The basic case for a having a website is simple. It’s a cost effective way to have information about your business available to the world 24 hours a day; however, website design costs can vary from just a small monthly hosting fee to 10s of thousands of dollars. So how much should you pay for your company’s website? What kind of approaches work best? Read on to find out…

  1. Do It Yourself Cost: Little cash to spend, many hours of your time to burn.
    Advantages: You’re good with technology, right? You’ve dabbled in Dreamweaver or Frontpage… and there website templates to start from. So you should be able to pull of a site pretty easily, right? If you are somewhat nimble with FTP, domain names, DNS servers, CSS, and HTML you can get a web presence up within 12-20 hours.
    Disadvantages: Normally looks like your first website (because it is). The reality for most business owners is akin to developing your first marketing campaign from a Microsoft Word Template. It really looks the part and screams “we are an amateur business”.
  2. Use a Website Builder Tool
    Cost:     $0 to a $200 setup fee up-front. $10-$80 monthly hosting fees thereafter.
    Advantages: If you choose the right company you can actually go through the website builder wizard and come out with something that looks professional and you normally get email hosting as well. You have control to build and create pages on the fly and don’t have to worry about the underlying technology.
    Disadvantages: Your site may look very cookie-cutter and will not look original. Even with good tools at your fingertips, you will find limitations and difficulty getting the layout like you want (after all, you probably don’t have a design background). Finally, if you ever want to move outside of the website builder wizard to do search engine optimization or do some advanced layout you are out of luck. You can only use the website builder wizard to make changes.

  3. Higher a Freelancer
    Cost    : $300 - low thousands
    Advantages    : A qualified freelancer has all the tools a big design agency has without any of the overhead. Depending on the experience of the person you hire, you can get great results at a deeply discounted price.
    Disadvantages    : What are your chances of finding a highly competent freelancer? Pretty slim. Usually it ends up being your brother’s neighbor’s son or some strange connection. Yes, they usually have some skills, but from a business perspective that would be like going to a well off family member for your banking needs, sure they have money… but banking is about much more than money.
  4. Higher a Web Design Firm
    Cost:     Low $1000s and up
    Advantages: Your company and brand are unique. Allowing people who build websites for a living to build your site makes good business sense. There are plenty of firms to choose from and they should have dozens of sites under their belt.
    Disadvantages: Sometimes working with a web design firm is like trying to find the right roofing company to shingle your house. The quality, cost, and service can vary greatly - so buyer beware. Avoid this by finding out what firms did some of the websites you like and getting referred. Check references and ask a lot of questions. Building a compelling, original website for your business is an intimate process. Finding a group with the right synergy and compliment to your business is the ticket to online success.

Create Web Studios is a small startup in Jacksonville, Florida that offers a wide range of website services at competitive prices. Jeff Venn, founder of Create Web Studios, would be glad to entertain any questions you may have - even if Create doesn’t land a job!