subject: The Pitfalls Of Building Cheap Business Websites [print this page] Almost every business these days recognises the importance of having a website. Websites are an indispensible sales tool, where more and more people are using the Internet to help them make purchasing decisions. As more and more businesses engage website design and development companies with a view to entering the online space, trusting your website to the cheapest web design agency can cost far more in sales and credibility to your business than you bargained for.
Directory Based Web Pages
Many of the large online directory websites offer packages that include a dedicated web page for your business. This would include your logo, details, some advertising copy and a contact or quote based contact system. While having a business entry on an Internet based directory sites with high visitor volumes can be beneficial, some of these dedicated web pages are sold as an alternative to having your own independent website with its own web address (domain name).
This approach to marketing your business online is far too limiting and can become very costly. Dependence on a single directory service that is likely to run on a business model that plays its customers off against each other in competition to be positioned above each other can serve to diminish, rather than increase your returns over time.
Even if the directory website is based on your industry and niche, rather than a general directory, and successfully brings you business, it is no substitute for owning your own website.
Production Line Website Design Companies
There is an increasing appearance in the website design/development market of production line business models. This kind of business model aims to maximise the output of websites at minimal cost. While website design companies might see a large demand from businesses with limited budgets to make websites cheaper, the compromise generally to quality of website production, as well as service to the customer, can be detrimental to the overall success for your businesses online success.
Can I Have Your Attention Please?
Companies and agencies that offer websites below, say $3000.00 are probably not going to be as invested in your businesses online success as youd like them to be. This can be telling when you find it difficult to speak to the same consultant when you call them. The sales team are not properly educated in the products they sell and are overly eager to agree to anything to sign you up are signs that your project is part of a production line. Once you have signed the contract, the customer service deteriorates to the point of frustrating phone calls or worse, being left on hold.
Standard Templates Wont Make You Stand Out
Another sign that you are being led down the production line path is being offered a fixed choice of templates for your website. A template is basically the layout and look of the website. Templates are a good way to get inspiration for how you want your website to look, but if your web designer is not willing to create an original, unique website design for your business, he/she isnt very interested in your success. Why would you want to look like at least a dozen other websites with the only distinguishing feature being your business logo and content? As time goes by you may find that as your web design agency cranks more of their pre-fabricated websites out into cyberspace, your business website becomes less and less remarkable.
You Get What You Pay For
When shopping for a website, you inevitably come across website design firms offering extraordinary deals that make you wonder how they can offer so much for so little. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for and with websites this is as true as ever. As with any business, if an offer seems too good to be true it usually is with few exceptions. Cheap web design and development implies that their business model is either a production line, is desperate for clients, or simply of a low standard. When you pay a reasonable rate for a website to be developed for your business, you are paying for dedication to the project from start to finish. Website design agencies that make cheap websites will be keen to finish the job quickly and move on to the next job in order to survive. As soon as a low-cost web designer gets bogged down with design revisions to please the customer, they risk losing money.
The Hidden Extras
The other reason that the package cost or quote is low may be because you will inevitably have to pay extra fees to get your website up to an acceptable level to service your needs. If you pay for a basic website without proper consultation, or dont read the contract or work order closely, you may find that the costs were much higher than you were originally lead to believe. As it becomes clear to you that you were mislead when originally signing up, the relationship with your web designer deteriorates from there.
To avoid the hidden extras scenario, it is important to understand what you are getting for the basic price.
How many content pages do I get?
Is copywriting included?
Is a contact form included?
Is domain registration included? If so, what is the cost of renewing my domain name after the initial registration period?
If the web agency registers the domain name for me, will it be registered under my business name?
Is the website Hosting included? If so, what does it cost to keep the service going after the initial period?
Am I free to take my finished website to another hosting provider after the website is finished?
These are all questions that should get straight forward answers from your web agency before work begins. If you cant understand the clauses within the contract, dont sign it. If a representative of the firm you are engaging cannot explain parts of the contract and have you immediately understand its meaning, dont sign it.
Do They Understand SEO or Internet Marketing?
Agencies that offer website design and development should also be involved in your Internet marketing strategy. Many do, but again, if they offer it for pennies then they are not dedicated to getting you results. Unfortunately for many who are seeking a website agency, the marketing is an after-thought when it should be dealt with at every stage of the website building process. It is argued by some that getting first page search engine results is simply achieved by having an appropriate site structure and some good content. This may have been true nine or more years ago, but the major search engines, especially Google, require much more work to achieve top results. This is especially true when your competitors are paying more attention than ever before to SEO in order to achieve first page results for as many relevant search terms as they can. Unless your market sits within a unique niche, it is simply a fantasy to believe that you can beat your online competitors by relying on a soft approach to marketing.
Offshore Website Agencies
Part of what makes the Internet revolutionary is they it allows people to connect with others. Offshore agencies seem closer than ever and email provides an easy way to communicate at low cost. While the tyranny of distance is less of an issue when communicating over the Internet, this is no guarantee that the website you paid for is going to meet your expectations. It is also worth considering that a website service agent that is local to your business will most likely have some local knowledge and produce a website that will better represent your website to a local audience. Not only this, but dealing with a local business for your website services means you are in a better position to check their background, follow up testimonials and resolve disputes.
Conclusion
To sum up:
Hunting for a web design firm with a view to spend as little as possible on building your website can more than likely be of detriment to the project.
Your website is an important investment in your business and is very much a case of you get out what you put into it.
Online directory websites that offer a business web page is no substitute for having your own website.
Beware of production line website shops that dont have your online success in mind.
Part of that success depends on SEO and marketing. If none is offered, or is offered very cheaply, this is cause for concern for the projects outcome.
Hidden extras and secret contract clauses can undermine your budget and poison your relationship with the web firm. Avoid signing anything not written in plain English and get all the information up-front.
Getting your website produced off-shore may be cheaper, but usually at the cost of quality and can generally be a risky enterprise.
By getting your website designed and developed by AWD in Melbourne, you are ensuring that what you spend is going to get you the desired results. We produce quality websites that reflect the uniqueness of your business enterprise at an honest price that represents an intelligent business investment. AWD commits itself to your online success. Your success is our success.
