Over the years, I’ve spoken with a lot of small business owners about a website for their business. One of the biggest obstacles for them is that they feel they need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on custom website development just to get a decent website. The hurdle often stops them from spending any money on improving upon or even creating a website for their business.
It isn’t so much cheapness that stops them from deploying a new website, it’s the impression that they need to fork out a significant amount of money just to get “something” on the web.
In some cases, the sticker-shock of custom web development leads them to pursue risky arrangements with overseas web developers or using online website-builders like Wix or GoDaddy to build a website. The result of going overseas or using a website-builder is often a poorly built website that does not meet the needs of their business, and lacks proper security features to protect their digital asset.
The negative consequences of going with an overseas website developer or using a “free” website-builder is a topic for another article. For now, I want to highlight that there is a third option, one that more closely resembles the production of complex structures like the homes we live in, the cars we drive, and the clothes we wear.
When was the last time that you purchased a custom built home, or vehicle, or handmade clothing?
Likely never…
Outside of a few extraordinary times in our lives (perhaps grandma knit you a sweater), we purchase prefabricated items and then we apply our own style to those items to make them personal to us or our business.
Without a doubt, that is the most economical thing to do. Handmade, fully custom solutions are a luxury that most small business owners can’t afford.
A plumber undoubtedly needs a service vehicle, rather than build one himself (which is ridiculous to even consider), he chooses an existing van or truck that will meet his needs, makes modest modifications (i.e. exterior rails, compressed air, toolboxes, etc) so that it functions in a way that fits his business.
A small business owner should approach their business website in the same manner. Unless there is an extraordinary circumstance that warrant custom work, the owner should probably pursue non-custom design alternatives that offer the same features but without the sticker-shock of custom development.
Using a non-custom design service, like the Rapid Website Design Service we provide, means business owners can invest the money they would have spent on custom design work, back into other productive services that may in fact make a big impact on their business’s bottom line.
Open source web publishing technologies like WordPress, theme frameworks like the Genesis Framework, and innovative and highly customizable child themes have created a situation were small business owners have a viable alternative they didn’t have a few years ago.
Combine those non-custom web design solutions with a managed hosting account, and you have an incredible opportunity to have a beautiful and highly functional website for a fraction of what it used to cost.
If you are interested in how we could help you business save money on a new business website, please contact us today.