Small Business Development Archives

How Much Should You Pay for a Website?

February 8, 2022September 4, 2019 by Hannah Fitzgerald

$2000 – $100000 dollars. There! You happy? The price is going to vary greatly based on what you need and I break all that down below.

Simple Breakdown

*Costs*	*What You Get*	*Good Idea/Bad Idea*
$200	You are getting the cheapest website you can find. A web designer in this range will build it from a template and send it you. You’ll likely get zero say and it is unlikely to look good or meet your business goals.	Bad
$2000	You’re going to get an okay looking site. However don’t expect it to fully meet your needs or be fully custom developed. This is likely one person just getting started so the experience and expertise won’t be there to help you make the right online decisions.	Good if you have a strict low budget
$20000	You’re very likely to be getting a really talented team in this range that will give you all the bells and whistles. They know their marketing and SEO and are going to ask you questions to help you build the best online presence.	Good

Most Important Takeaway From This Table of Costs?

I hope it makes you happy to see numbers but you MUST understand that price is not truly an accurate indicator of service. In the very beginning I sold fully custom awesome websites for $200 because I was young and that worked. I did full marketing SEO work when I sold websites at $2000 and really knew my stuff by then.

The price doesn’t say everything. There are many people out there that enter the Web Design arena, produce shoddy or just plain wrong work, and charge $10000 for it. I have seen it and I have had to fix it too. The price is not a true indicator of quality is what I am trying to say.

Take into account the less exciting details below to understand pricing a bit more.

The Details of Website Costs

Looking to save some money aren’t ya? Do you really have to choose the 4 or 5 figure bid over the 3 figure one? Spending money on your business can hurt sometimes, I know. But sometimes it is necessary in order to grow in the long run. A website may or may not seem like a important expense to you. You may be biting your tongue trying to figure out if it’s worth the cost. In this article we’ll dive into a bit of pricing and the true business value of a website. So let’s jump right into it!

There are just 4 factors to consider when it comes to website pricing on your end. You need to understand

Person/Company Past Experience
Potential Results
The Person/Company as a Whole
Scope

You should understand these 4 factors and more importantly, the result of each factor. In other words, how it translates to your business in the long run. Please read this article and carefully to get a full understanding as your business is on the line here.

Web Designer’s Past Experience

Yes. When you pay higher prices you pay for experience. in this example, that web developer charging you more may have more experience. They’ll have more ideas on how you can improve your site and get more value out of it. They’ll know what works based on their experience!

Having past experience also gives you the opportunity to see their past work and whether or not it meets your standards.

With an experienced developer, you’ll go through less project hiccups during the project and there’s less of chance they’ll just up and abandon you. This has happened to so many of my current clients. 50% of my clients have gone with the lower bid before working me and the person was more than likely overwhelmed by the project that they just ghost my client. The reliability factor in the website marketing industry is a huge issue so be weary of someone with no experience if your project is important and requires a tentative eye.

In addition to reducing the risk of someone taking your money and leaving, a web designer with past experience will have a smoother process which means less headache for you. I know this because in the beginning, my projects were rough. After doing this for so many years, I have the process down smoothly. So you can focus on your business and not worry about every phase of the project.

It really is worth the price.

Some Caveats

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “aren’t there companies that charge low fees and have tons of experience?”. Yes there are! Just keep in mind, in this industry, you must compromise to achieve that. These companies that pop out full websites for practically nothing are very template based and aren’t worried about website conversion and ROI. Being template based, you can say bye to customization. If you don’t care about any of those things you are good to go with the lower bid!

Potential Results

A good redesign or rebranding can double, triple, or quadruple your results! Get a new website up can get you more exposure bringing you more business as it makes the sale for you.

Websites play a huge part in all types of business or personal ventures. What do you need a website for?

Do you want a better image online that represents who you are and what you’re accomplished?
Is branding the #1 goal for you?
Do you need higher conversions or feel your design is outdated? Outdated design usually means lower conversions.
Do you just need simple fixes done on the website?
Do you feel your online marketing can be improved as a whole in addition to just creating a website?

There are so many uses for a web designer (or as we say here website marketers). Know what you need first because results may vary. Let them know your issue and see how they respond. Do they know what it takes to solve your problem? Do they have past results that prove they can help you with your ultimate goal and reason for getting a website done?

Know what you need and make sure your chosen designer understands the issue and potential results fixing the issue can get. If they can help you increase your revenue or improve your brand for better exposure, I’d say that’s worth the higher price, wouldn’t you?

