“How much does it cost to build a website?” It’s a question we hear all the time when entrepreneurs or brick and mortar stores decide to launch their business virtually. The reason a simple figure doesn’t roll off our tongues is because there is such a vast difference in each website’s functionality and maintenance structure from business to business.
What we suggest you do when trying to compare apples to apples is sit down with a reputable website design and search engine optimization (SEO) firm to hash out all of the features and benefits you need on your website. The best way to do this is to make a list of all of the things you’d like your website to accomplish. This can vary greatly depending upon your business objectives, and your website consultant may have a few additional suggestions for you to consider to help you meet your goals.
It’s important to understand that much like your cell phone, you can expect to pay a monthly or yearly maintenance fee for your website depending upon the features you select. Fees can range from a small charge for simply hosting your website to custom service fees for running the site’s logistics or building and interacting with your social communities.
Some website design firms fulfill the role of webmaster and additionally generate blogs, tweets, Facebook status updates, audio clips, and video content to keep your site interesting, interactive, relevant, and high-ranking on the search engines.
They do this by collecting data and preferences from you and then using their expertise to feed the information into the website in various formats that are designed to generate traffic and response. Working long term with your designer in this way is essentially like outsourcing your web P.R. Of course, your designer can also teach you or someone in your company how to maintain online activities on your website in-house.
It’s also important to discuss with the team building your site how the site will be found on search engines. Some web companies (like ours) will also have good ideas for ranking high in Google for the keywords that your target audience will be searching for. Web design companies often offer a one-time optimization service, as well as ongoing services to keep your site ahead of its competition.
We’d encourage you to be leery of anyone who offers you a flat rate to design your website without speaking with you in detail about your project. It usually results in unpleasant surprises and it’s often how we see people lose their money and become disenchanted with the whole website building experience. Remember, to gain an accurate understanding of the costs and maintenance fees you can expect when building your company’s website, it’s important to request a detailed proposal based on the your specific objectives.
If you’d like to receive a quote on your website construction or maintenance, please contact YDO for an insightful interview on your business’s needs. We can offer you a detailed proposal with no hidden costs.
