Website cost and consulting prices are not the only pieces of the Digital Marketing puzzle. Are you looking for the price of a professional looking website? This article will help you gain a clearer understanding of what is needed to produce a website that will announce your business and attract visitors.
The main components of a professional business website are discussed and explained.
Some Reasons For Creating A Business Website:
There are many reasons to create a website. For small businesses, some common reasons are:
- Business is just starting up.
- Current website is outdated or needs a software upgrade.
- Gain clients from Google, Bing, and other search engines.
- For clients vetting you.
The price range for a professional website can range from $295.00 to over $10,000.00 or much higher for a custom website that includes SEO and other services.
Remember Your Business Website Is A Project
When creating a website, many people fail to realize that they are starting a project that needs to be planned, scheduled, budgeted, and executed. Just like any other project, a longer-term commitment is essential.
Thankfully, every project must conform to the simple Project Management Triangle. This will help you understand that the website cost includes much more than website designer consultant prices.
The Project Management Triangle states that of three options, you only get to choose two for any given project.
- If you choose “Fast and Cheap”, you will need to sacrifice Quality.
- If you choose “Fast with Quality”, it is going to be expensive.
- If you choose “Cheap with Quality”, it is going to take much more time.
Content: The Most Important Piece Of A Business Website
To understand website cost and consulting fees, the site content must be included in the project budget. Most business owners don’t realize the importance of creating the content of each page before engaging a website developer. You are the best person to tell your story and convey the heart and soul of your business.
A good website developer can take your story and construct the layout and page design that helps visitors find what they are looking for from your business. But you need to know why visitors will choose you over another competitor.
A good website developer can create a fantastic website in less than four weeks. The reason many websites take longer to complete is that content is often being created at the same time.
In other words, the details of your story have not been fully worked out.
It is my opinion that the most time-consuming part of building a great website is content creation. Hiring a professional content writer or spending the time to create the content yourself should be factored in during the initial project launch.
Communication: The Most Challenging Part Of Creating A Business Website
Recently, I calculated the number of emails I sent to a client after completing a website design. I was shocked to learn the number of project-related emails I sent to the client was almost 200. Website development cost includes your time and the time needed for communication between you and the website developer. Here are four basic challenges in communicating with your website designer:
- Getting emails with long lists of changes.
- Technical emails and phone calls that can be difficult to understand.
- Gaps of time between emails and phone conversations.
- Language differences between website designer and client.
Optimization: Create A Website For Human Readers That Search Engines Understand
In the past, websites were often written primarily for search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo). The website visitor was the second most important part of the project.
After Google’s Panda update, websites now need quality content rather than the simple search engine and keyword practices. Pages with the right word count and quality of structure need to be created for the newer search engine algorithms.
Quality content should be the focus of any good website. Producing engaging content that visitors are looking for and that assists them in their purchasing journey is essential. This has been historically called Inbound Marketing and now has become an important part of an overall marketing strategy.
So, what is SEO (search engine optimization) all about? Please read about our Four Step SEO Research process.
Essentially, SEO is making sure your website content and structure are understood by a search engine and will show up on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when people are searching for it.
I’m often hired by clients who need to Optimize their websites after they’ve been created by friends or another designer. Unfortunately, the website structure and layout often need changing so that their services and company can compete with others offering the same products or services.
For Example, instead of having a single “Services” page, a business should create a separate page for each of those “services.” Creating a distinct “Service” page for each service allows for more focused keyword utilization and quality content.
Security: Protecting Your Investment From Hackers and Viruses
Website security is not an option for a business, but an essential component of any long-term digital strategy. While this is often as simple as installing security software, it is often a neglected phase of the project.
Basic security costs, which run a few dollars per month, should be worked out before hiring any website designer.
Conclusion: Websites Cost Much More Than The Cost Of A Website Designer
I hope this article has opened your eyes to the importance of how you, as a business owner, need to tell your story to provide your visitors with the reasons your business is the best option for fulfilling their requirements.