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Confetti Design how much should a website cost

How much should a website cost?

You get what you pay for.

You don’t know what you don’t know until you experience something different.

 

Late last year I was introduced to the amazing world of eyelash extensions. Instantly a convert I had my re-fills religiously every 3 weeks and experienced the benefits of no mascara, no morning-after smudge. Not to mention the compliments, which we love lets not lie!

In late April I visited Bali and considered having them filled as I heard they were half the price there.

I can see you already shaking your head and saying to yourself, “Don’t do it, what are you thinking?!” In my defense, I did get a recommendation for a salon. How do you qualify a recommendation is a very valid question.

However you would be correct, I had a semi-ok experience except for the freak-out mid session when my right eye was glued shut! I did think they looked thicker but that was all I thought at the time.

I returned to my lovely lady in Bayside, at Touch Body and Soul several weeks later and find out what a hatchet job I’ve received and discover we have to either start from scratch or go the slow process of waiting for the duds to drop out.

Hayley tells me how lucky I am that I escaped the eyelid infections (I do a search on Google images) but I also still don’t realise how good a job Touch do until I share my Bali horror with others.

Lessons from life #12054888.

Consider what you are saving when you get a deal. When asking how much should a website cost be sure you compare all the features of the service to see if there are hidden costs or value add benefits that will save you in the long run.

In thinking about this experience I realise that cost is always a factor in deciding which solution to go with. The costs can range from free to over $30k.

 

This article hopefully will help put all design & development options on a level playing field so you can make the best choice for you.

  1. Check what happens when you sign up for a free option. If they take your credit card when does it start to be billed? After you add 2 pages? After 6 months? Ask if you can’t find the information on their FAQ’s
  2. What is the domain name? If it looks anything like this mybusiness.cheapwebsite.com.au stay away.
    1. Because you are sending traffic to their domain, their ranking improves and you gain no good Google Juice.
    2. Your business brand is being hijacked if it’s connected to another brand
    3. It’s confusing to a customer as to what you are all about
  3. Is there an SEO component to help you building on your Google ranking and movement up the pages?
    1. Can you control what goes into the SEO built-in portion of each page.
  4. What are the hidden charges?
  5. If it starts as free and then you wish to upgrade to a paid version can you move the data? Some companies won’t let you move files, they lock the copy / images / pages.
  6. Will they have advertisements on your site or footer? Unrelated blatant marketing of their brand? You want complete control over your brand on your site.
  7. Companies can disappear at any time. A recent customers website was hacked, when we looked into it the supplier was actually hacked too and no record of them. She had to start from scratch. If her site was a sub-address to theirs (cheapwebsites.mysmallbusiness.com.au ) then that would be gone too.
  8. Malware can appear on your site because their level of security is not good enough, and you can’t control that. You are at the mercy of their security. Really really important you look at that.
  9. Size of bandwith offered on the free or cheap versions. This means the amount of data that can be transferred from where the files are stored (hosting) to the viewer.
  10. What is the size of storage, meaning how much information or size of files on your site. This will impact images, pages and experience for visitor. When you reach your limit the company will ask you to pay for more space.
  11. How flexible are the design options? Do you want to look like a cookie cutter website?
  12. What are the options for growth? Adding on a shop or a membership section? Adding in pop-ups and embedded forms for email capture? How easy is it to link with an email manager like Mailchimp so you can email market to grow your business?
  13. What is customer service like? Do they offer 24hour live chat or support tickets with a 12 hour response KPI? What after sales service is offered or guarantee on their work.

 

Good luck and reach out if you have any questions about an option you are considering.

 

 

Author - Johannah Barton

Johannah Barton

Johannah is founder and owner of Confetti Design, a leading Melbourne Shopify Agency. Her extensive background in fashion, interior design, sales and marketing contributes to the Agencies great ability and reputation. She creates content that helps small businesses navigate the online space helping them to consider their website as a sales tool.

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