Can't any web developer provide affordable small business websites?

[RedEvo]

With most website projects software that will be all over your requirements like a rash is free. Systems like Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, OpenCart et al cover the needs of most people and then some.

With most of the projects we work on (websites not web apps) the main spend is on design and content. Over the years we've been doing this stuff we've found design alone can take between 45 and 65 hours. Content, well that's a piece of string thing.

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[ORDERED WEB]

Affordable compared to what?

Installing magneto wont pull you money in, just like buying a till wont make you a shop keeper.

I am always gobsmacked by companies who do no advertising or marketing, except for on the web, and then expect to pay nothing, and get a fabulous return.

The cost to market for a decent entry level e-commerce store might be say £2000 to £5000.. but compare this to opening a shop up on the high-street. You can easily spend that much on tills and alarm systems.

Good copy, good photography, good layouts requite lots of skill and effort, and i'm afraid that needs to be paid for.

Lets flip this round.. I'm crap at plastering, so I would pay a plasterer a couple of hundred pounds to plaster a wall. The materials will cost him £20, and he has to drive to me, so nominally he makes a profit of say £150 for a couple of hours work... except he doesn't, because his tools, van, marketing, phones and everything else need paying for

Lets say he finally pulls out £50 fro a couple of hours work...

Well why isn't a web designer or developer worth the same. we pay for phones, marketing, software, computers like any other business

I could say - bugger it, the plaster and stuff will only cost me £20-30 I will do it myself... I will end up with a mess. One could say as a business - install word-press and lob a template at it, well again, it will look cheap and natty. It is only when you get a good design, with good copy, and good images, and have someone that can polish it up professionally do websites really start to shine and sell for you.

 

[justinkay]

I believe there are individuals out there who can provide "affordable" small business websites, But maybe they don't advertise them selves, so you may find you need to really search for them.

Think about it, would they really want to advertise them self doing affordable small business websites? They would get overwhelmed with requests, even from bigger companies that are trying to get a good price for their website.

So I guess my opinion is that there are people out there, just not showcasing themselves as much as bigger companies.

I have been providing web design services for small business at an affordable price for almost 4 years now and i absolutely love it. I prefer it alot better than large ecommerce sites because it is much less time consuming and because i enjoy what i do clients always pay on time and are always willing to come back for more.

 

[bdw]

Well why isn't a web designer or developer worth the same. we pay for phones, marketing, software, computers like any other business

One reason that so many people want to build their own websites is that they think they already have the tools available to do the work (a PC). Most of us do not have a full set of plasterers tools available to us.

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[WilliamsData]

Most small businesses dont realise that even a basic website, if setup and promoted correctly can bring them in thousands of pounds of extra business.

The small businesses that get it are making a killing at the moment and leaving the ones that dont for dead. These businesses need to be educated that they dont need to spend thousands on traditional advertising any more, a good web presence will do just as much if not more.

Its educating them thats the hard bit.

 

[CAEDAN]

I have been stung before with websites, spending more than I needed for very little - much of that was my fault. I didn't know anything about websites - so learn your market before you get an expert in, and make sure he knows what he is doing. Check reviews and previous customers.

Depending on what site you want, you can have a cheaper, more basic site and concentrate your efforts on promoting it with SEO as this will do more than a flashy site with poor promotion. I think SEO is more important now than ever before - a website once was all you neded - but everyone has one - you need to compete on the biggest high street with every competitor parked next door. You need to stand out!

I know very good designers that will do very good sites from £350 all ready to go. But as with all things, the more you want on it, the more it will go up. That said, I would never have paid what I did for my first site knowing what I know now!

Look at it this way - if someone came up to you and said 'I want a car that runs, cheap as possible to get me to the supermarket - there is no budget limit, but i need the best price' - so what do you give them?

If you said that to a car dealer, you may get stitched up - it is the same with designers. There are good ones and dodgy ones - you have to find the good from the bad!

 

[Barry_M]

Most small businesses dont realise that even a basic website, if setup and promoted correctly can bring them in thousands of pounds of extra business.

The small businesses that get it are making a killing at the moment and leaving the ones that dont for dead. These businesses need to be educated that they dont need to spend thousands on traditional advertising any more, a good web presence will do just as much if not more.

