Getting what you pay for in web design
Monday, February 15th, 2010, Popularity: unranked [?]The following quote is often attributed to John Ruskin, but that is currently in dispute. However, it’s tough to dispute the meaning of these words – a more elegant way of saying that you get what you pay for. What does this mean for web design? It means that saving money is about trade-offs, and I’ve compiled a list below to help you weigh these out for your web project. In some cases, the trade-offs are worth the risk, perhaps because you are a non-profit or just starting out your small business. There is nothing wrong with this, because you can always upgrade as funds become available, but knowing what you’re getting can help you make the best choice at your budget level.
“It’s unwise to pay too much, but worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money; that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balances prohibits paying little and getting a lot. It can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.”
Risks of Paying Too Little for Your Website
Do-it-Yourself: You may have to do all or much of the work yourself. This can work if you are technically savvy and you have reasonable writing skills.
Templates: Most websites in the $200 – $500 price range are built using pre-made templates. This means that your site will not be perfectly unique, but it can still be very serviceable. Watch out for search engine ranking problems, though. (see below)
Inexperienced Designers: If the hourly rate of your web designer is very low, he or she may possibly be just out of college and can’t demand any more. Everyone has to start somewhere, though, so just do your best to make sure the person sounds like they know what they’re doing and that they have a good work ethic. It may not be worth the risk if you have complex programming needs on your site.
Language Barriers: Off-shore web developers are becoming more common, and usually offer attractive pricing. If you are satisfied that they are experienced enough for your project, you must decide if a non-native speaker can write effectively in your language and if you will be able to understand them even when discussing technical issues.
No Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Many low-end websites are not constructed with search engine rankings in mind, and this is detrimental to your site, especially if you are running a for-profit business. Does the template or developer use a lot of tables? Is key text, such as your company name, shown only as an image? Is the browser’s title bar show just your company name, or worse, just a generic term like “Home” or “Welcome”? If so, you are likely to get low search engine rankings.
Websites that don’t work: Broken links, misspelled words, missing images, and random error messages all detract from your professional image, and usually make your users go to another site. If you choose to work with a low-end provider, make sure to do a lot of testing yourself to try to prevent these things from the outset.
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I made it my goal this year to break away and get to a conference, and I reviewed several great options online. See the dates and cities below, along with my impressions of each from their websites. Did I miss any good ones? Let me know!
