Setting a Budget for your New Website
The phrase “you get what you pay for” is particularly relevant when it comes to building a new website for your business. Failing to properly budget for your website the likelihood is you’ll experience one of the following:
- The website ends up costing you at least double what you expected it to. This would then have a knock on effect on any promotional budget spend you have.
- The functionality isn’t exactly what you were hoping for, making the site hard, or even impossible, to use properly.
- There is a compromise in the design of the site or the content, which won’t have the desired effect on the visitor.
Specifications
You need to have an idea of what you want your website to do, how you want it to look and what sort of content is needed for it to fulfil its purpose.
Functionality
Is the website a simple brochure site with a basic contact form? Do you want visitors to be tracked in the backend? Is it an online shop and therefore needs eCommerce functionality? Does the website need to be integrated with any existing system your business uses?
Having a clear idea of what you need your website to do is crucial for this process.
Design
What do you want it to look like? Could you use a theme for your website? How much customization do you want? Do you need it to be a fully bespoke design? Do you have imagery for your new website, or will photos need to be taken?
If you have a vision in mind it’s best to speak to a developer about how to best achieve this.
Content
How much unique content will your website need? Do you have the ability to write it yourself or will you require copywriting services? If outsourced, will research need to be done and how long will this take?
Price Estimates
Once you have decided on the functionality, design and content plan for you website it’s time to request estimate quotes for your proposed new website. A website development agency, like ourselves, would then use these inputs and produce a reasonable estimate price.
Expectations
A likely outcome will be the realization that your desired site costs more than you expected, but this is OK. You are now in a position to properly review your development options. With this understanding of cost, you can gage a better idea of what areas of the website are most important to your business.
Setting your budget
These initial website cost proposals should be a great indication on how much you should budget for your website. By doing this you are more aware of how much each aspect of development would cost and stop any unaccounted for surprises.
All of this is to make sure you are creating a website that is right for you and your business. Careful planning will help ensure that you’re not just plucking a budget out of thin air and are realistic with your expectations.
Are you looking to update your website? Speak to us about your website ideas. Contact us here, call us on 01772 393989 or email hello@pagiodigital.co.uk.