Experience vs Cost… What Value Do You Put On Your Website?

Have you ever wondered why websites can be quoted from as low as “zero” or as high as $200,000 or more? Have you ever thought about the amount of experience your website designer has had when it comes to building websites? How about determining what you should or shouldn’t spend on a website?

One of the biggest issues faced by website development and design firms locally, nationally and internationally is cost. This is something at least 1 or 2 popular providers aim for and it does come at a cost. This cost is not only to the customer but also to other providers in the same industry.

So why is every large company aiming for free websites being a seller of their service. They are actually working on customisations, technical support and more importantly addon options. They are willing to give you the base software for FREE and that is great if you are the owners or the creators of the software. The software is usually user friendly so it does mean people with little or no knowledge of website building can build their own website.

There is a couple of draw backs with this solution. The first is the amount of experience of the user who is building the website. It can almost be guaranteed that there is zero to minimal experience associated with the website builder.

Now how about those who charge under $500 for a website. This market is very big, it is constantly growing and more times than not it is a friend of a relatives, partners, cousins, best mate who has just been studying website design at tafe or distance education.

The websites are typically built in something free to download and use but come with a lot of hidden costs like incompatible components, unflexible template designs, restrictions to what can be done in terms of user interaction etc.

The quality is usually not too crash hot and often the design or the colour scheme save the site because it is all from a bought template. The end result can be a real mixed bag but at the end of the day you are running a business not a creative art project where the value is measured in the ability to make colours clash.

There is often a lot of pigeon english left in the website components / plugins due to the all care, no responsibility approach given to the site.

So far we have painted a picture that looks bleak. For websites around the $1,000 mark (we do offer a starter pack which includes a website, domain name registration and website hosting for $899) these are often plagued with 2 different types of organisations.

The first is ones like us who want to be able to provide “Tradies” with an online presence on a real budget. There is not much time spent on the website itself in terms of design because of the fact we have allocated a small 4 hours to building the website and the rest is absorbed in registration and hosting costs. Infact in the few years we have offered these websites we have only sold 10 or so.

The second is organisations in the $599 or lower market branching out in to building e-commerce websites. These websites are usually free solutions yet again but have little modifications made to them. The overall quality is low but if you are lucky it will work.

So far we have seen all very low end website costs and why companies or individuals charge these prices. Now for why you should invest in an experienced website design and development firms or individuals.

Our staff have been building websites for at least 10-15 years, whether it be for our clients or for others while employeed elsewhere. The one thing that each member has said is “building a website is based on labour.” They are are 100% correct, you can build any website you would like but the greatest cost is time. If you want to have your website well refined where the template/site design looks great no matter what browser or device you are using then it will take time. If you are wanting to have better sounding error and responses messages then once again they will take time. The more features you have the more it will cost.

If you are a market leader in your industry or you believe you can be then honestly you need to invest in to your website and how it is built. It is the first thing online customers will see. The best thing you can do is ensure that they all have the same experience when visiting your website.

This involves quite a lengthy check list being ticked off and something that inexperienced website design and development companies and individuals will not provide you. It is also something that will separate a website from a good or even a great website. Experienced teams will also be able to provide you with a great step by step solution which will help you make your website a success.

At the end of the day don’t let experience be compromised by cost, if you are after a great quality website that works on a large variety of devices and web browsers than you need to talk to a team like the one at Suncoast Web Solutions. It could mean the difference between scoring a huge contract for your business or costing you that valuable contract.