want your website to be. When you create a WordPress website, anything is possible, unlike other platforms. It really is. The sky is the limit! You can truly dream of anything to create your custom WordPress website.
Of course, the more visually complex it is to create the WordPress website, the more time it takes. This affects the costs.
We can create great looking, more conventional WordPress websites, and really funky ones that stand out from the crowd – depending on your branding and the image you want to convey. Don’t forget that you have to constantly think about your persona, your target audience – the people you’re talking to in particular: it determines the tone and visual of your WordPress website, as well as that of your branding. (I’ve already written an article about this, a “how-to-build-your-persona” guide).
special features:
what do you need on your wordpress website?
Do you want users of your custom WordPress website to be able to book appointments through a plugin? Would you like to add an events calendar? Want to add your portfolio? An online store? Learndash? Want to see your logo in a specific place?
All these features are special and it is necessary that you mention your desires and needs in order to create for your WordPress website during our initial conversation since some features are easier to find or create, and others are more complex and need to be coded and adjusted.
Because, yes, to create a custom WordPress website, I don’t fill in empty boxes: I code your requests from scratch, with HTML, CSS, PHP and sometimes a little JavaScript. Which make it cleaner, better and faster.
Also, in the world of WordPress, there are tons of extensions (“plugins”) available. There are free ones and there are paid ones.
When you ask me for a special feature to create your WordPress website, I always look at what is available for free and if the extension is of good quality. If it’s not what you’re looking for, I then look at the paid extensions. And if I don’t find anything (it happens, but it’s very rare), I code it.
Obviously, depending on how long it takes to create or find the special feature, there is an influence on the cost to create your custom WordPress website.
the time frame:
when you’d like to see your wordpress website online
Are you in a rush to create your WordPress website and see it online? Or are you flexible?
If you are flexible, time will not impact the cost to create your WordPress website.
If you are in a hurry, I will have to prioritize your project and make my other contracts wait. Also, I will have to work harder every day to make sure your custom WordPress website project is ready on time.
To give you an idea, to create a custom WordPress website usually takes between 6 to 8 weeks to design, once you give me all the necessary elements to design it such as your logo, texts, fonts you want, website colors, photos, etc.
It’s as simple as that: the time allocated to its design can have an influence on the cost to create the WordPress website of your dreams.
size:
how many pages does your wordress website contain?
How many pages do you need to create your WordPress website? Do you want your site in multiple languages like French, Spanish or another language?
Obviously, the number of pages is an important factor affecting the cost to create your WordPress website since it involves more or less coding and development in the end.
Usually, to create their WordPress website, people settle for a home page, an “about” page, a “product” or “service” page, a blog page (the strength of WordPress) and a contact page. That’s a basic total of 5 pages that you’ll usually find in WordPress website design packages.
If you have a portfolio and/or an online store, we add that too.
Of course, you also need to add a 404 page, a “terms of use” page, a privacy and cookies page, a landing page and others that could be added.
If you want to create your WordPress website in another language, in addition to English, you have to double the cost of the WordPress website design and code. You understand that all this has an influence on the cost to create your custom WordPress website.
so, how much does it cost to create your wordpress website?
You understand that the most important element that influences the costs related to create your wordpress website is the time needed.
Whether it’s visual complexity, special features, timelines, or number of pages, the link that ties it all together is time.
The longer it takes to create a wordpress website, of course, the higher the cost.
To be honest, to create a quality WordPress website with about 5 pages, without any special features, in 2021, it should cost you around $3000 or $4000 and takes up to 6 to 8 weeks to design because it takes a lot of man hours.
It’s a good investment, I agree. But your WordPress website works for you, represents you, shows who you are, what your product or service is and grows your branding. In 2021, a WordPress website is quite necessary in order to get a real credibility.
And don’t forget, with WordPress, all your creativity can be expressed!
The page is blank, let yourself go…
coaching you to define your branding and crafting custom websites for creative minds, that’s what i love!
Web Design Trends for 2021
The trends in web design for 2021 promise to cultivate more minimalism in all areas: color, typography, layout… And, of course, web design will remain strongly oriented towards “mobile first” — which means that adaptability to all screens and an optimized loading speed are a must.
