I saved probably $500. But I am a web designer by trade, and I had done tons of research and preparation before building it.
If a great looking, click-rate/funnel optimized site is going to result in more clients/customers, why waste the hours of time learning it yourself? If it were me, I wouldn't trust an outsourced agency or freelancer because I know at the end of the day, with any business, a simple WordPress theme will not serve me well.
Most businesses end up redoing the site to optimize for mobile or to add lead magnets etc. so in my opinion, as a professional, I would do it round 1 and not wait - whether that's $1000 or $5000 depends on your industry and needs, which are impossible to know without an in-depth consultation.
Saving money is good and doing the work yourself is only worthwhile if you have a simple system to work with. If not it can be a very BIG undertaking. You know this since you do website development work. The BIG problem is that things are changing in the world of marketing. The old flat website just doesn't work as well as it once did. It just sits there on the computer screen staring back at you. In today's business world, interaction with potential clients and customers has become essential. A way of grabbing their attention in order to get them interested in becoming a customer. I suggest a Sales Funnel.
Whether you're an established business or a new startup a well designed website is a key to your success in today's world. But, you look at the cost and quite frankly the price that you will pay for a quality web designer can appear quite daunting with average costs from 1500.00 to 100,000.00 based on your needs and complexity of your site. You figure I can do it myself cheaply and avoid the cost but in the end this method may cost you more in lost business and wasted time than having hired the professional would have cost upfront.
How can this be you say, I bought the software for 29.99 and I did it myself so it cost nothing, how will I lose money? Let’s take a look at it for a moment and go through the numbers and show how a professional developer can save that lost revenue and time.
First lets look at the initial lost revenue. You are an expert in your business and running it. Say you make an estimated 100.00 an hour from your business. I'd think maybe 25 hours using the boxed software to create your site along with another 15 to research and figure out how to get it onto your hosted site. This includes verifying the domain is available, looking for a hosting provider and then uploading your site. Also during this time your expertise is diverted from your business so you lose some of that 100.00 and hour.
But wait what about registering with the main web search engines, yes you need to register with these engines to get onto their radar. This will mean another 20 hours lost into the process and more time away from doing what you are really best at.
Now you have a site and the money will start flowing but it isn't and worse yet because you don't understand how to monitor customer access to your site using tools like Google provides you have no idea where things have gone wrong or how to fix them.
Poorly laid out websites that have not been build with search engine optimization can cost you upwards of 35% business because customers either can't find you or are turned off by the look and feel of the site. This 35% would have paid for the use of a professional in the first year alone.
Your site is out and it works great except in Chrome. For some reason the contact form that is critical to your business isn't working, how do you fix it. Browsers, although looking like they work the same, each has distinct differences when handling HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These may be subtle or very glaring. Professional developers are used to these things and will design your site to work with these issues. More lost revenue because your customers using Chrome can't get in touch with you.
These are just a few of the things you can avoid and hit the ground running with a website designed by a professional for what appears to be a daunting cost but actually turns into a solid investment that can extend your business for many years to come.
I remember very clearly when a friend told me she spent $700 on her first website. I thought, "Dang, that's a lot of money." I proceeded to spend two weeks' of free time building my own. I bet I cleared about $10/hour.
Now, I build tiny sites for other people, and when I get an easy site, it's good money. If something goes wrong, though, it's hard money.
I don't manage sites that take money. Too many headaches. I use myself and send e-commerce clients to Shopify, so that they can manage all the security headaches. Worth the money.
I created my own free site on Weebly. It helped me get by when I didn't have the funds to afford a website. I'm not sure what their packages are, but I know that you can upgrade to your own URL
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Answers (1-5)
I saved probably $500. But I am a web designer by trade, and I had done tons of research and preparation before building it.
If a great looking, click-rate/funnel optimized site is going to result in more clients/customers, why waste the hours of time learning it yourself? If it were me, I wouldn't trust an outsourced agency or freelancer because I know at the end of the day, with any business, a simple WordPress theme will not serve me well.
Most businesses end up redoing the site to optimize for mobile or to add lead magnets etc. so in my opinion, as a professional, I would do it round 1 and not wait - whether that's $1000 or $5000 depends on your industry and needs, which are impossible to know without an in-depth consultation.
Hello Ian,
Saving money is good and doing the work yourself is only worthwhile if you have a simple system to work with. If not it can be a very BIG undertaking. You know this since you do website development work. The BIG problem is that things are changing in the world of marketing. The old flat website just doesn't work as well as it once did. It just sits there on the computer screen staring back at you. In today's business world, interaction with potential clients and customers has become essential. A way of grabbing their attention in order to get them interested in becoming a customer. I suggest a Sales Funnel.
Richard from Richard's Funnels http://abandon-your-website.ga/
Why Should You Hire a Professional Web Developer
Whether you're an established business or a new startup
a well designed website is a key to your success in today's
world. But, you look at the cost and quite frankly the price
that you will pay for a quality web designer can appear quite
daunting with average costs from 1500.00 to 100,000.00 based
on your needs and complexity of your site. You figure I can do
it myself cheaply and avoid the cost but in the end this method
may cost you more in lost business and wasted time than having hired
the professional would have cost upfront.
How can this be you say, I bought the software for 29.99 and I did it
myself so it cost nothing, how will I lose money? Let’s take a look at
it for a moment and go through the numbers and show how a professional
developer can save that lost revenue and time.
First lets look at the initial lost revenue. You are an expert in your
business and running it. Say you make an estimated 100.00 an hour
from your business. I'd think maybe 25 hours using the boxed software
to create your site along with another 15 to research and figure out
how to get it onto your hosted site. This includes verifying the domain
is available, looking for a hosting provider and then uploading your site.
Also during this time your expertise is diverted from your business so
you lose some of that 100.00 and hour.
But wait what about registering with the main web search engines, yes
you need to register with these engines to get onto their radar. This
will mean another 20 hours lost into the process and more time away
from doing what you are really best at.
Now you have a site and the money will start flowing but it isn't and worse
yet because you don't understand how to monitor customer access to your
site using tools like Google provides you have no idea where things have
gone wrong or how to fix them.
Poorly laid out websites that have not been build with search engine
optimization can cost you upwards of 35% business because customers either
can't find you or are turned off by the look and feel of the site. This 35%
would have paid for the use of a professional in the first year alone.
Your site is out and it works great except in Chrome. For some reason the
contact form that is critical to your business isn't working, how do you
fix it. Browsers, although looking like they work the same, each has distinct
differences when handling HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These may be subtle or
very glaring. Professional developers are used to these things and will
design your site to work with these issues. More lost revenue because
your customers using Chrome can't get in touch with you.
These are just a few of the things you can avoid and hit the ground running
with a website designed by a professional for what appears to be a daunting
cost but actually turns into a solid investment that can extend
your business for many years to come.
Probably, not a dime.
I remember very clearly when a friend told me she spent $700 on her first website. I thought, "Dang, that's a lot of money." I proceeded to spend two weeks' of free time building my own. I bet I cleared about $10/hour.
Now, I build tiny sites for other people, and when I get an easy site, it's good money. If something goes wrong, though, it's hard money.
I don't manage sites that take money. Too many headaches. I use myself and send e-commerce clients to Shopify, so that they can manage all the security headaches. Worth the money.
I created my own free site on Weebly. It helped me get by when I didn't have the funds to afford a website. I'm not sure what their packages are, but I know that you can upgrade to your own URL