I'm often asked about whether the price of a website actually indicates its quality or functionality, and the answer is.... it depends.
The price of building a website can fluctuate wildly. Some providers offer to do it for a few hundred, while others will produce works of art for hundreds of thousands of dollars. How do you know what you need and how much to spend to get it? Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help you decide:
1. What is my overall marketing budget for the year?
I've talked to many who spend marketing dollars on strategies that really haven't paid dividends - but it's just what they've always done. Why not consider taking funds out of those "dogs" and considering investing them into your website?
2. How many people are searching for what I do?
There are tools out there that give you some data on searches - and a great one historically has been at inventory.overture.com. Unfortunately, it's becoming less and less effective, and so you may want to consider using a paid service such as Wordtracker to do key phrase research to see what your customers are searching for online. Perhaps if you see that there's enough online action in your space, you can decide to divert more budget to your online presence.
3. Have I talked with someone outside my organization about what my web needs are?
Just because someone in your company plays with websites on the weekend does not mean he or she should be the de facto webmaster. Talk to companies who specialize in web strategy and design. See what they have to say and feel them out on price and deliverables. More importantly, look at portfolios and get references. Sometimes you'll just feel more comfortable with the style of a certain company either in their designs or in their customer relationship management.
4. What do I need my website to do?
Do you have a fairly static offering or does your business evolve quickly? Do you sell a consumer product or are you an enterprise entity looking at a long sales cycle? These questions will help you determine how often you need to be changing your website, and if it's wise to invest in a content management system along with your website. A CMS gives you the ability to access your pages (and products) directly - without going through a developer - to make changes and updates. It is an absolute MUST for some websites, and a great idea for everyone else too.
5. How much would you spend on hiring, training and equipping another sales representative?
Ask yourself what it's worth to you to have a 24 hour sales person
representing you - who never takes a break or a vacation or calls in
sick. Spend AT LEAST that much on your website and web marketing
throughout the year.
Many a website has been created on a whim, without much thought for budget, strategy or messaging. Unfortunately without planning, you can end up not getting what you expected. Either you pay too much and don't need what you got, or you paid too little and need more that what you got.
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Posted by: Mark Vane | June 23, 2007 at 06:12 AM