In 2021, clean and attractive designs are key — as well as integrating new technological innovations for a stunning user experience. You can feel an emphasis on the arts, as well as custom design in the world of web design, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon.
No matter what the trend, designers need to adapt to their target audience to be able to give people what they need.
So here are the 9 essentials for 2021 web design.
1. custom web design
2. stand out with personalized illustrations
2019 will be remembered as the year of the personalized illustration in web design — and 2021 is sure to prove equally rich and diverse in its offerings.
To better stand out online, personalized illustrations are the optimal means of communicating: at a glance, they allow you to present what makes you unique and exclusive.
In the era of UI and UX, the use of illustrations has become common in many domains, including web Design. The work of artists and designers have a goal: to make the user’s experience as pleasant as possible, while also communicating the emotions and values of your brand, thanks to a dazzling design.
Collaborations with illustrators are increasingly frequent because art is such an asset to convey a message. It really brings a new dimension to web design.
3. let typography take over
Typography has always had a fundamental place in web design, but today, more than ever, people are taking a keen interest in it. It is finally being given the place it deserves.
This has important consequences for web design.
After years of stagnation during which only a few fonts were available online because of technological limitations, we are now in a new age, with the appearance of designers specialized in typography as applied to web design.
There is a strong fashion now for beautiful fonts: fonts full of personality, which can be used not just to create harmonious compositions thanks to artful combinations — but allow designers to evoke a whole range of expression that was hitherto rare on the web. Now designers can easily call on the full range of expressiveness of typography, with its bold, italic, “outline”, ALL CAPS, serif or sans serif variations.
In 2021 web design will see the triumphal return of huge serif fonts long cast aside for the heretofore de rigueur sans serif.
4. retro: never out of style!
Retro is still a big web design favorite. It has been a winning style for a long time, and it seems it will stay that way in the foreseeable future. The only things that change are the stylistic periods being revisited.
To make retro design work, it’s simple: all you have to do is to succeed in evoking a feeling of nostalgia in the website user. Like in all domains, it is feeling that captures attention, and in the case of web design, if you combine emotion with a functional modern interface, chances are you will be able to win the user’s heart!
A retro design with a modern touch adds dynamism to a website, and also makes navigating it a lot of fun for the user. Whether it’s a blog, a portfolio, an online shop, a company site, a retro design will endow it with a creative flair that can definitely grab the visitor’s attention and help you stand out.
In 2021, the two big trends in web design retro styles are: the generic “vintage” style and brutalism.
vintage retro
brutalism
5. a perfect duo: photo and illustration
An integral part of web design, professional photographs are now an absolute must for a pro look. The picture effectively conveys a message, whether it is about a person, a product, or an event.
Right now, the big trend with pictures is to combine them with 2D “handmade” illustrations. These replace or complement a part of the photograph, giving the image a playful style, with the two realities overlapping in an attractive web design for the user.
What’s more, you can use animation to great effect in web design:
6. isometric design
Isometric illustrations have been trendy for a few years already in web design, but they have evolved.
Often used in web design, designers love isometric illustrations because they allow them to illustrate objects in three dimensions, while keeping a “flat design” look.
In 2021, “motion design” is going to play a big role in web design. Taking into consideration that isometric design is naturally evolving towards animation — engaging the user in a cool immersive experience — this trend will continue for sure in the years to come.
7. go minimalist
For the past few years, minimalism has had a special place in people’s hearts… and has consequently become a major trend in web design.
Minimalist web design doesn’t necessarily refer to a specific esthetic, but rather to an attitude. In practice, what it means is that you use only the most essential elements to get the desired result, for a sleek, classy, uncluttered user interface.
Beyond the concept of “less is more” minimalism makes use of different techniques, like for example, a very simple color pallet, mindful use of typography, and leaving plenty of room in the website’s layout.
In 2021, minimalism and simplicity will continue to be useful approaches to attractively present online content.
8. impress them with awesome animations
In 2019, there are already many types of animations in the world of web design: screen loaders, animated (or dynamic) backgrounds, whole-page “motion”, dynamic menus, integrated gifs, HTML5 animations and more…
Animations impress, entertain, and amuse: they are definitely a must in current web design user experience. Illustrations, interactive details, dynamic effects — all of these things make web design special compared to what came before.
