How Much Does It Cost To Hire A PHP Developer For Developing A Real Estate Portal?

It is hard to find technologies and tools that survive the test of time and changing user needs in the web development sector. What is in vogue now may become outdated within a few years or even faster. However, PHP is a long time contender that has held its forte well against new entrants over the decades. Globally, the demand for PHP web development has not reduced. However, to get the best experience, you should sign up for the service of a veteran PHP application development company.

Why is cost estimation for a PHP development project required?

PHP is Open Source, and thus it can be used free of cost. However, businesses seeking PHP web development need to analyse a number of factors carefully. Based on the project needs and specific platform used, the cost can vary a lot. You have to learn about the factors that impact PHP web development costs and act accordingly. Certainly, every company has a budget for website development. 

Aspects that impact the cost for a PHP web development project

Before you hire a PHP development company for developing a real estate website, it is necessary that you learn and analyse the key factors that affect the final cost.

• The expertise of the developer or agency- PHP has been in the web development arena for a very long time. So, you can find various types of PHP developers nowadays. You can come across veteran agencies specialising in PHP web development. You can also find many agencies that outsource PHP development services for offshore client companies. If you are on a limited budget for real estate portal creation, opting for freelancing PHP developers makes sense. 
• Geographical location- The location of a PHP development company has a direct impact on its charges. You will find the agencies based in the USA charging you the highest, generally speaking. The European developers also charge somewhat higher. If you want low-cost PHP development, resorting to Indian origin developers or PHP outsourcing entities remains the best option. 
• Additional and relevant skills- A PHP developer is going to be proficient in the language- for sure. However, the reality is for developing PHP based websites and applications, using many other frameworks and tools become necessary. So, you may come across PHP developers who are also experts in database management systems and technologies used for web development like JavaScript and Ajax. A PHP developer who is proficient in such relevant web development technologies is likely to charge you a tad higher than others. 
• Project requirements- Your project requirements may also drive up the overall cost. If you want a real estate website with no additional needs, the project cost may be lower. However, if you want the website to be linked with the internal company database or if there is a need to link with a cloud service, PHP web application development costs may surge upwards. 
• The technology used- The days of hand-coding using PHP are gone! Nowadays, PHP developers resort to using various PHP based frameworks, and then there are the CMS platforms powered by the language too. WP and Laravel, for example, are quite popular. Of course, some of these tools are also free. But you may have to spend extra after their extensions and plugins and themes. This is the case with WordPress, which has many paid themes and plug-ins. 
• Support- The type of support offered by the PHP development agency you choose will impact the final project cost as well. If the agency offers email or phone-based support, the cost is going to be decent. However, agencies offering live chat and social media support may charge you a higher amount. 
• Flexibility- If you seek enhanced flexibility for developing a real estate portal using PHP, that may drive up the overall cost. For example, if you want it to be a collaborative project and the agency would be working from an offshore location to adhere to your preferred tie zone, that may boost the cost if you want an agency with developers having proficiency in multiple languages that may drive up project cost as well. If you want the agency to wrap the website within a short deadline- it may charge you more than usual. 

How to keep PHP web portal development cost within limits

To ensure your real estate website made using PHP does not exceed the budget, adhere to the below-listed tips:

• You should look for PHP development entities that offer additional services. For example, if a PHP development company also packs in SEO services or it has bundled hosting packages for the clients, that will save you a good amount of money.
• If you want a PHP based real estate portal development but the budget is tight, opt for a company that offers outsourcing service. Asian origin PHP development companies offer packages at reasonable rates, but they do not cut down on quality. 
• When you contact any PHP development agency, ensure you resolve all your queries on the cost and other aspects. Enquire if there are any hidden or allied charges, apart from the quoted price. This will help you evade any cost escalation and headaches later. Also, look for service clauses and terms related to pricing.

So, what is the approx cost of developing a PHP based web portal?

While factors like expertise of the developer, location and project requirements play key roles in determining PHP web development cost, you still need to have an approximate idea about the same. 

• Hosting charges- You will find many types of web hosting for PHP websites. Shared hosting costs $30 a year, but you may get at lower rates too. Dedicated hosting will be costlier, and you may have to shell out around $1000 a year.
• Developer charges- PHP developers usually charge the clients per hour. The expertise level and location of the developer will have the final say in this department. In the USA and Europe, the average charge per hour is $80, but it can go up to $120 or more. The Indian developers may charge you as low as $35 an hour. 
• Maintenance charges- Be ready to shell out around $500 per year for maintenance of your PHP website. The bigger the website, the higher the charges could be. 

Things to assess when you hire a PHP developer

Cost estimation for developing a real estate portal using PHP is fine, but you have to assess the developers on other grounds too. You have to find out information on the tenure of the developer, to start with. A veteran developer is likely to be more reliable than rank newcomers in this field. Also, look for client feedback and keep some time for checking out websites and applications created by these developers.