Making a website is much like building a house. If you didn't put some careful thought into where you want it, how big it needs to be, and how you're going to use it, you probably wouldn't end up with your dream home. In an effort to make the house what you really want, the costs of remodeling and construction would probably add up to far what it would have cost to do things right in the first place. You might, in fact, have to level the original house and start over if the foundation couldn't support your additions.
As time goes by, and the Internet becomes a more mature environment, I are called upon less to design websites from scratch. Because design techniques have changed so much in recent years, just "putting a coat of paint" on your circa 1996 site probably won't yield satisfactory results.
What's it Cost?
This is generally one of the first questions we're asked when consulting with a client, and it's the most difficult one to answer at the beginning of a conversation.
No one can give you an accurate quote on what a site design or redesign is going to cost until they've taken an assessment of your business and future needs. I have found that even the smallest custom project often involves a significant amount of interaction between the client and us, therefore, my current minimum fee for any custom design or redesign is $1200.
This is not to say "custom websites cost $1200." That's where they start. If your needs are minimal and revisions are few, the design will probably be not much more than that. For the average project of moderate complexity, perhaps with a minimal amount of back end programming, custom jobs run $3000-$5000.
Myth #2 - Hits = Visits.
High hit counts contribute to the grossly inflated notions of the Web's magical ability to reach people. But your site will always get far more hits than it does actual human visitors.