Running a business is very expensive.
It seems that everywhere you look, you are paying fees, monthly subscriptions, and taxes to keep your business afloat. All of this adds up and sometimes it can be difficult to justify investing even more money into your brand. This is why many business owners head for a cheaper option when it comes to their website.
Just this past week, the marketing team and I had a laugh when we noticed a local sign that read: “$299 for a Cheap Professional Website”. For that price, a professional website with hosting and design seems like a steal!
However, if you are going for a ‘cheap professional website’, you will end up with exactly that. With cheap design, slow loading time, unclear layouts and little attention paid to making the site user friendly, going down this path will not be helpful for lead generation and can severely damage your brand. We get messages all the time from business owners who are frustrated with their websites’ lead generation because they went down this path.
Many business owners still think of their websites as a flyer or a brochure that is one content full advertisement that users will sit down and read. In today’s online world, a website is actually one of the most valuable sales tools that a business has in its arsenal. It needs to be developed strategically, and with the customers’ interests in mind.
There are many differences between a good website, and a bad one. Here are some examples.
Bad Websites:
- Difficult to find on search engines
- Not mobile friendly (over 60% of searches are done on mobile devices)
- Takes too long to load
- Does not fit or exceed your business goals
- Unclear communication and poor layout
- Large amounts of information without context
- Clutter
Good Websites:
- Visible on search engines
- Designed specifically for mobile use
- Quick loading speed
- Designed with input to meet business goals
- Clear and concise information
- Visually appealing
- Not too much information
Building a strong website that is worth its weight tends to require 40–100 hours of work. A $299 website probably takes 5–10 hours.
The price of a cheap website may seem appealing at first, but when it fails to bring customers, it is something that you will probably just want to invest in at a later time. If you feel that your business has potential to grow, the best decision you can make is to invest in yourself, and give your business a strong online presence.
