There seems to be a false belief by many businesses that a website is an expense.
While it is true that a properly built website can cost a sizable amount of money, but so does adding cubicles and hiring staff for your business operations.
A well built, search-engine friendly website is more like having the top performer from your competition come to work at your business. Does it cost money to bring this peak performer on?
Of course it does.
But what he offers in return on your investment is an increase your business sales, which leads to an increase the value of your business. The same can be said about the right website. You should consider a web development budget equal to what you would pay a high level salesmen for a month of high volume sales at your business.
What are the basic web site expenses and what do they mean?
1. Domain Name
A domain name is the online web address your customers use to find information about your products and services. It’s what follows the www. on the Internet address. We can help you chose your domain name and the purchase of it, or advise you where to go to purchase your domain name. This is usually paid once a year.
2. Hosting
Web hosting is a service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own websites accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are the companies that provide space on a server they own for use by individuals and organizations for their websites and website data. This can be a monthly or annual cost. Forward Motion Studios also offers an affordable web hosting plan for our clients.
Graphic design is working with drawn, painted, photographed, or computer-generated images and typefaces. People often forget that they are paying for the time it takes to create or work with a design – not the design itself. Yes, we do Graphic design work too.
Stock photography is the supply of photographs licensed for specific uses. The images come in various resolutions that are needed for use in print and on the web. We like to encourage our clients away from stock photography, and use professional real-life photographs for their images. But every now and then a stock photograph is needed. The price for the image is based on the quality and type of shot.
5. Code
Code is a collection of statements written in computer programming language. Everything you see on the Internet is driven by code. If you are ever curious about this, when you have a web browser open go to View / Page Source to see a sample of code. Coding takes time and with this expense clients are paying for the time it takes to work with code to create the desired effect on a website. This is where most of the website cost will come in.
6. Content
Content is the textual, visual or aural content that is encountered as part of the user experience on websites. It may include, among other things: text, images, sounds, videos and animations. (Thanks Wikipedia!) Text content needs to be written with the viewer in mind, highlighting the keywords and marketing plan of the website owner. Images need to be adjusted for web viewing. Sound must be edited for quality. Again for this service, you are paying for the time it takes to complete the content.
7. SEO
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the volume of traffic to a web site from search. There are many tactics used for SEO, which start with your web address, your competition, your content, marketing plan, keywords and site submissions. It is typically a flat fee service unless you are running an ad campaign.
The ongoing updates and maintenance of a website once it is live. You should update your website at least once a month. If this is too difficult, you may want to consider having a blog where you can add fresh content on a regular basis. We charge a flat fee for this service with a monthly contract.
Websites can cost as much as you want to spend. What we mean by this is a quality website can run anywhere from $3,000 – $100,000 depending on the level of quality and the size of the site.
Is your website highly developed and customized just for you and your particular clients? Or something more generic? Will you be selling products on your website and need a high level of security? Think about the differences (and the work involved) that a WalMart website would need compared to your dentist up the street.
We discuss all of these options with you, as part of the process of outlining your site and determining its proposed cost. So what kind of budget have you allowed for your business website? Is it enough?
Our continued success to you,
