It’s a tricky question. With so many options out there, how much SHOULD you pay for your website? $500? $15,000? $30,000? While every website has different requirements, which affect the time and skills required, we can at least give you some insight on what your mindset should be while looking into a new website.
The Barbecue Mindset
I need a barbecue to cook burgers in my backyard on weekends. I don’t need the biggest fanciest barbecue; I’m just cooking a couple burgers for my friends on Saturday afternoons. The $199 unit should do just fine as my requirements are really quite simple.
This is a perfectly acceptable mindset for purchasing a barbecue because fire is fire and both the cheap and expensive barbecues will cook your food more or less the same. But this mindset is NOT the way you need to think about your website development project.
The Investment Versus Expense Mindset
You wouldn’t apply the same strategy above to hire a sales person would you? $20 an hour spent on someone who doesn’t generate anything for you is money wasted. When you hire a sales person for your company what is more important is the revenue he or she generates for the business — and the quality of clients he or she brings in!
A website is exactly the same.
When you shop for a website development company, make sure you look at it not as a cost but as an investment. If you think in terms of investing in a sales tool, you may be inclined to ask a very different set of questions.
Things To Consider When Hiring A Web Development Firm
Here are some things to consider when choosing a website development firm or individual developer:
1) Is the person developing your new website just a graphics person or do they have actual marketing experience? Remember, it’s their job to make a website that SELLS, not just looks pretty.
2) Does the person building your website have website analytics experience? Is your website based on “design standards” or actual study of visitor behavior? It’s not just about pretty colors, it’s about psychology and data driven decisions.
3) What does your developer know about website conversion? Do they know what conversion is? Do they ask questions about what the goals of your site are? Can they explain which elements on your homepage will convert visitors into customers? Drill them. Ask them to explain to you how the website will convert. This is the key to your success.
4) Look at the prospective web development company's other client’s websites. When you look at the website portfolio do you understand what the company does and what action you’re supposed to take next in 3 seconds or less? Is it easy to navigate? Does it load quickly or is it a slow moving flash website?
When you have all of the right elements working together, spending $10,000 – $20,000 on a website makes perfect sense because it has been expertly built by a company with experience and data behind it to yield a positive return on investment. Sure – you can go and buy that $1000-$2000 website – but that rarely comes with the process and experience necessary to drive traffic and convert it into paying customers. And afterall — isn't that why you are building a website in the first place?
And remember, in today's world – your website is often your top sales person.
Undoubtedly, while developing a website, it is imperative to understand the 'nature' of its business and then develop it. Why? Obviously because that is the way you can help increase business, better traffic and increased conversions. In return, what you get is a free 'word of mouth' appraisal for the service done and of course – more business and money.
Yes Chris, as you pointed out it's a must to know what we require and what they (development company) can do / what they have done so far. Website support is also an important factor to consider before you sign an agreement. Some development companies use opensource programs, which are free and less-time consuming to develop websites but when you require changes in your website they may not be able to support if they are not proficient. I always say EXPERIENCE is essential!
These are good points Chris. More than that – a lot of other things we need to ponder when hiring a web development team to build a site. Firstly, before approaching the web development company you should decide which technology you want to use to run your site. Another thing is maintaining a cordial relation with the company in future spme other things should be looked at:
Are they having reasonable timeframe for launch?
Will they provide follow up & maintenance regularly?
There is some very useful information here. We work with lots of companies and business owners not only in building their websites but also in spearheading their online marketing campaigns too. One thing I've noted which is common in them is they're always concerned about the aestheticism and functionality of their site and are least bothered about the conversion aspects of the site. Hope this post will better educate such presumptions of people.
Nothing helps the process more than a properly architectured website.
Good one! To add, have relevant content to make it powerful for the search engines. Monitor plagiarism too.
These are such great points. I have seen so many "pretty" websites that are virtually invisible on the web. It hurts me to see people spend a lot of money on graphics and not be found.