By Tanya Ganian · · 3 min readThe ROI (return on investment) of web design compares the profit your website helps generate with what it costs. For example, if a $5,000 website contributes $9,000 in extra gross profit in a year, the ROI is ($9,000 − $5,000) ÷ $5,000 × 100 = 80%. To measure it, track qualified inquiries, bookings, online sales, conversion rates and time saved, and attribute them fairly to the website.
What does ROI mean?
Short answer: ROI stands for return on investment. It compares the financial benefit of an investment with its cost, as a percentage.
How do you calculate website ROI?
Imagine you spend $5,000 on a new website. Over the next year it contributes $15,000 in additional revenue. That sounds promising, but revenue isn't profit. Suppose that revenue produces $9,000 in gross profit, with no other extra costs beyond the website:
($9,000 − $5,000) ÷ $5,000 × 100 = 80% ROI
This is a simplified example. A real calculation should include ongoing costs like hosting, maintenance and SEO, and attribute results to the website reasonably, not every sale that happened that year.
What should you measure?
- Qualified inquiries: calls and forms from real potential customers
- Appointment bookings
- Online sales
- Customer acquisition cost: what it costs to win one customer
- Lead-to-customer rate: how many inquiries become clients
- Time saved: through online forms, booking or FAQs
Our guide to measuring website success covers the tools.
What if my website doesn't sell online?
You can still measure it. Track phone calls (with call tracking or tap-to-call events), form submissions and bookings, and ask new customers how they found you. Multiply new clients from the website by their average profit to estimate the return.
How a website improves ROI over time
A website is a one-time cost that keeps working. As it ranks for more searches and converts better, the same investment produces more each year. Pairing it with SEO usually increases the return. See how to budget for web design and SEO.
The bottom line
The value of web design isn't how attractive your website looks. It's what the website helps your business accomplish.
Want a website built around results? See our web design, or read will a new website help my business?
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the ROI of my website?
Subtract the website's cost from the profit it helped generate, divide by the cost and multiply by 100. Use profit, not revenue, and include ongoing costs.
What is a good ROI for a website?
Any positive ROI means the website paid for itself. Many service businesses recover the cost with a handful of new clients, depending on client value.
How long does it take for a website to pay for itself?
It depends on traffic, conversion and client value. A site that brings even one or two extra high-value clients a month can pay for itself within the first year.