In 2021, micro-animations or micro-interactions will be used more and more in web design, to the joy of users everywhere.
9. tell your story
Background videos are a big trend in today’s web design landscape, and they are here to stay.
The goal of your website is to tell your story and a background video is super effective to help you create the right atmosphere.
Web designers use background videos to attract the users’ attention, but also to encourage them to stay on the website longer.
upcoming trends in the new few years
Cutting edge technology inevitably has an impact on web design, but what will the big innovations for 2021 and beyond be?
vocal user interface and accessibility
Being able to have a spoken conversation with the website you are visiting will soon be a reality in the world of web design! This is an exciting development and it will also potentially help the handicapped to browse the web.
chatbots
They are already available to answer users’ most frequent questions and to guide them in websites, advanced artificial intelligence technology will help chatbots evolve to better and better performances in the world of web design in 2021.
5G
The arrival of 5G super-fast networks in the next few years could allow web design to create unique and unforgettable mobile experiences.
virtual reality
Virtual reality is no longer just for sci-fi fans. It is being used for everything from training to entertainment. Integrating it into web design is the next step.
in a nutshell
Web design has evolved a lot in the past few years.
As you can see, 2021 promises to be a super creative year in the world of web design: awesome user experience, stunning visual designs, and mind-bending technologies are all going to contribute to making it special.
So, are you impatient as I am to see all these evolutions in the world of web design?
coaching you to define your branding and crafting custom websites for creative minds, that’s what i love!
3 steps to choose your color palette
choose a great color palette for your web design and branding to customize your website
Choosing a great color palette can be a really complex process and it’s definitely one of the biggest challenges in branding — especially if you don’t have any knowledge of or aptitude for design…
What colors to use for your branding? Do you know how to choose colors that combine well for an elegant and impactful look? Which part of your website should have which color?
Choosing and combining colors can be a very tricky game. The result can look harmonious, or it can look like a scene directly out of a horror movie! If you decide to avoid all colors, the website could look empty and flat. On the other hand, if you use too many colors in your web design & branding to craft your custom website, it could make it look… like a hot mess.
After designing several websites with WordPress and Genesis framework for solopreneurs and artists who didn’t have their branding figured out, I thought I would share three easy steps to help you determine your own color palette to use with your web design & branding to craft your custom website. These three steps are:
- 1. Choosing the right dominant color for your web design & branding to craft your custom website.
2. Combining colors that work well together to create your perfect color palette.
3. Choosing a background color that suits your branding.
And as a bonus:
- 4. Few examples of the use of colors for your custom website.
let’s take an example: coca-cola
If I ask you to think about Coca-Cola, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
It’s pretty hard to think about Coca-Cola without thinking about the red color of the logo, which is as much a part of Coca-Cola as the famous soda itself.
image via unsplash
Since the beginning of its history, the Coca-Cola logo has had several variations, but bright red and brilliant white have always been part of it, and for a good reason: Coca-Cola’s goal is to attract young consumers by distinguishing itself from its competitors with its bright colors.
Coca-Cola’s intense red has two main objectives: it’s a way to distinguish itself from its competitors, but also it triggers specific emotions (as every color does). For example, when people see the color red, it triggers emotional reactions related to excitement, boldness, love and passion. And, as you might have guessed, these are precisely the feelings Coca-Cola wants people to feel when they think about its famous product.
In the same way, when you choose the right color for your web design and branding to craft your custom website, you are doing more than just making it attractive: you are creating an unforgettable branding that will capture people’s imaginations. In fact, no matter what studies you read, everyone agrees that the color of a branding increases its recognition considerably and this recognition is directly linked to consumer confidence in your branding, and therefore in your product.
Now you’re probably thinking: “Wow! This is magic! Why don’t we use color more to our advantage?”
Well, because most people just don’t know how.
So in this blog post, I’ve decided to write about how to use colors to your advantage while crafting your web design and branding for your custom website.
1. choosing the right dominant color for your web design and branding to craft your custom website.