The Web Design Relationship

I don’t know about you but I like to work with good people so this part is simple. Are you happy with the experience so far? Sometimes you pay for a good partner. Working with a marketing partner that’s friendly, gets along with you, and is there to help you when you need help is a BIG deal and easily worth the price.

So know the kind of relationship you want with your web designer and choose the one that provides that experience.

Scope

Scope is probably an obvious one but worth mentioning still. Scope is the size of the project. It shows how much the project entails in terms of functionality and ultimately time on the end of the developer. It can change the pricing greatly. For example, if you needed membership or ecommerce functionality on the site, that adds a lot of time as there is more work and setup that goes into these website elements. You will pay more for them.

One thing I can guarantee you is someone charging low pricing (under $2000) for ecommerce setup WILL NOT do a complete job or allow any changes to the already incomplete job within the price range. I’d bet my front door on it!

So beware low pricing and understand common web design costs for additions like ecommerce. Scope is related to time and understand higher pricing will reflect that.

Now Go and Choose Wisely

Keep these 4 factors in mind with pricing. I just don’t want people to run into mistakes that end up costing them more in the long run. It is very common for most consumers, including myself, to choose the option that means less up front but that often isn’t the best option. In everything we do, we should always think long term. That’s how business works, relationships work, money works, and so on.

So save yourself the trouble and use the four key factors to choose your web designer carefully.

Must Know Marketing Strategies For Your Small Business

June 27, 2018December 29, 2017 by Hannah Fitzgerald

The reason for doing any kind of advertising is to get the message out to your community of both the existing clients and potential customers. Proper small business marketing strategies are the backbone of any business and for you to register increased sales, you need to adapt proper strategies in your marketing campaign. This has always been the case for offline advertising such as television and radio ads, newspaper ads and direct marketing. Experience has shown that the approaches to on-line advertising are no different to those traditionally used for off-line advertising.

Small business owners often start advertising online before they try any advertising offline but the reality is that a combination of both can be especially effective. There are plenty of ways to advertise online and your main focus for all of them should be building your brand. Here are just three of the ways you can advertise online. Below are the basic approaches to successful small business marketing:

SEO Marketing

Having a website is an essential part of advertising online. It’s your hub. It’s where people can find you, and it’s where people can flock to give you money. One of the best ways for people to find your website is to have it ranking in search engines such as Google and Bing. Proper SEO (or Search Engine Optimization), as the term suggests, will enable search engines to find you easily when someone types in a search phrase that matches very closely with what your business website offers visitors. If done right, it can give you an endless amount of free traffic to your website.

PPC Advertising

SEO Marketing provides traffic that is often called organic because it does not cost you anything. However, if you want to get people onto your site quickly, especially while you’re waiting for your SEO to improve (It takes hard work!..but is totally worth it), then Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is the fastest and easiest way to bring targeted traffic to your site. This includes things like AdWords, Facebook advertising and anywhere else where you pay a set amount of money for each visit that ends up on one of your web pages.

Email Marketing

You can create your own mailing list to keep in touch with all of your customers (and potential customers) by providing an opt-in box on your website. Email marketing is then a process by which you use a series of emails to your list with the aim of building a relationship with them, often by providing further free but valuable information. Research has shown that it can take a number of such contacts for you to build sufficient trust with those on your list that they then choose to buy from you. Email marketing is an effective and low-cost way to sell and should be a part of the on-line strategy for every business.

Summary

A new trend in small business marketing strategies involves online advertising. The advertising should be based on a user’s local area and demographic information. As a small business owner, you need to have something that makes you stand out from the crowd. Consistently, apply these tips in your marketing strategy and the results will be rewarding.

Combining Leadership And Management In Business

February 3, 2018December 29, 2017 by Hannah Fitzgerald

Leadership and managerial qualities are both crucial ingredients in running a business. A leader and a manager are two different individuals, but the difference between them is never obvious. In a small business setup with you as a solo entrepreneur, you’re not considered a leader, but you are a manager. You become both a leader and a manager once you start leading people.
Leadership often overlaps management in meaning.

By definition, management is the process of getting people together to properly utilize available resources to achieve desired business goals and objectives. Leadership, on the other hand, means using one’s influence to enlist the support of others to accomplish a common goal. So there’s a very thin line dividing one from the other. But it’s accepted that leading is one of the basic functions of management.

Leadership is important to business management.
Managing a small business is perhaps the simplest form of entrepreneurship, especially when there are no hires to manage and to lead. But you mustn’t wait until you have people under you before you start combining leadership and management. In fact, it’s even impossible to become a good manager without being a good leader. Business management transcends to business leadership. Your ultimate goal should be to become a business leader you are a leader among your employees, and you are a leader among your competitors. If that were so, then be ready to assume leadership at the earliest stage of your entrepreneurial experience. Be ready to make things happen and to make critical decisions. It takes boldness to make urgent decisions, but it takes wisdom to make smart decisions.

