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(Article first published in August '09. It has been modified slightly to suit its publication on our site)
You'll find lots of offers out there for cheap this and that and on the whole you can find some really great bargains and rightly so. But I wanted to put a warning out there that when it comes to websites, in most cases, "cheap" is actually a waste of money.
It is true that in the last economy web companies (like every business), basically charged whatever they could get away with for their services. I recently met with a new client who had been charged €3,500 for a website that should have cost no more than €1,500! Sad but true. However, this needed readjustment in pricing policies is not the same as offering websites for as little as €300.
If we have therefore established that quality website companies are now on the whole charging reasonable prices for websites, what is the difference between a €1,500 website and a €300 website? Actually a lot!
- A cheap website is based on a "template" web design, which means that many businesses out there could be running the exact same design with a different logo and text! Creating a custom design takes time, which a cheap website company doesn't have time to do.
- There will be no in-depth briefing process, which means that you will get whatever the web company 'thinks' you want and not what you really need.
- You will have to write all the content for a cheap website and that's a big issue if you're not so good at writing or you simply don't have the time.
- You text will be put into a cheap website exactly as sent, which includes all the spellong mistakrs (the last two were intentional), which really puts visitors off.
- A cheap website will most likely be put together by a student in a bedroom or a guy/girl in India, with no idea about best business practices in Ireland.
- A cheap website will have no optimisation implemented, so your website will simply never be found by anyone other than those typing in the exact web address or company name.
- A cheap website is typically delivered by a company with no expertise in the wider areas of web marketing and promotion and so you'll be on your own once the site is completed.
So Should You Consider A €300 Website?
If you need a unique website design, delivered by a business that takes time to understand YOUR business and has the expertise to advise you on what you need and also the expertise to either deliver or help you deliver the content for the site, then absolutely not!
In this case, the old adage of "You Get What You Pay For" has never been more true and if you really need to do business through your website then think very carefully before opting for the cheap option - it might be the worst €300 you'll ever spend!
Franco De Bonis has worked in the field of sales and marketing promotion since 1990 and was most recently the global marketing manager for a major international technology company before setting up DG Group in January 2007.
DG Group is dedicated to delivering all the marketing solutions any company may require. Whether it's a website or leaflets and brochures, or even some product packaging; DG Group will manage the whole project and even provide guidance along the way.
The content in this section is the original creation of DG Group and is protected by copyright. You may use this content on your site or in other materials providing you acknowledge DG Group as the author and include a link our site.
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