How to Get Your Website in Simple Steps in Ghana

One of the first questions that comes to people's mind when they plan on getting their first website is, "How much is the cost of a website in Ghana?"

If you happen to know a web developer then you get an answer right away. If you don't know anyone in the web space then you probably turn to Google to get that question answered.

If that's the question you're currently asking, you're at the right place. This article seeks to guide you to know the cost of a website in Ghana.

Like a friend of mine will say, "Ɛyɛ sika asɛm."

Let's address the question then ... :

How much does it cost to develop a website in Ghana?

You are not going to like my next two words:

"It depends."

But ... hold on a minute. The good news is: the price of a website in Ghana is affordable. Before I break it down for you, know that the cost of a website in Ghana could be between GH₵ 500 and GH₵ 3000 a year.

Skip to prices of websites in Ghana (chart).

Yes, it depends on the kind of website you desire to get built and the kind of applications you want on your website.

This article seeks to address the cost of websites for service organisations such as hotels, restaurants, gyms, clinics, NGOs, personal blogs etc.

And product businesses like boutiques, pharmacies, beauty shops etc.

The article will not address the cost of more sophisticated websites like social media, betting or music streaming platforms. These sites are quite complex, takes time to build and are therefore more expensive.

Below are factors that will determine how much you pay for a well functioning website.

Domain name

Coming up with and registering a domain name are the first steps you take in having your website online. A domain name is your website's name. Users will use your domain name to land on your website.

Most often, you register your brand name or a name closely related to your brand. There are several domain registrars where you can check whether the domain name you plan on using is available. If it's available, you register that name immediately.

Because most single-word brand names have already been registered, the addition of gh to your brand name is encouraged when registering.

You may also choose a domain name that ends with .com.gh.

GoDaddy and Namecheap are registrars where you can easily purchase your domain name. Registering a domain name that ends with a .com or .org should cost you between GH₵ 50 and GH₵ 85 per year, .com.gh however costs more.

You can personally purchase your domain name on any of the above sites or let a web agency in Ghana take care of it for you.

Note: Both GoDaddy and Namecheap offer discounts when you register your domain name for 3 years or more.

Web Hosting

Let's simply define a web host as a place where web files are stored. Your files are securely kept with a web host so that when a visitor wants to access your website, the web pages are served from the web host's servers.

There are different hosting packages, and web hosting companies charge various fees for hosting your web files.

If you plan on starting a personal blog or a website for your business, then the price you pay for your website shouldn't be more than GH₵1000 a year.

Most web hosting companies are flexible and will allow you to upgrade your hosting plan when you start getting more visitors to your website.

This means that you can start with a simple plan that costs less and upgrade later.

Getting a good web hosting service provider is very important. Be careful of free or very cheap hosting packages as they are mostly neither reliable nor secure. If you want a good one, you should be willing to pay at least GH₵ 400 per year.

Designing and Development of the Website

Web design companies will have to design and develop websites that suit your desires.

It takes skills and time to come up with design ideas. And a designer/developer will have to code and/or use paid-for software to turn those ideas into a beautiful and functional website.

Often, clients may change their minds on the design and features they want on their websites, and web agencies would have to listen and develop the website according to their clients' preferences.

Web agencies therefore charge for designing and building websites. In Ghana, some may charge as low as GH₵ 100 or a high as GH₵ 1000 for the development process.

Web Maintenance

The role played by web agencies in web maintenance entails adding content (pictures, articles, products etc), updating software, adding new pages and monitoring your websites for security issues.

In addition, web design and development companies offer web support services.

While some web agencies may provide you with basic web maintenance and support services for free, others add premium services (e.g 24/7 call support service and daily backups of your website) at a price. This could cost you somewhere around GH₵ 500.

Know that a new web design company may charge you lesser than an older, well-established one.

Competition and Promotions

Because, there is really no monopoly in the web design industry in Ghana, a lot of web design agencies often offer discounts, and that usually means paying less for a website.

Most of these promos are for a limited time, so make sure you ask the agency how much you will pay in subsequent years.

Conclusion

So as you have seen, a lot goes into creating a website that really works, and to get such a website, you have to part with some money.

Be careful of agencies who will offer to create a website for you for free or anything less than GH₵ 300. The devil is in the detail.