How much does it cost to build a website?

Submitting an Order or Solving a Problem?

Most pizza lovers select their crust type, red or white sauce, pie size, meat toppings, veggie toppings and even fruit toppings a create a mouth-watering pizza they can enjoy as a meal. In other words, they select the "features" they want in the final product. There is a flat cost for each item added to the pizza for a total price. It’s kind of like "plug and play".

Many business owners, and even web developers, take the “order” approach when building a new website. They select the features they like, such as slide in text or graphics, flip boxes, parallax scrolling, sticky navigation bars, popups, and videos in the slider area, just to name a few. What they omit is a strategy for attracting the right clients, visual branding and messaging, and a long-term plan for growing their business through marketing. A business website is the hub for all digital marketing activities.

Process Shortcuts can be Costly

Some business owners may ask to duplicate another website and simply change out images, logo, content information and contact information. While this is a simple and inexpensive approach, it could also infringe on copyright laws, so it’s not advised.

Similarly, some web designers use basic templates changing only the images, logo, contact information and written content, which is like buying a mass-produced product at the local store then adding a few of your own "features". Although cost effective, the danger is your website could look very similar to a competitor’s website, or generic, and not produce the results you're looking to achieve long-term.

While features are part of the design process, they need to contribute to the overall messaging and branding for the company. More importantly, customers may consider some add-on features more “bling” than substance that adds value to their website experience that would encourage them to move forward with a transaction.

Strategic Web Design Experience

Ideally, a website should help a company reach its marketing and sales goals. This is done through strategy planning rather than selecting features that may not contribute positively to the customer experience and maximize the opportunity to make a sale.

Sure, it’s a lot easier to do “plug and play” features and to price out each piece of the process for a combined price but what are you really buying – an “off the shelf” website or a web solution design to increase sales and grow your business?



So …. How much does it cost to build a website? 

Let’s look at some of the factors involved in building a quality website that produces results for your business over the long-term.

What is the purpose of your new website?

Take the time to clearly identify the purpose of your website. Will it be built for lead generation, streamlining processes, rebranding, ecommerce? Get granular about your vision, mission and how that's demonstrated on your website.
 
If you’re striving to build brand recognition, grow sales and ultimately position your business for a lucrative sale, then your website needs to be built around these objectives.
 
One of our B2B service clients had this goal in mind when they rebuilt their website clearly targeting a select market. The well-branded website showed up strong in two markets, the staffing increased and sales grew exponentially. The business was recently sold to a national company who's website contains obvious commonalities. 

 Who do you want to attract to your website?

Clearly define your perfect client(s) by creating a profile for each type of customer beyond standard demographics. Once your clients are defined, build your website around them. Position your clients as the hero for selecting you firm to solve their problem. Use stories to sell your products or services.
 
Clarifying your website objectives and defining your perfect clients are part of the discovery and planning process. While a survey can identify basic concepts, a discovery meeting raises pertinent questions and provides solutions. We find that often our client doesn’t know their clients as well as they thought they did.

How will visuals and content connect with customers?

This step takes a deeper understanding of your clients. Craft video and written content so it feels like a conversation with your client. The design should deliver a great user experience so it’s both enjoyable and informative. Remember, the website is not about you, it’s about your client and how you guided them to a solution for their problem. 

How should your website show up in searches?

Obviously, your website needs to show up in searches so your clients can do business with you. Quality search engine optimization is a process and it’s also ongoing. SEO should include comprehensive keyword research, competitive analysis, and a process for ensuring each page is built to be found in searches.

 
Regular quality content that is keyword rich plays a big part in keeping your website at the top of searches. 

What do you want your customers to do on your website?

Your website needs to encourage visitors to take an action, and that’s not always buying a product or contacting you to schedule a sales call. Sometimes, “taking action” can include gated content that requires a customer to provide their contact information in exchange for a valuable document, coupon, webinar sign up or a video. This contact information is used email campaigns and to nurture qualified leads to closed sales. 

How are you going to define and measure success?

It’s important to develop benchmarks for measuring success. Defining what success looks like and what one key factor impacts sales. These benchmarks could be traffic volume, engaged visitors, conversions to sales or other factors. It’s equally important to create a series of customer interactions from the time a customer responds to a digital ad through to the closed sale.

What is your marketing strategy for attracting visitors to your website?

It’s important to keep your website in top shape from a technical standpoint as well as continually creating great content. Develop a simple, workable marketing strategy to stay in front of potential clients, builds trust and sales.
 
The marketing strategy is built around your customers behaviors. So, if your customers are older and are on Facebook regularly, then a targeted Facebook ad may be part of your marketing strategy. Conversely, if your customers are younger, then Instagram and texting may be the best tools for reaching customers and growing sales.  Combine a Facebook ad with a landing page on your website with an offer, such as eBook, videos, or coupon, to request their contact information and send them a sequence of emails for staying engaged.

So, how much does it cost to build a website?

As you can see from this overview, there are numerous factors that go into building a quality website. Websites can be built cheaply but usually don’t produce the desired results while well-planned, quality websites produce sustainable outcomes.

With all our website projects, we use our Granular Process of discovery/planning, design, build and sustainability systems as the framework for building robust websites that produce desired results. If you’re interested in rebuilding your website, schedule an appointment for a free strategy session. 

Have questions about building a quality website?

Reach out to us with your web design questions at Design@gcmd.agency. Better yet, schedule a free strategy session to learn how your web presence stacks up and areas for improvement.

Look for us on DesignRush as a Top Web Design Company.

For over twenty-five years, she has helped companies look their best and reach their customers with the right message. She's the driving force behind every project and believes companies should be treated honestly, expect quality work and continual communication during and after a work is complete. You can find Alexandra on Linkedin.

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