Is A Website Worth The Cost?
Websites can be created in the blink of an eye and with minimal investment-perfect for entrepreneurs who don’t want to spend a fortune on marketing just to get their business off the ground. Some people claim that it’s not worth investing in a website, but we disagree. Websites are the perfect opportunity for you to get your foot in the door and establish your company as credible and professional.
Online marketing has become more and more popular. Business owners who want to stay competitive know that they must have some form of Internet presence in order to succeed, but the question is: how much should you invest into a website? This article explores why it’s worth investing money into your website, even if you’re on a budget.
What is a website and why do I need one?
A website is a marketing tool that offers potential customers information regarding your company. It’s the best way to communicate important details about what you do, who you are and why you’re different from the competition. A well-designed and informative website will entice people to learn more about your company, which may result in an increase of new business.
The only thing standing between your website and this increase in interest/business is traffic. The more traffic it gets, the more people will see it and potentially want to use your services or buy products from you. This increases revenue for your business because without traffic, it’s impossible to have any sort of customer base…and a big part of getting traffic is having a great looking site that draws people in.
What are the options for creating a website?
There are two main ways to create websites. You can either learn how to do it yourself (this is known as “Do-it-Yourself/DIY”) or hire a professional service to design your site and maintain it regularly (known as “Hire Someone”).
DIY means that you will need some basic knowledge of web design, coding and other technical aspects of web development in order to create and maintain your website yourself. It’s not at all impossible for someone without much experience or tech skills to create their own website…but if you don’t have any background knowledge on these topics, we strongly recommend hiring someone else to build it for you instead! This will save you a ton of time and potential frustration in the long run.
A professional service will create your website for you but it will cost money. There are several different types of web design services, so make sure to do some research before hiring anyone because not all web designers are created equal. Some may offer cheaper services than others…but they may also provide lower quality work as well. A higher price does not always mean better quality, although if you’re looking for top of the line service with customer satisfaction guaranteed then it’s worth it!
How much does it cost to create a website?
The average cost of hiring a professional web designer to create an attractive website for your company will be anywhere from $3000-$6000 often needing to be paid upfront, depending on how complicated it is and how many pages it has. This doesn’t include hosting ($10-100 monthly) or the actual domain name (e.g. “example.com”, $15-50 per year).
Hiring someone to maintain your site regularly is just as expensive as creating the site itself. It’s usually between $50-$100 per hour depending on how much work needs to be done and what kind of upkeep you require. A good website can help you reach more visitors and make more money!
What are the benefits of having your own website?
There are many benefits to having a website. It’s becoming essential in this day and age and as time goes on, there will be even more benefits to owning your own site.
If you’re looking for new customers or just want to raise awareness of your business, having a website is the best way to do so. You won’t need to pay for advertisements because it’s all done through your site! This can save you thousands of dollars each year…which means that those thousands of dollars can now be used towards things like promoting other aspects of your company or getting better equipment/materials so that you can offer higher quality products and services.
A well-designed website is also important because it helps establish credibility within the market (and with new and potential customers) by showing that you are an established, professional company. It’s also a great way to show off your products/services in an attractive, organized layout.
Creating your own website means that you need to be ready to take on many different tasks (aside from the ones listed above). This includes things like updating your site regularly with fresh content, monitoring visitor behavior (which refers to how people use your site), making changes/updates accordingly so that there is more traffic or interest, engaging with visitors through social media and giving them reasons to come back over and over again. A website also requires maintenance work so that it doesn’t become outdated or obsolete which can decrease its effectiveness greatly!
5 Tips for creating an effective site
Here are some tips to help you create an effective and affordable website!
1. Understand that a website is not just text and images. It’s NOT just about pretty pictures, it’s more than that; it needs substance and information that helps your visitors get what they need from your company (whether that means products, services or whatever). A valuable website will contain things like product descriptions, price lists, policies/guarantees/returns etc. Good sites also have engaging content with blogs and other forms of regular updates so people always come back for more.
2. You can’t expect viewers to find your site if there is nothing in search results to make them click on the link to begin with. To establish high rankings in search engines (like Google), you’ll need to have high quality links coming from other websites that are relevant to your market. These kinds of links can be gained through things like guest posts, directory submissions, social media shares etc. This will help drive more traffic (and better customers) straight to your site.
