Cheap Web Design. Too Good To Be True?

Cheap Web Design. Too Good To Be True? I regularly get asked is £xxx cheap for a website design. The answer depends on what you want and what you get, and here lies the challenge. There is a MASSIVE difference in both your expectations AND the ‘designers’ ability to deliver.

So let’s see if we can help firm up those murky boundaries and remove some of those questions.

You have your business idea and you want the world to see it, use it and in the end, buy it!

The quickest and by far most cost effective method in this day and age is to get yourself a website.

Now, the first consideration that the majority of small business owners face is that of cost.

The price you pay for a website design can vary hugely and this could determine your results.

But it is wise to consider all the options as price is not the best criteria in always being the deciding factor.

So, in an effort to help you make an informed decision, I have put together a list of questions that you should fire at your prospective designers.

It is by no means exhaustive, but should help you along your way…

1. Is my website design bespoke (designed just for me by you) or are you using a template/theme?
2. Is my website going to be static (hard coded content that requires FTP access and HTML knowledge to change) or dynamic via CMS (managed via a control panel like WordPress)?
3. What can I expect within the first 3 – 6 month of SEO or is this not something you do?
4. Is my site going to be protected from spam/hackers and how are you going to do this?
5. Will my site be cross browser compatible (show up perfectly in IE8/9, Firefox, Google Chrome etc)?
6. Will be site be W3C compliant and accessible?
7. Will my site showcase my niche skills and products?
8. Can my visitors email me from my site directly?
9. Can my visitors buy direct from my site (if applicable)?
10. What kind of support will you offer and at what cost?
11. How much will my web hosting be now AND in the future?
12. How do I get hold of you when something goes wrong?
13. How QUICKLY will you act on any changes I need you to make?
14. How long will it take for this site to be built?

And the list can go on, however, the questions above are a great starting point.

One thing to remember is that when a ‘mate’ offers to do it for pennies, you can only expect the results to match his experience.

He may well be a professional agency designer or self-employed and be extremely good and do this as a favour, BUT I doubt this, as professionals will know the time and man hours required to produce a quality site and very, very few, would be willing to give their time away for nothing.

So come on, how much…

IF you are looking to manage the site yourself and do not want too many bells and whistles you should expect to pay in the region of £400 to £1000 for a brand new website.

Any less than this and I would want to see a lot of work.

If you get down to the ‘couple of hundred’ mark then please expect a recycled template and/or a site that will give you a presence online and not much more.

We have written one or two articles that can help, and we have listed them for you below.

1. What makes a good website
2. Web design start up tips
3. Web hosting buying guide
4. When will google rank my site

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, happy surfing…