We often have people saying how affordable we are compared to other developers - but then we also have the opposite end - we're too expensive... The main question is - how do you know what you're paying for? What is 'good value'? Well being in the industry I obviously have a good understanding of what websites are 'truly' worth.
There are many things to ask yourself when building and paying for a website:
- What do I have to do as part of the setup process? A lot or nothing?
- Is my design custom to my brand or a template I choose from?
- Who inputs all the pages contents and makes it look good?
- When the websites paid up - do I own it? Or am I still locked in with my developer?
- What is the hosting going to cost me? What does it comprise of?
Generally if you're paying upwards of $1,000 for a 5 page website for your business, you will own it, have a semi-decent template, and have the content entered for you by the developer. The general range I hear people paying is between $800 and $2000-3000 for a 5 page website.
Now if you're paying $1,000, then you might not expect the best looking website, but you should still have something half decent - if you're paying upwards of around $2,000 - $3,000, you should expect something quite elegant and polished. You should also definitely expect to have full ownership of the site, so you can move it elsewhere if ever required.
If you don't have the ability to own the website, we recommend you find a developer who does give you this option - otherwise you're literally locked-in and can't go anywhere else unless you're prepared to pay another $1,000 - $3,000 on a new website! This is probably one of the biggest issues we have clients coming to us face.
There are some clients we have who have paid upwards of $10,000 for a basic business website with a few extra features - this is NOT okay in our eyes. Unless you've got some more complex system bolted on or advanced e-commerce system, a general business website should never be that much.
The best advice I can offer is get quotes and ask the developer "what am I REALLY getting for this money?", that'll help you weed on the ones that are trying to overcharge you. Obviously with our company, you can trust you're getting a great value product and service, but if you're not feeling other developers are offering the same feel - get quotes!
Is my advice go for the cheapest? No, not at all - you get what you pay for... but there is a difference between people trying to overcharge you in general and those who are genuinely giving you all the relevant features & value for the money you're paying.
Do what suites your budget - if there isn't anything in your budget range then compare quotes and work out which is the best value in terms of service & development.
Until next time.
