The Affordable Website Problem

Small businesses and startup companies are in a tough spot when it comes to finding a professional looking, affordable website. There are few options for entrepreneurs who need a high quality corporate image but often don’t have the resources to use an experienced designer. The existing affordable web site solutions are template web sites and “do it yourself” software solutions that often produce amateurish results.

The average web designer earns about $100 per hour and good designers often charge one to two times this amount. A nicely designed web site can help position your small business in the minds of prospective clients as a reputable and established organization. This is why so many companies are more than willing to pay for good design – it gives them a competitive advantage. But where does this leave the small business owner who needs a high quality, affordable website?

The Affordable Website Conundrum

When we work with full-paying clients it takes about 20 to 40 hours to develop a fully customized web site / brand identity. This process includes industry research, competitive analysis, keyword research, working one-on-one with the client, creating two to three unique designs, working through three or four design rounds, finding just the right images, adding copy, programming each page, testing links, etc.

It’s a labor intensive process and the hours add up quickly. An affordable website developed by an experienced designer is problematic. The math simply does not work – it takes a good designer too many hours to create a high-quality website at an affordable price.

Software Solution for an Affordable Website

Some companies have developed software that allows people with little or no design experience to create their own web site. Unfortunately, this option sometimes results in an amateurish end-result. Often the affordable website examples that are shown to “sell” these packages were created by professional designers and are difficult for the average person to replicate. As you know, image is crucial to the success of a small business and hiaving a “low-end” corporate image is no way to start a company.

Template Option for an Affordable Website

The other affordable website option is using “website templates.” There are plenty of “template” web sites available that allow a small business owner to download a web site, add copy, and upload it to their server. While these options are touted as “easy,” the fact is the small business owner often needs some understanding of manipulating images, FTP, and HTML coding. If the business owner has some web site development experience this may be a good affordable website option.

Find an Inexperienced Designer to Create an Affordable Website

Even an inexperienced designer will charge a decent hourly rate. Due to inexperience it can sometimes take longer to complete the project and the end-result can be hit-or-miss. If you’re going to take this route I would recommend you see some actual samples and ask how many hours it took to complete. Unfortunately, we receive calls weekly from people who took this course and need us to “fix” the design. If you do find the right designer in the early stages of their career you can have a quality web site at an affordable price.

We Believe We’ve Solved the Affordable Website Problem

Learn about our affordable website service, discover why our websites are so affordable, or learn more about our affordable website pricing.