Signing out of account, Standby…
But how much should you be spending on this all-important asset?
Every modern business needs a website. Without one, it’s going to be practically impossible to centralize your marketing efforts, reach new people or scale your business effectively. That’s why designing and developing a website is usually priority number one for new entrepreneurs.
But how much should you be spending on this all-important asset?
Depending on your goals, you could get a website up and running for less than $100, while the average business spends somewhere between $12,000 and $150,000 for the finished project. And that’s not including the ongoing costs of website maintenance.
As far as I can tell, most people are spending far too much on website design and development.
But why is this the case? And what can you do to avoid it?
Related: Should Your Business Spend Thousands of Dollars on a Strong Domain Name?
These days, you can use free website builders to build a website cheaply, or even for free. In my experience, the free aspect of this title is a bit of a misnomer. By the end of your experience, you’ll probably end up paying money for a domain, a theme, miscellaneous extras and other expenses that aren’t transparently revealed at the beginning.
Still, if you go this route, you can put together a somewhat professional-looking website in a matter of days for a few hundred dollars or less. Compared to the $150,000 you might spend with a website development firm, this is quite a bargain.
The one caveat I have to add here is that using a free website builder isn’t always the best option. Free website builders are usually limited in terms of functionality and appearance. They’re so commonly used that your website will have a hard time standing out and you won’t get much in the way of ongoing support unless you pay for it.
Related: The 5 Best Website Builders for Entrepreneurs — and Which to Use When
My recommended alternative for using a free website builder is working with a professional website design agency. But this has some potential issues as well.
Complicating all of these issues is the fact that most people looking to design and develop a website don’t have much experience in web design or development. This lack of expertise makes them easy to fool and easy to manipulate. If you don’t have much experience in the web development world, you should at least be able to acknowledge this as a personal weakness.
Fortunately, there are several strategies you can use to protect yourself and make sure you’re not the victim of a web design or development scam.
The sad truth is, that most people are going to continue spending too much money on launching new websites. They’ll spend more money than they have to for an inferior product that doesn’t ultimately serve their goals. But you don’t have to fall into this crowd. Simply being aware of the problem and doing some extra research is all it takes to protect yourself.
Related: The Basic Building Blocks of a Website, and Their Costs
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Emily Rella
Gurpreet Kaur
Emily Rella
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