Its educating them thats the hard bit.

totally true.

One of my clients was asking me about an upgrade for their website the other day. I made them a test website about 5 years ago for (wait for it) £300 which we discussed and estimated they had made around £100,000 from. I said the new site will cost around £500 (simple 4 page site with a contact page - this is my normal price for this size of site) and he was like 'thats a bit much'. I reminded him about the previous site and I also said if hes not happy their are hundreds of people who will make a site for less but I will have to remove the SEO (inbound links) from the site and this will basically kill off his rankings.

Business owners seem to think that getting a website made and found on Google is a simple process until they actually try to do it them selves.

Its not as simple as they think.

Some people think because their mates kid can build crappy little sites and they will get it free that they will have a website that makes money. Lol as you know these same kids can make youtube videos pretty well but would you ask them to make a video to show as your advert on TV? Same scenario with websites. You get what you pay for.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

everyone can do it until they have to do it.

That statement is true in pretty much all elements of life. I have had to put up with parents (and still do) who know better than coaches and refs etc, until of course theya re asked to prove it, when it turns out that telling them know sod all would actually be overstating the amount of knowledge they have on the sport.

Same in business. everything is easy until somone whas to do it themselves.

 

[blinkingspirit]

A slightly weird thing here is that the designer/developer is often asking to be paid, not just for their work in creating the site, but also for educating the client. When I did this kind of work, it often went like this:

Me: What's your budget?
Them: £200
Me: Ok, I'll build it off a template and make it look really nice for you.
Them: Great. Also it should have a social networking component!
Me: Sadly, that it impossible on this budget.
Them: Why? My daughter is on facebook all the time. Can you make a facebook?

etc! It's a fair enough question if you're new to internet... stuff, but like all freelancers answering that kind of thing takes time, and not billable time at that!

 

[Websitehandyman]

A slightly weird thing here is that the designer/developer is often asking to be paid, not just for their work in creating the site, but also for educating the client. When I did this kind of work, it often went like this:

Me: What's your budget?
Them: £200
Me: Ok, I'll build it off a template and make it look really nice for you.
Them: Great. Also it should have a social networking component!
Me: Sadly, that it impossible on this budget.
Them: Why? My daughter is on facebook all the time. Can you make a facebook?

etc! It's a fair enough question if you're new to internet... stuff, but like all freelancers answering that kind of thing takes time, and not billable time at that!

Pretty sure no except perhaps lawyers walk into their office and take ticking up income. It's all part of the fun of the game.

I regularly have to explain what a domain, name server and even what a spreadsheet is recently. When I did other work I had to do go out and do quotes on a weekend and evenings it's the same - and if you want you can build it into your pricing structure but often the time spent in this area makes the difference between work and no work.

The mistake some business people make is thinking they can do less of this once they have a regular income. I recently visited a pluming business for a quote on a heating system I needed. No one in the office area but I saw a door open and heard a voice so I popped my head around the door. A chap at the desk was on the phone so I left him to it and waited. Once he finished his call he came out - but instead of asking what I wanted he started spouting on about his "important phone call" and how I had interrupted him. At the end of what seemed like a dressing down by the head master he asked "what do you want anyway?" I just said "...... all from you mate" and walked out.

I'm currently in a fight with a software company who won't even answer simple questions because I don't have a service credit in my account. Their lose, I sent them £20,000 worth of work over the last few years. I'm not paying $25 to ask and yes or no question it's just daft and being the type of person I am I would rather find someone else for my work then mess around with idiots like that.

 

[Barry_M]

A slightly weird thing here is that the designer/developer is often asking to be paid, not just for their work in creating the site, but also for educating the client. When I did this kind of work, it often went like this:

Me: What's your budget?
Them: £200
Me: Ok, I'll build it off a template and make it look really nice for you.
Them: Great. Also it should have a social networking component!
Me: Sadly, that it impossible on this budget.
Them: Why? My daughter is on facebook all the time. Can you make a facebook?

etc! It's a fair enough question if you're new to internet... stuff, but like all freelancers answering that kind of thing takes time, and not billable time at that!

so true.. and pretty annoying sometimes.

so +1 for you.