My small business is growing and the inevitable has occurred: I’m being forced to act like a real company and get a web site.
So, I’ve got a domain and am using Bluehost, because the plumber’s sister’s friend’s hairdresser said it was a good idea, but where do I go from here?
Calling up a random web designer here in Tokyo, they said about $2,000 for a basic design. Humm. That seems like a lot, but I don’t know anything about this.
It looks like there are some places with very inexpensive templates. Has anyone had experience with this?
I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this because this is the busy season for us.
I’m just looking at having a few pages, including a way for people to contact us, but not selling anything online.
What are your goals for the website? Do you just want to have something that answers basic questions -e.g. Hours, location, what you do / sell - for customers and prospects who already know about your business? In that case, a Wordpress site (at blue host, so you’ve got your own domain) is fairly simple to set up. I did my first one in a couple of hours, and I’m not a coder or designer.
If you want a site that does a bit more - enhances your image, draws in customers who might not have head of you, answers customer objections, persuades prospects to call - then you’ll need a more professional site. You can shop around for designers to get a feel for a good price, but I would also suggest asking them if they have a copywriter on staff or finding one of your own. A good copywriter can make a huge difference for a business site.
Ultimately remember that all of this stuff can be changed pretty easily. If all you need now is bare bones, then set that up. You can upgrade when your needs (or your budget) grow.
If you want something that looks professional, $2000 seems about right.
You can put one up yourself for free, but you can also print your own brochures, make your own sign to put out front of your business, and make your own business cards. It’s the same sort of thing - unless you’re especially gifted in graphic design, it makes sense to pay someone to do it for you.
I know you’re busy and have many other things to deal with, but please make sure that if you do use a designer you have full admin access to your site and that you know how to make really basic changes on your own. If your store hours change and you need to reflect that on your website, you don’t want to have to call someone up who might charge you an hourly rate to make a simple change like that.
Here’s my cautionary tale: I know someone who is the new president of a local organization and their website is horrid, so she wanted to make some changes. Seems that no one within the organization has any access to it. The sole person who does is the “designer” (I put it in quotes because it looks like created it back in 1997 - comic sans is in use and it’s built in a specific old version of Frontpage) and he charges some insane monthly fee (over $100) for hosting and making the occasional change. Again… over $100/month for hosting a small site that barely sees any changes. Nice racket.
He’s also a fool - he tried to tell her there was no way to create a directory on the site that is password protected. No dude, just because YOU don’t know how to do it doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
She’s currently trying to get the site login info from the designer dude but I hear there is a whole nepotism issue going on (some other board members nephew, I believe) and she needs to be diplomatic, yadda yadda and all that. I do believe the domain is registered to the organization, so that’s something, but still.
Learn from this organization’s mistake. Thus endeth the tale of sorrow.
Not in my area. A basic web site with a few pages, some photos and custom graphic design… it adds up. Stock photos aren’t cheap, nor is making logos or altering existing logos to fit in the right place/look good on the web.
Sure, if you hire a student or something to do it you can get it done cheaper. But if you’re looking for a web design company to make/maintain it, I don’t think $2K is at all a bad price.
I agree. But he also said it’s time for him to “act like a real company” and get a web page. To me, that isn’t a basic WordPress install. Even if they do use WordPress, I’d assume it also included:
professional graphic design
Logos and other artwork
Photos and/or stock photos
It’s hard to get all of that for less than $2000.
Heck, I know one small business owner who paid around $1000 just for a logo. Really, the technical part of a brochure-style website really isn’t all that big; it’s everything else that jacks the price up.
Best Answer! That sounds like a good idea for the interim while I’m looking at my other options. I need something up quickly, so this will give me something while making decisions about the other options. If I spend several thousand on a website, then I want to get it right, and that will take some time.
There must be a school near you that teaches graphic design and website design.
Contact the department head and ask:
Do they have an internship program?
Do you have any current students/recent graduates who you think would be worthy of hiring?
I suggest this as usually these students are highly motivated, usually they are quite creative and cutting edge, and usually the students are cheaper. Plus, you are giving someone a chance to get their foot in the door. The Department Head will most certainly point you in the direction of a current or recent “star” student.