In web design and branding to craft your custom website, there are three main colors to consider:
- (1) A dominant color for your branding
(2) One or two secondary colors to create a color palette for your web design and branding to craft your custom website
(3) A background color to complete your design
And that’s about it!
The dominant color is the color of your branding – like bright red for Coca-Cola. It’s the color that will bring out certain emotions when users come to your website – like the passion, excitement, boldness and passion that Coca-Cola brings.
It’s the color you want your audience or customers to remember when they think of you.
You probably already know this: large companies don’t choose their dominant color for their logo and branding by chance. This color is strategically chosen for marketing purposes. Also, these same companies know that colors have the ability to attract specific types of consumers and can even change their behavior. You too can use different colors to your advantage to attract the type of customer you want.
Here’s a graphic to help you understand a little bit more about the psychology of colors.
image inspired from digital synopsis
Once you have a good idea about psychology of colors, you can take the time to select the one that best suits your business or decide how you want your website visitors to feel when they see your branding. If in doubt, I advise you to think it over and brainstorm or even work with a specialist to determine your branding, the image you want to project and also, the type of clientele (persona) you want to attract. (You want to you define your own persona?
Is your persone young and energetic? Or more sophisticated with a higher budget? Is your product or service for men or is it for women? From which age group?
The answers to these questions help you determine your persona and how to orient your branding and, in turn, help you determine the dominant color of your branding. Because, as you can see, not all colors are suitable for your business. For example, if you are a lifestyle photographer specializing in families and you emphasize on creativity and energy, yellow (optimism, passion), purple (creativity, imagination) or blue (confidence, reliability) are sure-fire.
Take time to think about your persona – your target audience – and their aspirations. What do they want and how are they perceived? Here is aa guide to help your build your persona. Because in choosing your dominant color and persona, you also need to consider the market segment of the product or service you are offering, as well as common practices and follow the appropriate codes – not just create emotion. Colors must also correspond to social codes and accepted business practices. Finding a persona is a strategic work that deserves careful consideration.
In other words, the color you choose is the color of your persona. If you want to attract people who love nature and tranquility, use green; if they want to be seen as young and bold, go for red; and if your target audience likes luxury products, go for black.
It’s a lot of psychology, but it’s a crucial step in your Web design and branding to customize your website.
how to use your dominant color on your website
Well, now that you have a dominant color for your branding, it’s time to use it on your website. But where? It’s really crucial to plan where to draw the attention of your website users, so don’t apply your dominant color randomly.
Here’s a general rule of thumb: your dominant color should only be used in a limited number of places where you want your website visitors to be really attentive. Or in places where you want users to perform certain actions (like following you on social networks, contacting you by email, viewing your portfolio, etc.). In principle, your dominant color is supposed to “shine”, i.e. to highlight the strategic places where you want your visitors to linger and to do so in a consistent way, without stunning them.
2. combine secondary colors to create your perfect color palette
For someone visiting your website, it’s a bit monotonous to present them with a single color on your entire site.
To make your Web design and branding more appealing (and also more professional) to craft your custom website, it is engaging for users to use secondary colors to highlight certain parts of your website that deserve attention, such as quotes, buttons or subtitles.
Well, let’s face it, combining colors for Web design and branding to create a custom website is not easy: you want to make sure that the colors match each other, you also have to keep in mind all the color theories and make several tries. It’s a long and precise step and I won’t hide from you that I’m super gigantic grateful to know that there is an indispensable tool to help me combine colors well (and also explore and discover trends): Adobe Color.
Of course, it’s a tool and it certainly doesn’t replace all the knowledge of a professional designer, but it can help to select secondary colors once your dominant color is established.
how to use your secondary colors on your website
So, now that you’ve selected your secondary colors, it’s a matter of determining where to strategically highlight them on your custom website. Since they are secondary colors, to be consistent, it’s quite simple: use them for content or elements that are not the focus of your website, but that you want to highlight nevertheless. For example, this could be the subtitle, information boxes, footer, etc.
The most important thing to remember is to limit yourself to one or two secondary colors. If there are too many, it becomes stunning and creates too many points of interest that may confuse the users of your custom website.
