How did you build your website?
I have a web business but would like to better understand how startups and small businesses are approaching building their own website.
1. Did you do it on your own or hire someone?
2. What was the biggest pain of it all (cost, time investment from you, turnaround time, displeased with the outcome, ongoing maintenance, need for other web-related services, etc.)?
3. What did you pay / what would you consider a fair price for your website?
4. What features did you find necessary to implement / do you wish you could easily implement?
5. How many pages does it have?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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May 11, 2015
Hi Jared,
I'll give you the insight of another web company. We work with a lot of small businesses and startups and have been in business ourselves since 1995.
I would say about 20% of the clients we work with did DIY for their first website. The other 80% hired someone for their first site or are looking to hire someone for their first site.
Pain points for DIYers vs. those who paid someone else to create the website are often different.
DIYers will usually mention things like: amount of time they spend on it (when they had more important/other business things to be doing), they couldn't do exactly what they wanted (with layout/design or functionality), they get no targeted traffic/no seo or simply that the website "did nothing for them".
Those who have paid for website design previously often mention things like: they didn't get exactly what they wanted (or worse, they paid and didn't get anything or it was never finished), and the website was hard to update (I get a lot of complaints about Joomla being difficult, for instance, or the fact they had no CMS and the previous developer took ages to make simple updates).
As for paying for a site, there has been such a wide range of prices it's kind of hard to pinpoint a sweet spot for pricing ...especially when there are a number of factors (CMS, custom design vs pre-made theme, add ons such as logo design or copywriting or SEO, etc.) Most of the clients we work with that have existing, simple websites paid on average of $1500 for them (and they could be 4+ years old). If they have a CMS, often it's something older or Wordpress and they may have paid more initially.
I think there is a split between small business owners on what they think is a fair price, however. There are those who are so concerned with budget and getting "the cheapest" price, that's all they see (and they often end up getting what they paid for). Then there are the ones who understand that having a quality, custom website is an investment in their business and they will see a ROI on that. Of course, businesses from the later group are who I prefer to work with (unless I can convert someone from the first group into, "seeing the light", so to speak). I find that most start ups and small businesses can usually justify a cost between $2500 - $6000 for a custom, informational, responsive website (and those on the higher end would have a CMS such as Wordpress).
Features for startups and small business websites often include: CMS/ability to update text, contact form, photo gallery, blog. Some try to roll out online shops/ecommerce (although that always increases the price).
I personally don't charge per page, unless of course we've been hired to write copy and then we charge per page for the copy. Especially when sites are built off of a CMS the whole pages thing kind of goes out the window. They could technically have 50 "pages", but most of those could be blog articles the client has written. Most small, information/brochure websites average about 8-12 pages.
Hope that insight helps with your business.
Sherry
May 11, 2015
Jared,
Amazing how people respond without reading the question :-(
I'm an atypical case as a SMB who has been building web sites since 1995. My most recent experience was providing professional services on the Magento platform.
In any case, with my new startup I took a quick look at wordpress and WIX. After some limited development I elected to use Wix - primarily for ease of use (I'd rather be working on the "business of the business")
Good luck!
Doug
May 11, 2015
Hi
Massive topic with so many options. Here are a few things that may help you.
1. If you are looking for a quick cool out of box looking website, then go look at www.wix.com they have some great templates that fit most companies. You can play for free and when you want to remove the ads, then the cost to host the site is very good.
2. Contact me and we can show you how to run a site out of SharePoint Office 365. We have some great templates, plus if you are in Office 365, then any collection of data will stay in your SharePoint.
3. If you want to create a site from nothing, then we can help project manage a solution with first class developers in eastern Europe.
4. final option to think about. Go look at people per hour and post your request on their board. You will have plenty of web type people bid for the job.
Hope you find what you need. All the best.
May 11, 2015
1. Did it myself without ever having made a website. (I had no money to hire someone and I found out it is actually really easy and lots of fun to do.)
