It’s an interesting question, and one that I hear often. How much does a website cost? Let me answer that with another question.

How long is a piece of string?

You see it’s one of those questions that can have many answers. The idea is to ask the right questions, such as:

  • Do you want a one page “Here I Am” website?
  • Do you want to be able to sell widgets to the world through your site?
  • Do you want to showcase your products and services?
  • Do you want a site where your customers can come and chat about your products?
  • Do you want a site that does all of the above?

Setting up a website for your business is not as simple as putting a page on the World Wide Web and then raking in the money, if it was we would all be sitting on a beach being waited on hand and foot. A website is like any other part of your business, you get back what you are willing to put into it.

Of course that doesn’t mean you have to run out and spend $10,000 dollars on a website, but you do have to think about what you want from a website before you can get some idea of how much it will cost. Let’s take a look at the different types of websites there are and what will suit your business best.

The “Here I Am” website.

Quite often this is a site that just has the bare essentials. It has your business name, contact information and where you are. The website address is typically the name of your business, such as www.bobswidgets.com.au. The sole purpose of this site is to let people know where you are and how to get hold of you. These people already know your business exists and what the name of your business is and will usually find you by typing in your web address into their browser or into Google directly. Think of it as a simple three line ad in the Yellow Pages.

This is generally the cheapest website you can have but also the one that will do the least amount of work for you.

The “This is What I Do” website.

This website generally contains your business name, logo, address and contact details, as well as information about the services or goods that you provide and some background information about your business. You will have photos of your products and maybe some testimonials from satisfied clients as well as detailed information about your goods and services and possibly some pricing as well.

This site is for people that are looking for a business like yours, possibly in the area that you service, but don’t know about you directly. Think of it as a glossy colour brochure or a full page ad in the Yellow Pages or local paper.

This site will cost you a bit more than the cheapest site but will help you to get new customers through the door.

The “Buy My Product” website.

If you have products you want to sell online then this is the website you should have. It should include all the information that you would normally find in the “This is What I Do” website plus people can order and pay for your products online.

This site is for people that want to purchase your goods directly from you, from your local region, interstate and possibly overseas. Your site will contain all your products with pricing which you keep up to date using an administration section which can also help you keep track of sales. Think of this site as your shop front but on the busiest street in the world, the World Wide Web.

You will be spending a lot more money for a site like this but it’s the equivalent of opening a new shop that has the potential to get you far more customers than your bricks and mortar shop.

The “Be a Part of Our Community” website.

This site is more about creating a community than just getting people to buy from you then move on. Your customers will not only be able to buy your products but also chat to other customers, review your product for others to see and possibly even encourage others to join in. Building a sense of community encourages customer loyalty which means repeat sales, something every business wants to achieve.

Think of this business as a club where people come to chat and meet, as well as buy your products while they’re there.

This is generally the most expensive site as it involves social networking, discussion boards and links to sites such as Facebook and YouTube.

Summary

Well there’s a bit of a guide on how different websites cost different amounts of money, it all depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to talk about this some more then feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to discuss with you how much your website will cost.