Over the past few years, I’ve had a lot of people call me or ask me directly for marketing help. Unfortunately, many of these people have a budget for a website of around $500.00. I immediately tell them that I am the WRONG company for the job! Yes, there are companies out there that will do a website for $500.00. But there is the old saying that you “get” what you pay for. In today’s post we’ll talk about website budgets the myth of the $500.00 website.
Let me start off by saying that I didn’t wake up one day and decide that I was going to be a marketing snob! And I do want to help small businesses. But the best thing I can do for them is give them a reality check that if they want a nice website and online marketing that converts, they are going to have to spend a lot more money than just $500.00 to build a serious online presence. Over the years as I’ve seen my clients’ revenues grow, I know by now what kind of budget it will take to see serious growth. I also know the kinds of websites that convert and the kinds that will make people run to a competitor.
Myth 1 – It only takes a few hours to design a website
The truth is, that it can take up to five hours to just layout the wire frame of a website. This is just the sketch of where things will go. Additionally, a professional designer could spend as much as fifteen to thirty hours designing in Photoshop before the site is converted to HTML. On top of that, the HTML developer could spend as many as one hundred hours finalizing customization, adding content, and fine tuning the site. Needless to say, a professional quality website that will convert can take more than 100+ man hours to put together.
However, some will insist that it should be cheaper and can be done in a few hours! Yes, but again you get what you pay for. In the end, you’re left with a really terrible site that does more harm than good online. Take a look at this design from a local company. This is an example a website that was probably completed in about ten to fifteen hours.
Myth 2 – Google doesn’t care about DESIGN when showing rankings
The truth is, Google uses the data it collects from Chrome Browsers to determine the rankings. Mainly, how long someone has been on the site and what the bounce rate of the site is. So if you have a bounce rate of close to 100%, then Google knows that most users don’t like the design. Thus they don’t list any website very high if the overall user experience is bad.
So, when you invest in cheap website design, you end up hurting your entire SEO campaign and ultimately all of your online marketing. Here is another website which bombs. I’m sure the owner has good intentions, but the website lacks the professionalism to really win customers.
Myth 3 – I can use an ONLINE builder to create my website and get the same result!
Yes, I’ve heard this one before! People sign up to a GoDaddy website builder and create their site and then ask for marketing help later. The problem is, the sites are VERY limiting. Take into consideration that when your company grows you may later decide to add a professional shopping cart, social media, and new content. You’ll quickly realize that these websites were created by hosting companies so you’ll spend money having a hosting account!
Take a look at this template from Go Daddy. Does it make you want to call that company? I mean if you’re a successful Lawyer are you really going to build your own website? I hope not!
The naked truth is, you’re better off to buy a domain and park it until you’ve saved enough money to really build a nice website and a full online marketing plan. But that’s not all! You’d be better finding a marketing company to do build it than a freelancer who might be good at design, but not grasp how online marketing works.
Yes, GOOD online marketing can be expensive! However, ecommerce marketing still provides a much stronger ROI than traditional print media, yellow pages, or billboards. But in the end, you get what you pay for! It is up to you to decide how you’ll spend your marketing dollars. Small businesses need to realize that the world is going digital and budget accordingly so that they won’t be left behind.