As an entrepreneur, I know you’re always on the lookout for a great deal.
It’s basic business sense: you need to earn as much as you can whilst keeping spend as low as possible.
In terms of creating a website for your business, this means you might be tempted to either:
- Opt for a cheaper and perhaps less experienced designer over somebody who excels at their job (and has the testimonials to prove it); or
- Invest in a super basic template, take a quick coding course, and build your site yourself, relying on your own training and common sense to produce something that resembles ‘professional’!
Both these approaches will save you money, but they are very unlikely to bring you the results you want and need from your online platform.
Here, I’m going to explain why you can’t expect to get a good website for a cheap fee – and why spending a little extra cash now could actually save you many hard-earned pennies (and a great deal of stress) in the longer term.
The good vs cheap debate
If you’re into your business theory, you’ve probably already come across this old adage:
A project can never be cheap, fast and good – it can only be two out of the three.
It’s called the project management triangle, and, amongst other things, it’s intended to make you think about which of these qualities you are willing to sacrifice.
- If you want something done quickly and cheaply, it won’t be as good.
- If you want something done quickly but well, it’ll be more expensive.
- And if you want something done to a high standard, but you’re only willing to pay peanuts for it, you’re going to be in for a long wait!
Unsurprisingly, these same principles can be applied to the web design and development process.
What you get when you go cheap
I’m not saying for one minute that all ‘cheap’ website designers – or indeed, web building platforms – are terrible. Some businesses, particularly startups, can’t afford to pay a designer more than a few hundred pounds for a digital shop window, so are very limited in terms of choice (especially when there are other hidden costs, like hosting fees, to consider). Plus, sites like Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy are a Godsend for new entrepreneurs who want to get their site off the ground with minimum fuss and little to no spend.
But by taking the cheaper route, you are highly likely to end up with a website that hasn’t been tailored to your goals.
If you cut corners – either by working with an inexperienced designer or by choosing a standard template from one of the popular website builders – you are bound to fall victim to some of the many pitfalls that will make or break your web presence.
What does a ‘good’ website actually look like?
If you want your website to work hard for your business, you need to make sure that it:
- Is easy to navigate
- Delivers a smooth, uninterrupted experience to your potential customers
- Contains simple, compelling messaging that resonates with your target audience
- Includes clear calls to actions
- Loads quickly
- Can be accessed easily from any device or browser
- Works effortlessly on mobile devices
- Can be crawled and indexed by Google and the other major search engines
In a nutshell, a ‘good’ website will be specifically set up to support what you want to achieve. Every single part of it – from the company logo that’s been placed in plain view, to the cleverly positioned ‘click here’ buttons that entice the users to take the next step on their buying journey – will be designed to strengthen and promote your business.
To deliver on the above, your chosen web professional will need excellent design experience, a thorough appreciation for the demands of your audience (which can only be achieved through decent research), and strong knowledge of online consumer behaviour. He or she will also need to have links with people who can bring different expertise into the mix: web copywriters, SEO specialists and social media managers, for example.
As you can imagine, it takes a lot of time and know-how to bring this stuff together into a website that will be a real asset to your business – and time is money!
If you go cheap, chances are you won’t get all the above. In fact, you will probably end up with a website that:
- Is cluttered and confusing
- Is poorly written
- Takes forever to load
- Does not render properly on smartphones and tablets
- Offers too many instructions to users (or not enough!)
- Fails to rank anywhere in Google et al for keywords that are relevant to your product or service
Why the ‘cheap’ mentality will restrict your growth
What was that old Delboy quote? “You’ve got to speculate to accumulate?” It rings so true when it comes to any business investment that will improve your reputation and increase your reach.
Spend little, and you’ll often have little to show for it. Be willing to pay for the time and knowledge of a design specialist, and you’ll get help to grow your business faster and much more sustainably.
As with anything, there’s always a small risk that you won’t get the return you’re hoping for – but it’s down to you to do your due diligence and pick a designer who can really deliver.
What should you pay for a good website design?
So, we’ve established that if you want the best possible results, you need to forego the cheaper options and invest in something that’s going to work well for you in the longer term.
But what should you expect to get for your money? And how much money is too much money?
Well, it would be impossible for me to give you a quote without looking at your project requirements and doing a deep dive into your business as a whole.
I put together a post a little while ago that talks about how much you should be setting aside for your new website. Have a read of it here.
What you can expect from Design FX Studio
For me, good is not good enough. I want to deliver websites that deliver great results for my clients, and I want them to come away from the whole experience feeling like their needs have been met, and they have been well looked after.
Choose Design FX Studio for your next website design project, and I promise you that:
- You’ll be listened to at every stage of the process
I always take the time to listen to my clients and learn more about what their goals are. Your initial consultation gives me a great opportunity to discover what you have in mind for your new website – and it’s also a chance for you to brainstorm ideas, ask questions, and get to know my way of working.
- You’ll get a website that’s been totally tailored to your unique needs
I don’t just plonk your content into a pre-designed template and send you on your way! I’ll really think about your typical user and what they are going to expect from you before pulling together a bespoke design that makes sense for your business, and your business alone.
- You’ll end up with a site that will do a lot of the selling for you
It’s all well and good having a website that looks the part – but ideally, you want it to be working hard behind the scenes and generating more of those all-important enquiries or sales. I design everything with SEO in mind, and I have a team of talented writers and digital marketing consultants on hand to make sure the end result looks credible, reads persuasively, and performs well in the search engines.
- You’ll be provided with something that’s both accessible and scalable
When I’ve finished your website, you will have complete control over it. Regardless of whether it’s a WordPress site or it’s been built using my dedicated ecommerce system, you’ll be able to log into the CMS and edit its content directly, removing the need to contact me every time you want to add a paragraph of text to a page or change an image on a banner. (Although if you’d rather outsource this work, you can still ask me to make these changes – I do offer affordable maintenance and support packages to my clients).
- You’ll be fully supported throughout the entire job
This is something you definitely won’t get from cheaper designers!
Work with me, and I’ll make sure you feel comfortable and at ease with everything throughout the duration of the project. You’ll get regular updates as to how the project is coming along – in fact, if it’s a large build, you’ll hear from me at least once a week – and you’ll be able to call or email me at any time if you need to talk.
- You’ll get advice on what to do next
Unlike some, I won’t disappear off the face of the earth as soon as I’ve hit the launch button! My team and I will be on hand to update the site; add extra functionality over time; provide backups and other maintenance services; sort out your email settings; set up the right hosting account; and advise on the right SEO and digital marketing approach.
Whatever you need, and whenever you need it, we’ll be here to help you evolve your site into something that brings real value to your venture.