2. Learning and using JavaScript (it was not really that hard but a little harder than HTML and CSS) and making good design choices (I found it strangely harder to do this for my own website than I would for someone else).
3. I paid nothing (except domain name rent), I was bootstrapping and it was not like I needed any special or highly advanced features anyway.
4. Well web design has evolved in the past few years so whichever I wanted back then does not really apply today. Today is all about minimalism and mobile support, which I can implement if I feel like it. ( I cannot really be bothered at this point to be honest.)
5. Six.
Good luck.
May 11, 2015
1. As a professional designer, I did my website myself.
2. The biggest pain of it was stressing how to present my work in the bets way possible.
3. I only pay for hosting and my domain. I offer the services of web design, and I like to think I charge a reasonable rate.
Implementable features are dependent on your industry. The design dictates your features and your content spearheads how you present it.
Again, the number of pages totally depends on your content, so it could be one continuous scroll page, it could a very complicated site with tons of info and everything in between.
So consider how you want to show your company and how to present it as easily as possible to the masses.
May 11, 2015
I hope the below helps sheds some light:
1. Did you do it on your own or hire someone?
I did it myself, I do have a web design team that works for me, But I also develop websites, so I wanted to ensure I set things up the way I wanted. Then any other programming or certain updates I have them do.
2. What was the biggest pain of it all (cost, time investment from you, turnaround time, displeased with the outcome, ongoing maintenance, need for other web-related services, etc.)?
I would suggest going with WordPress, VERY user friendly, easy to expand and VERY easy to add content.
On the average depending on how many pages you want and how custom the design will be, you can have a website done in 7 to 14 days.
I would HIGHLY suggest you hire a professional, they know how to set up the site that is SEO friendly, ensure that it is a responsive design (mobile friendly) and make sure that the proper local SEO keywords are placed so you can have your website listed on the search engines as soon as possible.
Depending on the size of the site, it would average $1200 to $1500 for a 10 page site. From there it would depend on how many more pages you need.
Basic ongoing hosting and maintenance packages are about $60. This is important not to get a cheap host, your site can be down more then it's up. Also ensure the maintenance has updates to your site monthly. So you can have experts do any tech updates.
Using Wordpress will allow you to add content to your site as easy as you type out a memo in word. If you learn anything from this post, remember this.
CONTENT IS KING! add content that is relevant to your niche, ensure it's good content that will help your clients and show your expertise.
Most internet marketing firms, will be able to also provide any ongoing support in the following areas and provide you with a package price.
SEO, Social Media, Local directory submission. All of which can provide HUGE organic traffic and the ROI will be worth it, assuming you select the right team.
If you are looking for this site to drive traffic, make sales, gather email leads, the investment will be returned when you select the right team to support your goals
3. What did you pay / what would you consider a fair price for your website?
10 page full set website, custom design, content added, logo, social media set up and unlimited designs before going live, will cost you around $1200 to $1500
4. What features did you find necessary to implement / do you wish you could easily implement?
Being a web developer for the most part all is easy, Another reason why I suggest Wordpress, is because of how easy content is to add and with the proper setup additions, you can automatically link your social media sites to the content you create so as you post content on your blog, it will be posted on your social media platforms.
Social media is a HUGE traffic draw and important for local citation, which Google uses to rank your website
5. How many pages does it have?
On my service site I have over 60 on other sites in the hundreds.
I hope this cleared up a few things,
All the best to your success Auggie
May 11, 2015
May I suggest a visit to YouTube and look at Wordpress or Joomla tutorials to get yourself familiar with which CMS will be suitable for your needs. Then when you need to hire someone down the line you will be well versed in what you want and lower your overall cost.
May 11, 2015
Jared,
Go to Joomla.org (or google Joomla) and read...Simplest way : find a hosting company who offers joomla auto-installer. It takes then about 5 minutes to set up a professional site structure. If you can work with WORD, you can build your joomla site. But read carefully the joomla site first.
