Drupal is an open-source and widely known content management platform apt for SEO practices. Though the official website states that website development on Drupal is free, the word “free” is subject to obligations and questions.
Around 47,350 Drupal modules can be downloaded for free, but when your digital presence wants to acquire the multichannel approach at a large scale, leveraging Drupal CMS is far from being free of cost.
Drupal website development cost varies with various influential factors. From project intricacies and design specifications to desired features and geographic considerations, understanding these elements is crucial in estimating the investment required for your tailored Drupal solution.
Hence, in this guide, we will explore these factors and the detailed cost-breakup of Drupal website development in Australia. Moreover, we will provide insights to empower informed decision-making for your web development venture.
What are the Factors Affecting Drupal Website Development?
The Drupal website development cost basically depends upon the project size and the client’s specific requirements. Here are some factors that can impact the cost of making website with Drupal:
1. Quality
Multiple checks are required to ensure the high quality of Drupal websites. Drupal developers bear responsibility for everything, from maintaining a high-profile website for big enterprises to considering and addressing all the issues.
Visual bugs can escalate, and data loss can happen; any tiny issue can create substantial business losses. Developers are required to emphasise quality assurance. They certainly lessened the defect rates by:
- Performing automotive tests to avoid regressions
- Checking for hidden bugs
- Fixing broken links
- Testing for compatibility and functional performance
Overall, massive testing procedures are required before deployment, involving spending loads of time and hard work to ensure the art quality project delivery.
All the summations mentioned above automatically increase the Drupal development cost. One can also opt for a low-cost development on the condition of next-day bug fixing without transactions.
2. Size
From the loading time of your website to Google rankings, page size matters. The developers can end up taking more time and money if you are looking for an increased number of the following components on your website:
- Integrations
- Sections
- Functionalities
- Features
3. Complexity
The Drupal development cost highly depends on the project’s complexity. Some parts can be easy to contrast with the tougher ones. So, what makes your requirements complex? The value-added features and heavy editorial workflows, undoubtedly.
- Managing workflows can be a little hectic in the editorial domain. The process needs multiple sets of revisions, consuming more time and contributing to the overall complexity of the project.
- Multilingual websites demand more configuration and implementation time.
- A staging environment is required to test newly added features before the website deployment during installation and set-up. In addition to the same, theme designing expands the budget
4. Timeframe
Despite the amazing advantage of no licence cost associated with Drupal, the development time frames vary from project to project. The requirement for early or fastened delivery automatically increases the project cost. The number of developers and other professionals working on a project reduces overall time but enhances the price.
5. Development Resource
Drupal is like a framework; selecting the right resource is crucial to any business venture. But I suggest opting for a Drupal development agency with a professional team working for your venture rather than depending upon one person for such a critical project.
The Drupal development agency, having a diversified team, will work here. Usually, agencies have strategic plans for customised requirements. While choosing the development expert agency, look for the following specifications:
- Having a good track record of successful project deliveries
- Robust processes
- Quality professionals, i.e., developers, designers, testers, and the rest.
A comprehensive project requires a thorough professional to manage the deployment and server architecture. An experienced project manager ensures on-time deliveries while sticking to the budget.
Is Building a Drupal Website Costly?
Well, there is no straightforward answer to this question. It depends on the different scenarios, like your website’s size, complexity, value-added and qualitative features, development agency, and readiness to adjust.
On top of that, Drupal implementation is a struggle for non-technical people as it is established as a developer’s tool.
For Custom Drupal Website Development: Depending upon the project scale, if your business requires websites with complex workflows and multiple content types, your web development agency can charge you around $250,000. Moreover, you must have clear insights and a profound vision of what you want, for example, distinctive features, user interface capabilities, and designs.
Cost Breakup for Drupal Website Development
| The average cost of Drupal website development ranges between $200,000 and $450,000. This development cost is splitted into categories like Hosting and Domain, UI/UX Design, Development, Testing and Maintenance. |
Web development charges are based on various elements, including project complexities, needs and other specifications like custom features, content writing, multimedia elements, and ongoing maintenance like website updation, security measures etc.
For precise details, consider the below mentioned Drupal website development cost break-up table:
| Developmental Process | Design Tasks | Average Costing |
| Initial Fixed Costing | Hosting | $20,000 – $100,000 |
| Domain name | ||
| SSL certificate | ||
| UI/UX design | Rough sketches | $4,000 |
| Low fidelity wireframes | $8,000 | |
| High fidelity wireframes | $20,000 | |
| UI design (visuals) | Mood boards | $2,000 |
| UI mockup samples | $8,000 | |
| Final UI mockups | $20,000 | |
| Development | Backend | $100,000 – $400,000 |
| Frontend | ||
| Testing | UI/UX testing | $20,000 – $40,000 |
| Functionality testing | ||
| Accessibility testing | ||
| Website Maintenance | (If applicable) | $5000 – $50,000 |
| Total Average Cost | Approx($200,000- $450,000) |
Note: The cost sheet given above shows the approximate numbers and is subject to change/differ in accordance with the client’s website needs and business requirements.
Maintenance and Scaling Expenses
Drupal is a high-maintenance content management system requiring attention and time for the backend and regular installation of updates.
It means, apart from the substantial implementation cost, Drupal requires you to pay the maintenance cost, too. Maintenance cost is an umbrella term covering migration and upgradation.
Suppose you want to migrate from Drupal 7 to 9 it includes the set-up, staging, testing, and much more.
Final Words
The cost of Drupal website development can vary significantly based on the factors mentioned earlier. You must also consider the long-term aspects of your project, including ongoing maintenance, updates, and support.
Ultimately, choosing a reliable and experienced development team is key to the success of your Drupal website project. Therefore, it is important to get in touch with a professional Drupal website design and development company like Enterprise Monkey and get quotes based on your specific requirements.
Keep in mind that it’s essential to balance cost considerations with the quality of work and the reliability of the development team.