Let’s sit down and discuss the time, skill, methods, knowledge and true cost needed to build and launch a business website that actually helps you sell.
We Need to Talk About Money…
Alright. Imagine this conversation…
Diner: “Michelin star burger and chips next to McDonalds burger and chips? Well, it’s just burger and chips. If you’re hungry, either one will do the job. Right?”
Chef: “Yeah, I suppose so.”
Diner: “So why should I pay £20 for a burger when I can get something for £2 that’s just as good. There’s no real difference, right?”
Chef: “Well, one is made from scratch with quality ingredients and provides a superior restaurant experience while the other is a factory-made warmed-up patty designed to trick children.”
Diner: “My cousin’s friend’s mother said she’ll make me a burger for £1.50.”
Okay, the point being made here is heavy-handed. But it’s also a subject that drives all parties involved in this kind of deal-making absolutely flippin’ mad.
The truth is, most people are shocked at what “a website” costs. And we’re not talking about anything remotely comparable to those rubbish instant website builders that gum up the internet (I’m looking at you, Wix). That would be like comparing apples to rotten eggs.
We need to clearly lay all this out on the table, because the majority of websites that get sold to business clients lack substance.
A Beautiful Façade Does Not Drive a Business
Many webshops are run by developers who specialise in making good-looking websites. That’s as far as they go. There’s no end goal for the website other than there being a website.
They do not fulfil clearly-defined goals and therefore don’t serve a real purpose. 🧐
Brains as Well as Looks
All websites (unless they’re objectively terrible) look similar to the untrained eye. Lots of nice, well-shot stock photos with some gimmicky design distracts the client from the real objectives. It’s all style.
Put it this way: we could visit Ikea and admire the made-up show bathrooms and kitchens, but these are just shiny facades that haven’t been plumbed in or connected to the real world in a way that matters.
Will a nice-looking site actually help close sales? Well, it certainly doesn’t hurt! But that cannot be the only factor.
We also want a website with a decent amount of horsepower – the ability to support good functionality while loading fast.
How is the Website Built? What System? What Method?
There’s a brilliant content management system (CMS) called WordPress.org. It is a template framework and a kind of a chassis for creating the type of site you want, whether it’s an information-only site or an Ecommerce store. 💻
It’s well-known and better than Wix or Squarespace.
It’s also free, meaning the source code can be downloaded for no charge. A developer needs to configure it though. 🧰🪛
If you’re debating between WordPress vs custom code build, go for WordPress.
Websites Made with WordPress Cost Less
Well-built WordPress sites are not the McDonald’s of web design, by the way. More like Annie’s Burger Shack or Hickory’s Smokehouse. Middle tier.
Expect to pay £600 – £5,000 for a service business website, which depends on how many pages there will be, among other things. This one cost about £1000. 👈
WordPress is by far the most popular content management system. As of 2024, there are about 1.98 billion total websites on the web with more than 835 million sites using WordPress. The amount of attention it gets means there’s lots of guides, support, tutorials and debate on the subject.
A good horse to back! A dead cert, actually.
However, the more important issue is who is building your site. Business websites are not something that should be rustled up by short order fry cooks, but that is exactly what happens.
The Cheap (Bad) End of the WordPress Market
I’ve seen WordPress websites advertised on Twitter for £99. Yes, you read that correctly. And no, it’s not a great deal!
What do you think the quality of work is? I’ll tell you. Imagine someone crapping like a clueless dog in the picnic area at the park, with the WordPress logo badly stencilled on their bum. 🫣
Clients spend their £99 believing they’ve snatched a bargain (or worse, that this price is the going rate) when all they’ve done is waste £99.
Websites Made with Custom Code Cost More
Custom coded websites (as in all hand-coded and NOT built with a CMS like WordPress) is the kind of thing that might be used for those with deeper pockets (somewhere in excess of £20,000).
These kinds of sites do have their place in the world.
However, if you’re doing less than £30 million annual revenue, WordPress will be fine because much of it is pre-built, like digital Lego bricks.
An Expensive and Unnecessary Option
A custom coded site tends to be much faster and have more flexibility with design and features. They are more secure and less vulnerable to attack than WordPress.
As mentioned, they are likely out of your budget are really a speciality commission. WordPress is the better option here, because it gives you a massive head start.
The Costs Laid Out
Here are some estimates of pricing for building a site with the associated services such as domain, hosting, security certificates and email. 📋
By choosing the right third party providers, the person who actually builds your website can help you cut costs from the beginning.
Key
♠ Third party products/services
♣ Ilkeston Web Design
Feature | Subscription fee ♠ | Labour charge ♣ |
⚓ Website domain ♠ | £10 – £30 p/a | — |
🏠 Website hosting ♠ | £50 – £200 p/a | — |
🛡️ Domain security ♠ | Free – £120 p/a | — |
📧 Website email ♠ | Free – £200 p/a | — |
📏 Web design & build ♣ | — | £600 – £10,000 |
🛒 eCommerce design & build ♣ | — | £1,000 – £20,000 |
⚙️ Web development ♣ | — | £30+ |
⌨️ Content writing ♣ | — | £30 – £500 |
🌐 Graphic logo design ♣ | — | £150 – £500 |
🔧 Admin and maintenance ♣ | — | £30 – £500 |
🔄 Apps, plugins, Integrations ♣ | Free – £500 p/a | — |
🔍 SEO ♣ | — | £30 – £1,000 |
📧 Email marketing ♠♣ | Free – £2,600 p/a | — |
Ilkeston Web Design: No Middleman
- ❌ Some agencies will offer to host your website for you, but add very high mark-ups
- ✅ Instead, I’ll help you sign up directly with domain, hosting, email and plugin providers
- ✅ I will charge for the labour and the putting together of all required services
Ilkeston Web Design: Value for Money
- ✅ The site is not just a “design” project, but several services bundled together
- ✅ I provide a lightweight full agency service to get you up and running
- ✅ £1,000 (could be more or less) includes everything needed to launch a good information website (not eComm) with well-written content and basic on-page SEO.
Don’t Let “Designers” Sell You Useless Websites
A website is supposed to function as a marketing machine. But 99% of the time, the reason a business site is not attracting many (or at least qualified customers) is because the marketing is bare bones or non-existent. 🤔
This ties into that age-old search engine problem, in which businesses launch their site with nowhere near enough content, and have no future plans to even do any content marketing. ♟️
Low Price = Low Standards
The worst thing about agreeing to sell “cheap” websites is twofold:
- People with little to spend in the first place are emotionally attached to their low budget and think you’re scamming them if you ask for more money to do any extra needed work
- Because they didn’t spend much originally, they will tear down the site 6-12 months later and repeat the entire “cheap” process with another web services provider
Summary: I Ain’t Cheap and I Ain’t Greedy
Honesty is the best policy. I’ve been very straightforward. I’d like to work with you… in theory.
Over the years, I’ve worked hard for clients, genuinely caring about them and their plight. I’ve counselled and coached them when my job was not to do those things.
I’ve often played devil’s advocate by kindly pointing out the flaws and potential waste of budget in some of their more “creative” ideas or outlandish feature requests. 🔦
No Ordinary Website. No Ordinary “Designer”
I go way beyond what a web designer is supposed to do. So will anyone who is decent at this job. I have competitors who are quite good at what they do, and some that are absolutely not.
Think beyond “price” and avoid wasting money on websites that don’t support your goals: sales.