3. It’s important for new visitors to feel welcome and comfortable when they first land on your site so make sure that it has a professional look/feel and is organized in a way that’s easy for people to find what they’re looking for (without being overly complicated). Always keep the interest of new visitors in mind when creating content-what would YOU want if you were landing on an unfamiliar website? You also want to provide multiple ways for them to get in touch with you so they don’t feel like they’re out of options.
4. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a very important tool that will help your site rank high on the search engines which means more people will be able to find it leading to more traffic, leads and customers! (this won’t do much for you if nobody can see your website though). It’s also better than PPC ads because the only cost incurred by having a good SEO plan in place is time and planning efforts which pays off greatly long-term.
5. Keep your site updated regularly with fresh content/information to keep visitors coming back for more (and keep them engaged!). If you want to keep generating interest from new visitors, you need to make sure that your site doesn’t become stale and out of date.
Creating a website is one of the best ways for you to establish credibility in the market and potentially connect with new clients/consumers. It’s cost-effective and easy to set up so there’s really no reason why every business should have a website these days!
Pros and cons of investing in your own site
Building your own site is a great option for business owners who have a low budget and limited resources. You can use the website to market your product or service, give people information about you, and encourage them to buy from you.
A word of caution: Since owning a site takes time and money (for web hosting fees and blog maintenance), it’s best if you can hire someone with web design experience to establish your site on an affordable platform . This will save you the hassles of manually setting up everything, making upgrades regularly, and tracking down bugs that pop up in the future. Plus, hiring expert designers makes sure no corners are cut during development so visitors get the most out of their visit to your site.
If you’re not comfortable using a website platform, or you need something more integrated with your business software, then building your own custom site is the way to go.
So how about it? Is it worth the cost of having a site just so customers can find out who you are and what you do? According to expert Ron Kaufman , “When we say that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, we mean that if someone comes across any information on your company even if they don’t buy from you, they still have some knowledge about your brand.”
While this may be true in the age of social media where people are looking for information almost instantaneously, many consumers will still spend time going through websites especially if they have had good experiences with previous ones. In fact, 40% of internet users will read a website’s terms and conditions while only 23% have ever even opened an email.
When someone visits your site, they’re going to want to know everything about you before making the decision to buy from you or pass up your offer entirely. You’ll have little time to convince them how great you are so it’s key that everything on your site, from the product descriptions down to the contact details, paint you as a leader in your market .
A website will make people feel safe because websites provide reassurance that there is accountability behind what is being promoted – 67% of consumers who visit a company’s website say that they feel more confident about making purchases from a company if they have a strong online presence.
It’s true that many consumers will just visit your site and then go straight to your competitor, but even if this happens it’s still worth it because there are plenty of people who will be persuaded by what you offer online – 64% of consumers consult the web before going shopping in-store and 34% research products using search engines. And remember: not all leads generated through websites are “hot”. You can follow up with these customers later when they start thinking about purchasing.
If you’re worried about theft of information or identity, consider getting SSL encryption, which adds an extra layer of security that makes it much more difficult for someone else to your sell your website, or a team to steal your ecommerce customer database, or even rip off your premium CMS theme (WordPress is a CMS).
What are your “online” goals? Fine-tune these deliverables so you can easily measure how well your Internet efforts lead to tangible results.
How much time do you have available for marketing per week? How much time is needed to create, manage and maintain the new site? Also factor in the need for employee training about online tools and social media applications.
Is your company’s target demographic older or younger than 18 years old? If you’re going after an audience who is more likely to use Facebook and Twitter than Bing, then a website might be too unwieldy of a tool. If someone hasn’t heard of Google yet — either because they’re a little young or old — chances are good they won’t be able to find you on the Web.
Does your company make or sell physical products, or are you in an industry where people might need to see a physical sample before buying? Can you have a 3-D model made and put it online as a substitute for a free website? If so, then maybe investing in a new website just isn’t critical.
Is there something specific that will help your business (or product) stand out from the masses of the same category? If so, then maybe you should invest in a site that shows off your particular strengths and enhances brand recognition.
Are you ready to build AND sustain an Internet presence over time — what with ongoing and necessary updates, changes, tweaks and fixes to plug any security holes or integrate new applications, network devices and security software? Here’s a hint: Not only will you need to update your site regularly with fresh content if you want people to revisit it, but you’ll also have to keep multiple social media profiles up-to-date (and spend time on them).
