Total cost of website ownership - Web Site Design

• Sep. 9, 2003

So, you have a URL picked out, a hosting company that you like, next is the web design for your new website.

Each web design company will have different rates, either hourly or per site design, and depending on their experience, this will influence the price as well. It’s always best to have a properly designed website from the get go. Imagine you cut corners to lower your costs and end up with a non-professional site. The problem encountered here is that people will be less likely to purchase the product or service that you are selling. Having a professionally designed website will help you in the long run to gaining your desired goals.

There are many SEO companies that do design work, or can recommend you to a few good web design companies for you to look into. It is always best to get qualified help when starting a new web design. First, you do not want to have a website done entirely in Flash. While this will look amazing and impressive, currently the majority of the search engines do not spider and index any text from flash websites. Also, another problem is sites that have too much graphics and too little text. Search engines like text, this is what they index and is also how people find your site, (from the content that is on your site). Another consideration, if you decide that you will need a Content Management System, you will need to do some researching to find a company that provides a CMS that is search engine friendly. That is, each page can be spidered, have unique context and have unique title and meta tags. Choosing the wrong CMS can leave your website invisible to the web. This can leave all your hard work unnoticed.

If your site requires any database work, this is going to increase the cost. If you need an ASP or Cold fusion website, the backend database work will be an additional cost to the regular web design costs.

It is hard to pinpoint an exact price on what a website design will cost. It will depend on  what you can afford, the industry that you will be aiming for, what you envision your website being and the webdesign company that you decide to proceed with. Rest assured, having a professional website designed will be a great investment to your online business. Starting an online business is not too much different than starting a regular business in your hometown. There are still costs that are needed if you wish to compete in the market. Like in anything, cutting too many corners can in the long run hurt your business.

Next, we will touch on SEO and PPC costs.

Please check out our article on Planning a Web Site Redesign for additional information.

Gerard Manning
Searchengineposition, Inc.
Search engine marketing company