3. choose the background color of your website
Have you ever painted the walls of a house? If so, you’ve probably had to choose a color for the walls and you know that choosing the right color can be a real challenge! You want the color of the walls to make the room comfortable and enjoyable; it should be soothing enough that you will enjoy spending hours in it.
You’ve understood that choosing a background color is a bit like choosing a paint color for your walls at home! You want users of your website to feel comfortable and enjoy browsing it.
In order to properly select your background color, you must once again keep in mind the persona of your target clientele. If you had to choose the colors of the walls of a hip boutique or a cottage, would you choose the same colors?
Probably not, because these two spaces have two different objectives.
For example, in a clothing store, it’s a good idea to use bright colors to draw customers to the shelves while keeping the color of the walls neutral to create a contrast so that shoppers are instantly directed to the right place when they enter the store. On the other hand, in a cottage, you want to relax and they are looking for an overall soothing effect so that everything harmonizes: in fact, we are there for the breathtaking view of the landscape that we observe through the bay window, that’s for sure!
It’s exactly the same for the background color of your website: it all depends on what you want your users to see, and therefore on the objective of your website.
4. Few examples of the use of colors for your custom website
As I just explained, depending on the type of website you are shaping, colors are used in very different ways.
Here are a few examples:
content-driven information websites and online stores (e-commerce)
If you take the time to browse the Web a little, it’s quite striking that most information or e-commerce sites generally use white or a neutral background color.
In fact, the purpose of these types of websites is to promote ideas or products, so the focus is on content or products rather than on the design of the site. The background color is used to highlight the content and make it more readable.
In my humble opinion, the color palette to use for content-driven information websites or an online store is a white or light background with bright secondary colors that give the website its personality or a neutral color such as black to keep it low profile. In both cases, the light background color allows users to focus on the content or products.
my new roots‘ website (content-driven), where all the space is left to the colorful photos.
malai‘s website (boutique), where a lot of white is left to attract the eyes to the colored products.
corporate websites
Corporate websites generally have two purposes: to promote a product or to promote a service. The background color will therefore be different depending on the purpose of the website.
When designing a website that promotes a service or product, white or a neutral background color should be used. As with content-driven websites and boutiques, you want to draw attention to the content. By choosing a neutral or white background color, your content will naturally be highlighted.
paprika‘s website (portfolio), which emphasizes on a portfolio of projects arranged in colored boxes.
elegant websites and creative design-oriented websites
For websites used in the fashion, design, photography, restoration, beauty sectors… In fact, for any website coming from the creative world, there is no rule: anything goes. You can break all the rules of color and go your own way by keeping one thing in mind: don’t choose a background color that makes your text or content difficult to read.
peak’n film‘s website, which emphasizes on design and photos.
nate denton design‘ website emphasizes an art director’s sense of design.
The ideal background color, in my opinion, is the one that allows your content to be the focal point while harmonizing with your dominant and secondary colors, making the visual pleasant and memorable for your website users.
My tip: when in doubt, use white or very light gray as a background color; even if they are neutral colors, you can be sure that your content will always be highlighted.
conclusion
As you create your color palette for your web design and branding to craft your custom website, always keep these important points in mind:
- (1) Choosing the right color palette for your web design and branding to craft your custom website should never be based on your favorite color or intuition.
(2) A good web design and branding design to craft your custom website is one that always puts your persona first.
(3) Choose a color and design that appeals to your target audience to create a striking association and set you apart from your competitors.
(4) The choice of colors should not be random at all. On the contrary, it should be a series of organized exercises with targeted objectives.
Then the 3 key steps:
- (a) combine your web design and branding to craft your custom website with the right dominant color ;
(b) associate the dominant color with the secondary colors using the Adobe ;
(c) associate the background color with your dominant and secondary colors.
This way, you can create a good color palette with your web design and branding to craft your custom website – even if you think you don’t have a design sense!
The right website color schemes give your brand and design energy and life. PikWizard’s Website Colour Schemes For Web Designers In 2021 explains how colors drive your message home and make your brand more memorable. To make the best impression, you need to choose the right color scheme for your website.
Don’t be afraid to use color in your web design and branding to craft your custom website!
Here is the color palette of Geneviève Fournier Design.
coaching you to define your branding and crafting custom websites for creative minds, that’s what i love!