Employees need a manager with effective leadership.

To manage others, you need to manage yourself first. Good leaders are like that they teach by example. You’d be more credible with managing and leading others if you’ve been there and done that. Leadership by example, however, should not be equated with spoon-feeding. Give plenty of room for your employees to discover their skills and strengths. Train them the first few times, and then let them be. This is a good way of knowing who the best hire is and who’s good to fire.

Be conscious about time and timing. Manage your time and that of your employees. Often delays translate to opportunity losses, but remember that some things can definitely wait. The key here is to make priorities; see which ones need immediate attention. If it isn’t the right time, don’t force it. Leadership may be about being aggressive and enthusiastic, but it’s never about being careless. Remember that management is about proper use of resources, so think before you act. Even if you only have a minute, do think.

As an efficient manager, it always good to know how to assess, train, discipline, motivate, direct, and appreciate your employees. But see, these things have something to do with leading people. You can’t get everyone to work for the cause of the business unless you lead and manage them well. Leadership can’t be contained in a box when business matters are at stake, particularly if there are already other people within the organization.

I find that here at MarvelousWeb, we do all we can to bring more leads to our clients but it is up to them to close the deal. There are certain aspects of the process we don’t control. That is why we have this. We want to teach the most effective strategies that lead to a more successful business outside of design and marketing. Stay tuned for more.

6 Steps To Finding Your Ideal Customer

June 27, 2018December 29, 2017 by Hannah Fitzgerald

Everybody is in the business of customer satisfaction somehow. The most significant movement of any entrepreneur is to apparently recognize the ideal best customers for your product or service, and after that concentration, all marketing, promoting and deals endeavors on this particular sort of customer.

Here are a 6 Steps to Finding Your Ideal Customer:

1. Define your product or service from the customer’s perspective. What does your product accomplish for your ideal customer? What issues does your product explain for your customer? What requirements of your customer does your product fulfill? How does your product enhance your customer’s life or work?

2. Define the ideal customer for what you offer. What is his or her age, training, occupation or business? What is his or her wage or financial circumstance? What is his or her circumstance today in life or work?

3. Decide the particular benefits your customer is looking for in buying your product. Of the considerable number of advantages you offer, which are the most vital to your ideal customer? What are the most squeezing needs that your product or service fulfill? Why should your customer buy from you instead of from another person?

4. Decide the location of your right customer. Where is your customer found geographically? Which place does your customer stay or work? Where is your client when he or she buys your product or service?

5. Decide precisely when your ideal customer buys your product or service. What needs to occur in the life or place of work of your client for him to purchase your product? What season of the year, period, month or week does your customer buy?

6. Decide your customer’s purchasing strategy. How does your client buy your product or service? How has your customer purchased comparable goods or services before? What is your client’s buying strategy? How does your customer approach settling on a purchase choice for your product?

Your capacity to naturally define and decide the absolute best customer for your product or service will determine your success in business. How might you discover perfect customers for your product? How might you make new customers for your product? Define your extraordinary offering proposition and convey this critical advantage in each client contact.

If you really need to get inside your purchasers’ heads, customer interviews are a viable apparatus. Pick a couple of your present customers and set up a time to talk. Ask the correct questions, and you’ll realize what they adore about you, what they don’t care for about you, and additionally what propelled them to pick you over your competitors. That information straight from the steed’s mouth is priceless.

Tragically, numerous businesses wrongly put constantly and look into it, and afterward simply giving that information a chance to stay there unused. If your goal is to target those particular customers with a specific end goal to keep enhancing your business; you have to dependably keep the information you assembled at the highest point of mind. It should impact each move and decision you make.

Regardless of who the customer is, consider where they are in the purchasing cycle. It is safe to say that they are only investigating or is it time for them to settle on a decision? Recognizing your optimal customer requires a forthright time duty, however, will pay off over the long haul.

The more you think about the perfect client, the better you can tailor your attempt to sell something. Special reward: Unless your business is quickly developing or transforming, it won’t be important to search out the profile of the perfect customer again soon. It’s time to move on searching out your optimal customer. Envision what number of more gives you could close if each you addressed were intensely inspired by your item.

I find that here at MarvelousWeb Media, we do all we can to bring more leads to our clients but it is up to them to close the deal. There are certain aspects of the process we cannot control. That is why we have this blog here. We want to teach the most effective strategies that lead to a more successful business outside of design and marketing for small businesses. Stay tuned for more.

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