If all these factors — including the cost of getting your company online — are in alignment, then maybe it makes sense for you to invest. If not, or if there are budget constraints, don’t let that stop you from taking the next step. You can still use mobile apps, social networks and other forms of social marketing as part of an overall strategy that works for your business. That way, even though it might be less than optimal when compared to a cohesive website strategy, you can still reach your goals.
Finally, make sure you evaluate the ROI of online marketing efforts before committing to them. Set specific goals and objectives that present quantifiable measures of whether what you’re doing online actually works for your business. That way, if things aren’t going well — or if they’re exceeding even your highest hopes — you’ll know just how effective your Internet presence is.
Why websites are worth the investment (even if they’re expensive)
A website is worth the investment even when it’s expensive.
Websites don’t have to be expensive to make and maintain. A lot of people think that they’re not important or necessary on a small budget. People sometimes say that not having a website doesn’t really impact the success of businesses in urban areas because there are so many other businesses out there already – but what about rural locations? What if you want to start early on getting your business established online? Having an elaborate and beautiful website will set you apart from others who don’t have one. If you’re looking for that extra edge over other companies working in your field, why not invest in a great-looking site? However, here’s the thing: It might be expensive now, but it’s really a worthwhile investment.
A lot of people also believe that the website will be dated quickly because there are so many other websites that can always outdo you in your business niche. This belief is actually false, and here’s why: Website design is on-going and very flexible – they can be updated at any time, which makes them more current than most businesses. You don’t have to update it every day or every hour; your company is unique and special, so to make sure your website stands out from everyone else’s, keep it current but still reflects your image and branding.
The only problem with having a website these days is that people think they’re not very important or necessary. There are even some who claim that the internet is just a fad that will eventually disappear. Even if these people are right, websites will still be important to businesses until the day the internet disappears and all business transactions happen in person again.
A website doesn’t have to be expensive – it could even cost as little as $99 per month for all its maintenance fees. There are actually many companies out there that offer website design services at an affordable price; you just have to look around a bit to find them. Some of them offer free templates or website themes so you can choose from different designs rather than having someone else design your site. If you’re not sure about what kind of theme you want, get a professional graphic designer to help with the overall look and feel of your website.
What to look for when searching for web designers/developers
If you are going to be paying for the development of your website cost, look for a company that clearly outlines their work plan before starting any work. Key questions to ask them include what they will do for you, how long it will take and how much it will cost. It is also important to ask if there are any hidden fees or costs associated with the website.
Look for websites that have a portfolio of web designs so you can get an idea of their style. Also try looking at their previous clients’ sites or reviewing testimonials from actual customers about working with the designer/developer.
If you want your site to rank well in search engines, make sure that the designer/company uses only “white hat” search engine optimization and digital marketing techniques.
For web hosting, it is important to select a company that has redundant systems and offsite backups in case something happens to the data center itself. You’ll also want good 24/7 support for if there is ever an issue on your site or with your payment system.
What are common mistakes people make when building their first site?
Building your first website can be a daunting experience. You know you want to get started, but you don’t know where to begin. Here are some of the common mistakes people make when trying to build their first site, and how to avoid them:
You don’t fill in all forms – Many companies ask only for basic information from clients on their contact webpages, these often correlate with features and functionality for your website. When deciding what kind of information to ask for, think about why that question is relevant at all. Make sure every form has a reason behind it-you may not need an age range or gender at all if it doesn’t apply directly to what you’re selling!
You do too much yourself – We often see small business owners trying to build a website, often because they don’t know what to expect to pay. However, this is not something you can do yourself – it takes a lot of skill and expertise. Trying to do it on your own will take a long time to get just one page up; you’ll spend more time working on the site than getting actual traffic from it.
You don’t have enough information – You may think that your business is unique because what you do isn’t common knowledge, but chances are there’s plenty of content about what you’re offering online already. Put together some information that answers the questions people have when they find your site-what sets your business apart from others, how long you’ve been in business, why customers should buy from you instead of another company, etc.
Is a Website Worth the Cost to YOU? Conclusion.
The decision to invest in a website is an important one. Websites can be created in the blink of an eye and with minimal investment-perfect for entrepreneurs who don’t want to spend a fortune on marketing just to get their business off the ground. Some people claim that it’s not worth investing in a website, but we disagree. Websites are the perfect opportunity for you to get your foot in the door and establish your company as credible and professional.
If you’re trying to decide whether or not this investment will pay off, make sure you factor these common mistakes into consideration before making any decisions about what type of site design approach suits your needs best!
If you’re still having trouble deciding, call an expert!
