Introduction
One of the most common questions we get is “Why do you charge what you charge for a website?” In fact, we get this question so often that we like to address it as early as possible with each client we work with. A website can mean several different things.
The Cheap Approach
You can easily find someone that will build a website for your business for $1K or possibly less. There may even be a promise that your website will increase your sales or grow your business, but at the end of the day, you are just delivered a static website that is based on your specifications that only results in disappointment. The problem with this approach is that a website built on your own specifications will rarely yield the results that you want. You wouldn’t hire an accountant and then give them the specifications for how to file your taxes would you? In this same way, you should trust that your web developer has the expertise to assist in accomplishing your business goals and not just follow a recipe list.
The “Free” Approach
Recently, there has also been an increase in website development that promises a free website (with a nominal monthly fee). Some of these packages include analytics and CDNs as well as an SSL certificate and various other add-ons. The issue here really comes down to quality. Nothing in life is free and 9 times out of 10 you are paying for someone to take a template of an already existing website and making a few subtle changes to provide a “customized” or “white label” look. The reports are no exception and are generally a standard report that is scheduled to be run on a monthly basis. While these reports can be helpful, they aren’t hand-tailored to your specific needs and can’t be utilized to their fullest potential.
The Do-it-yourself Approach
Building your own website is not for the faint of heart. There are several tools that allow you to basically drag and drop a website together and you can get a way with a negligible fee for the service. Assuming you had the time to put together your own website, this is where things start to get interesting. Building your website is only a small portion of the battle. Building your own website means that you are responsible for your own search engine optimization and marketing, content delivery networks, social marketing, content creation, server maintenance, plugin maintenance, and backups among other things. If you enjoy a challenge then this method is for you and we truly wish you the best of luck!
BIG’s Approach
At BIG, we believe that every client is a partnership and the success of each client is directly tied to our own. Our process involves an introductory meeting to get to know you as a client. We learn your business, we learn your processes, and we learn your goals. Next, we help you develop a plan for growing your business and maximizing your return on investment. We create a list of analytics that are pertinent to the growth and success of your online presence and create custom reports so that you never miss a beat. Using the information that we have gathered, we create a unique website for you that maximizes your online presence and drives sales and growth.
The Answer
Just like with most things in life, you pay for what you get. You can pay $1K and get a website for your company up and running that gives your business a web presence and if that’s all you want, we encourage you to do so. You can also settle in for a monthly fee for a template site that looks similar to 90% of other websites. Lastly, if you wanted to try to take this endeavor on yourself and want to design your own website and run your own search engine optimization campaigns and generate your own web traffic, then two of the sites we would recommend are Wix and Weebly. But, if you’ve tried one of these methods and it didn’t work out, or if you are truly ready to push your business to the limits of what it can be and provide a leading edge website for your business and your customers, then you can get started with BIG.
Not Quite Ready?
Find out how we have helped other businesses just like yours and how we can help your business stand out!
