How much does a website cost?

Having a website is on the must have list for most small businesses. This has come about as the website is now the main shop front and first touch point for generating new customer enquiries and sales leads. So how much should this reasonably cost and what is on the check list to make sure you are getting good value for your money?

What about free websites

The key ingredient to a good website is having the knowledge and expertise to know how to plan, design and structure a website so it will produce the desired outcomes. This will vary by business and this intel is not inherent within free builder tools. A great website is more than just good looks. For more insights read our article; are free websites any good

What is a good website and how much should it cost?

Your website should ideally produce good search rankings, generate a good stream of traffic, deliver a great first impression and engage visitors to a point where they convert into enquires and sales leads at a healthy rate. In short it should support your online advertising and marketing efforts and generate a steady stream of enquiries for your business.

A good website should also allow you to easily make edit changes and to publish new copy and images without the support of a web developer. Don't treat your website as a one off project, work out a content creation plan and publish new content on a regular basis and integrate this activity with your social media and email marketing programs. For more on this, read our article on content marketing.

Read our checklist on what makes a good website.

What skill sets should I be looking for in a web designer/developer/team?

• A strong understanding of SEO and online marketing is a key input into the high level planning process
• A good balance of functional design and creative design abilities
• Competency with modern open source cms systems – preferably php based unless you have Microsoft system integration requirements
• A deep understanding of web analytics
• Competent programming skills that deliver clean and simple coding
• A track record of websites that are performing

So once you have a good website container it will then need to be loaded with great content that is unique and of interest to your prospective customers including:
Copy, images, video, case studies, testimonials, trust badges etc.

What are the basic functional features that the website should include:

• A proper contact/enquiry form
• A simple article blog
• The ability to showcase testimonials
• A simple FAQ section
• Good image players to showcase your pictures
• The ability to embed video links
• Newsletter sign up data base

What budget should I cost for a website

For all of the above the overall cost won't be less than NZ$2000 and will be higher depending on the size and complexity of the website and how much design customisation is required.

If you need an e-commerce solution this will add at least 50% to the above cost. E-commerce set up costs vary depending on complexity. Complex shipping calculation rules for example can add considerable cost.

If you require logo and branding design work, this will cost extra.

So the $2000 - $3000 budget range is a good benchmark starting point whereby you should get a quality website that will be a good asset to your business.

Having your website planned, designed and built by professionals will ensure you get a good result and the total cost should be recovered well within 1 year.

Those businesses that go for free or cheap and or engage an under-skilled developer will find the result is the false economy of an under performing website that limits your opportunity to generate enquiries and sales. And this isn't considering the opportunity cost of your competitors that are getting ahead of you because they are doing it properly. It's just not worth cutting corners.

Monthly subscription builder websites

Monthly subscription websites have become a popular payment option, and popularised by the website builder platform operators like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and Shopify.

These options can be a good starting option, but they are DIY and the result will only be as good as the person setting up the website. If you want commercial success, then it's best to get some expert help from an experienced digital marketer.

What should you avoid

• Avoid bespoke content management systems
• Scraped copy
• Overly creative navigation and content pathways
• Using Flash, iframes in the website build

Adhesion is an experienced designer of websites and provider of online marketing services. We provide a range of website design options including small business website packages which are now available on monthly subscription starting at $49 per month.

If you need help or advice in determining where to start your website design project, then contact us for a free consultation.