Great Expectations...
Like our last post about social media managers, we've updated and republished this article about how much you can expect to pay for Internet Marketing Greatness.
The ONE THING you can take away from this article is that most businesses are asking the wrong question when it comes to upgrading or creating a website. It's like asking how much a new car costs. The answer is that frustrating phrase: "It depends..." While they do the same things, a brand new Bentley is going to set you back more than a 20-year-old Chevy.
United WebWorks has an extremely firm grasp on the goal of helping businesses gain more revenue by helping them apply the latest online technologies available. A website and all that comes with it is actually secondary to an overall plan to market themselves better than their competition.
That said, A website is central part of that plan. So let's begin there.
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March 2016
It's a hard fact of life that you get what you pay for. Websites can be stinky in so many ways! Things don't always go smoothly or make much of a splash when you push hard for it. Is it possible to know if you are getting something solid for your time and effort or just a lot of hot air?
Small to medium businesses are not usually endowed with bales of cash to spend on internet marketing, so cost is a big deal. We've consulted with many, many business owners and marketing managers about upping their online game. Invariably they all want a firm dollar figure right off the bat.
The price of a website and all that goes with it is a bit like valuing a piece of artwork, or buying the experience and training of an expert. Anyone could do brain surgery, the saying goes, if you had hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in training and 20 years' experience. Choosing a web development company is tricky!
So, do you want a truly awesome football cake or one that reminds you of laxatives? We could give you a range, from "Go Go Go!" (about $2000) up to the "Royal Will and Kate" version ($100,000) but it really depends on what you, the customer, need to increase leads, conversions, revenue, efficiency- whatever your business goals are. Make the decision based on what's best for business.
Let's look at some of the typical categories used to estimate an initial price, but first we'll examine some intangibles that can affect cost.
Be honest. Where are you on the Demanding to Don't Care scale?
Your ability to work with a web marketing company has a big impact on the cost and the quality of the final product. If an online marketing company gets a constant daily drip of calls and emails requesting lots of tiny revisions, it's going to cost you more. Like yours, our time has value too! On the opposite end, if you are too hands off, it makes it difficult to nail a win-win project. You MUST have some expectations; the more we know, the better off your business is. United WebWorks strives for a happy medium of regular communication that provides the optimum situation for your business to thrive.
DIY is the cheapest…
… but do you really want the cheapest? Successful web marketing takes a surprising amount of know-how and experience. One example is the ever-changing Search Engine environment. Google adjusts their rules, policies, and configurations almost daily. It has taken us a long time to develop the skill set to produce real value for your business in the online marketplace. We regularly see clients who need us to "fix" their El Cheapo homemade website because it's not really doing anything but costing them money.
We have mixed feelings about bargain basement designers and coders here at UWW. While they provide more work for us (fixing their mistakes), they end up costing you, our awesome customers, more than you should pay.
Components and Features
Adding a super-slick feature that none of your competitors have? For us, it might be an easy hour's work. Coding a behind-the-scenes database retrieval tool could mean a week's worth of agony. A one-page website may cost as much as a project with 25 pages. There isn't a strict correlation between the size of a website and cost, so when you ask "What's it going to cost?" the answer always means a conversation because…
It Depends
We hear you- "Just gimme a rough idea of how much I should pay for a professionally done website!" To help answer that question, let's play with some variables in the following categories:
Business Goals
Trying to increase leads?
Checking into Inbound Marketing?
Want to sharpen your branding and increase visibility?
Need to create efficiencies for your business processes?
Website needs that will help you reach those goals
Need a brand new site, with domain and file storage?
Possibly a total revamp of your old, nonperforming site?
Do you have a good website, but it needs tweaks and additions?
Graphics
Yes or no:
- I have or can get all the high quality images I need
- I need custom artwork or photography
- I'd like to add a gallery or portfolio of my products or services
- I need to update and maintain online catalog photos
Copy
Do you or will you...
Write all of our own blogs, descriptions, policies, etc.
Supply some content but need more (a weekly blog, or additional pages for instance)
Need all of our copy written and edited for a new site, plus blogs and social media posts
Interactive Features
Need member registration and database maintenance?
How about product discussion forums?
Communication with Google Maps?
Online chat with Customer Service?
Site Search?
Vendor or customer document uploads?
Tie-in with Google AdWords?
Ecommerce
Maybe all you want is one page and a phone number
Or a multi-page catalog
or an online shopping cart database that interacts with inventory
Checkout / Shipping / Returns handling
Credit Card or PayPal acceptance
Admin Features
Integration into your CRM (Customer Relationship Manager)
Customer and lead information storage and retrieval
Database use Reports
Traffic Statistics Reports
Android and iPhone Apps
Responsiveness to device type and size
SEO
Optimization of MetaTags and Keywords
Submission to Search Engines
Building links from other websites
Press Releases
Social Media
Twitter feed
Facebook Page, App
How about a middle-of-the-road scenario?
You're a medium-sized, growing business and your old website is no longer pulling its weight. Time for a revamp, keeping your domain and file storage setup. You can get an intern to supply all the photos and videos you need of jobsites, products, office activity, etc. In order to protect consistency and branding, you would like us to supply 5-10 pages of optimized content (for example, one page for each type of product or service you sell, or one page each for the municipalities you serve). Other features you would like to add:
- Google Maps- local search visibility
- Site Search
- Shopping Cart
- Credit Card / PayPal ability
- Manage user data
- Database reports
- Traffic statistics
- Search Engine Optimization of all content
- Social Media Management
- Device-centered site adaptability
Cost:
College student doing it on the cheap: $2,000 and way past deadline
Giant professional company with too many projects: $15,000 also likely to be overdue.
United WebWorks: $5,000-$9,000. With a 1-year marketing plan, you get a discount.
Yes, that is quite a range. And it's not all that accurate, either. That's why we have a couple of thorough conversations before we begin work. Our goal is to help you win more business, and you may or may not need all the bells and whistles.
Our honest opinion is that improving your standing in the internet marketing food chain will more than pay for itself over time- it's supposed to do that! While things do move pretty fast online, it does still take time to build general visibility, search engine rankings, a social media following, a critical mass of favorable reviews, and a local following, to name a few.
United WebWorks Website Design Savannah GA would love to talk with you about your business goals and how high quality internet marketing approaches can help. Click on the "Inbound Marketing Kit" above, or ask for a free consultation to get the answers you need, or fill in the form to get started!
Are You Ready?
