This is a pretty open ended question but there are a few factors from both sides of the partnership that affect how much a website will cost you. Whether you choose to proceed with a site builder, or want something unique and more substantial, the costs have various pros and cons.
The key point when you are building a website, is how much time it is going to take, and in turn, how much that time is going to cost.
Below I will run through some of the options available to you for setting up a new website and the pros and cons surrounding these, and how one sits against the others.
Site Builders
It goes without saying that site builders are the cheapest way to put a site together, and unless you don't intend on using your website as a driving force for your business, are best left untouched. If you are happy choosing a template for your site that is the same as everyone else's and content to use minimal functionality then these are great, but as soon as you want to step beyond what is offered, there isn't really anywhere to go.
Wordpress
Wordpress is a good option for bringing an element of uniqueness to your design and yet still producing a website quickly and efficiently. While there are numerous plugins that will allow you to extend the site, the focus is on allowing you to turn things around quickly and efficiently. While this is better than a site builder, it doesn't give you the attention to search rankings and strategy that can make the difference between the web working for you or not.
Freelance Designers / Creative Agencies
Invariably, freelance designers and creative agencies don't have the required expertise to produce a fully functional website for you. While it will look the part, the focus rarely extends beyond that remit and the site can be left ranking poorly or indeed functionally lacking for long term growth and flexibility.
If you are a small company with a smallish budget, a freelancer or creative agency might be what you need but bare in mind the long term plan for the growth of your company and whether they can help utilise the digital channel to help you achieve it.
Digital Agency
The experience of a digital agency is in the digital channel and this allows unprecedented potential for expanding your business using the internet. Digital agencies have the technical, graphical and marketing expertise to produce websites that will perform against your business goals, and really help your business push on to the next level. While there is a premium for working with digital agencies, the initial capital outlay is far outweighed by the return on investment that the website can provide. The long term scalability and flexibility of the website to tie into your business processes is taken into account very early on in the build process so that your website can continue to evolve as you as a business do so.
As ever, let us know if you have any questions or feedback, we look forward to hearing from you!