“How much does a website cost?” Well, that’s a question I get asked – a lot. And it’s pretty understandable that it would be one of the first questions a prospective client wants answered.
But the only honest answer to it is “It depends”.
A definite price for a website is a difficult beast to pin down – although the site is there on your monitor or smartphone, and the designer and/or developer has put in time and effort to make it the best-looking, most user-friendly, high-ranking site possible, the fact is that it’s really the results of having a website that you’re paying for. And then consider the fact that you can ask a dozen designers to quote on the job, and get a dozen different answers. Confusing and frustrating, I know. So how much, really, should it cost?
Recently I was at a meeting of a networking group I belong to, and one of the members, let’s call him John, was sharing an anecdote about doing business with a new client. This client told John that he could get the product cheaper online. “True enough”, said John. “You sell services that I can get cheaper online as well, but I come to you because I trust you. I know you have the education and years of experience to deliver a superior service.”
Likewise, there are an increasing number of “do-it-yourself” online services that tell you you can “Create your stunning website. It’s free!” But do you have the knowledge and experience to produce a well-designed site that will drive business your way? And “free” is a misleading term. It’s going to take your time, and more of it than you think, to produce something passable. What’s your time worth?
Maybe it’s time to change your viewpoint – this is an ongoing investment, not a “cost” as such. Your website will work for you 24/7/365 – investing in this as part of your overall marketing strategy will pay off in the long run. If you hope to gain 10 new customers from the site, and your yearly income from each customer is about $1500, that means you stand to gain $15000 for the year. All of a sudden paying a professional to create your website looks like a very good investment, doesn’t it? Now, I can’t guarantee that your website will bring in those 10 new customers – but I can guarantee that without a website, you’ll be failing to reach a huge and ever-growing pool of potential customers.
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