How much will it cost?

“What will Summersault’s services cost?” Believe us, we’d love to answer this very reasonable question with a very simple answer.

The reality is that each client and project that Summersault takes on is different, and we know that the cost of our work can vary widely depending on what we’re being asked to do.  In general, we think this is a good thing for our clients; it means that each quote we put together is customized specifically for their needs, and can be adjusted to meet project requirements, budget constraints and resources needed to deliver a successful result.

We also know that it can be a bit off-putting to even begin a conversation about having Summersault help you with your project if you don’t have a sense of potential costs involved.  So we’ve put together this page to give you an idea of what a creative project with Summersault could cost.  (Note that our web hosting services have a standard pricing structure – no guess-work there!)

General Pricing Notes

There are a couple of notes that apply to all of the projects we take on:

• We will probably not be the lowest bidder for your project.  Summersault brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and technical skill to each project we work on, and we’re focused on creating elegant solutions that are scalable and effective over time.  If you just want the cheapest option possible and don’t care about things like quality, security, maintainability, browser compatibility, etc., we probably aren’t a good fit.  If you care about doing things the right way the first time, we think you’ll find us to be a great value.
• We’ll save you money by clarifying your requirements up front.  When you’ve got a great idea and you’re excited to make it a reality, it can be tempting to want to just start a project and then work out the details along the way.  In our experience, though, most projects started without a clearly written out requirements document end up costing much more to implement than if they’d had that document in place first.  Even small changes in the desired design or usage model for a project can translate to hundreds or thousands of dollars in additional costs to make once the project is nearing completion.  Yes, this planning can take time and yes, we may even ask you to pay us for our role in it, but we know that in the end we’re adding value and keeping your overall costs down with this approach.
• The more we know about your budget, the better we can recommend an appropriate solution.  We know that it’s complicated to share your budget with a potential vendor, and we respect that some organizations can’t or won’t do this.  But the more we know about what constraints and resources you have to meet your project requirements, the more we can help you find a solution that fits best.  In some cases we can even offer discounts or payment plans to accomodate your financial situation.  (And if you’re concerned we might max out your stated budget just because we can, are you sure you want to trust us with any part of your project at all?)

If you’re looking for a basic informational website using a pre-designed layout with text and image content that you can update yourself when we’re done building it, you should expect to spend at least $1,000 to $2,000.

If you need a custom design created just for your site, that could add another $1,500 to $3,000.

If you have lots of content or images to be wrangled for use in the new site, that could add $500 to $1,000 or more depending on the quantity.

If you need significant training or consultation during or after the building of the site, or if you need our help coordinating project efforts with an IT department or third-party hosting service, that could add $500 to $750 more.

As noted above, every estimate is customized for a given project, and cost may vary greatly depending on your specific needs.

Other Website Features

Having more custom, complex or interactive features means that Summersault spends more time finding, building or configuring the tools or software required to meet those needs.

If you want to add online commerce and shopping to your site, that could add $750 to $1,500 or more, depending on the kinds of products/services you’re selling, the payment and shipping options you’re offering, and what kind of shopping experience you want users to have.

If you need to add special social media integration, online scheduling or calendaring, document uploads and management, etc. each feature could add $250 to $500.

If you need functionality that isn’t available in existing third-party software and want us to build it for you, your costs would probably start at $30,000 and would then depend on just what functionality you need. If you’re looking to build a high-profile national or international web presence with custom features, you could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

Other Creative Services

Summersault can create logo and branding materials for you, and help you include them in business cards, brochures, posters, folders, mailings and more.  We can also help you turn your broad vision for a website project into a specific blueprint to implement.

Blueprinting services, working with your rough sketch and turning it into something we can build, usually start at $1,000.

Creating several different logo designs and working with you to refine them into a final selection could cost $500 to $1,500 depending on what kind of vision you’re starting with.

Business card design might require $250 to $500, while a tri-fold brochure might be $500 to $1,500.

Other kinds of creative services and consulting are billed at an hourly rate.

As noted above, every estimate is customized for a given project, and cost may vary greatly depending on your specific needs.

Ready to get specific?

Again, the above cost information is provided to give you an initial sense of what kinds of price ranges might be involved in a project with Summersault.  The actual quote we put together for you will be based on your specific project needs and requirements, and we’ll always do what we can to come in under your desired budget.

If you’re ready to get specific about how much YOUR project will cost, please contact us.