Success
May 11, 2015
I am my own web development firm. I am developer and internet marketing expert.
1. I am developing website self.
2. Biggest pain is displeased with out come. So, you need best plan and their execution.
3. Price should be depend on functionality of website.
5. Size of website should be depend on Business needs.
Thank you,
May 13, 2015
Hi Jared! I am a start up/small business (Virtual Assistant) and I've just recently completed my business website.
1. I did it all on my own - purchased the domain name from one location and hosting from another. The site I use for hosting has a streamlined website build - it's more than adequate at this point to do what I want to do.
2. So far, no real pain - except finding out the domain name I originally wanted was taken and I had to re-think everything.
3. I only pay a hosting fee - $15/mo and the domain + email is $73.22 (domain for 2 years and email one year)
4. I am trying to implement a calendar onto my website so that visitors can schedule a complimentary consultation - that is a work in progress and it hasn't been easy so far.
5. I have 7 pages currently
Hope this helps!
Sally Crow
www.thecrowadvantage.com
May 13, 2015
Thanks for the insight, Sally.
For scheduling, I'd use software that's out there (http://www.capterra.com/scheduling-software/). I'd specifically check out Acuity Scheduling or Calendly. You can likely set up the software on the provider's site, and then link it / embed it on your site.
May 14, 2015
Hi Sally, I use vCita for my calendar and its fantastic. You can take payments through it, it connects with other systems eg Google Calendar, Paypal etc. It's super easy to use and can be branded to match your site. You can also crate a contact me form that pops up on your site.
May 29, 2015
I also use and can second Jane's recommendation of vCita. - The Pragmatic Web Designer.
May 13, 2015
Many people here have mentioned Wix. In the Pre-fab, but elegant category I'd also recommend looking at SquareSpace.
I used it to get a good-looking, responsive site with a capable CMS, in a reasonable period of time. There are some limits with the platform, but not many for a small business. An exception would be if you want to integrate sophisticated marketing automation or go beyond simple ecommerce.
1. Did it on my own, but I'm a designer by trade, so I had everything I needed
2. Biggest pain was taking energy away from my business—but much less than with other options.
3. Paid a low monthly fee for the CMS and hosting—paid a fair amount of my own time creating content, populating pages, etc
4. For the most part they had all the features I wanted, just wish I had more fine-tune control on design factors. Especially with the blog functionality.
5. 18 pages
May 13, 2015
FINALLY, someone said Squarespace :-) Wix (and basically every other inexpensive web builder) is complete garbage in comparison. Thanks for the feedback.
May 13, 2015
Jared,
Before answering your questions, you need to answer (to yourself) the following questions:
1. What are your goals for your web site? I mean, it is just a regular site with some static content on some pages and a blog section? Or do you want to provide a particular service (software as a service), or are you planning to sell products online (estore)?
2. Do you have an idea of the requirements of the site? What kind of functionality do you want to have? Such as: do you need landing pages ((squeeze pages)? Do you need to provide contextual recommendations based on what the user is doing on your site? Do you need to allow users to creates accounts to perform some tasks?, etc.
3. Do you have a clear road-map for your business? if so, how that will affect the evolution of your site?
Depending on the capabilities that you need for your site, you can build something with Wix or WordPress. If your needs are basic you could go either way. I would recommend WordPress, because it will allow for more flexibility in the long run. if you need something more elaborate, probably you need to answer the questions above and create a list of requirements and assign priorities to them. define what are the essential ones and include them in the MVP (Minimum Viable Product). then ask for quotes for that work.
So going back to your questions:
1. If your idea of your site is just a basic site with a blog, you can do it yourself, if you have the time, or hire someone to do it. If you hire some one, make sure your goals and requirements are very clear. Otherwise you will finish with something that would not match what you would expect and it will end you costing a lot more than expected. If your site needs to be more sophisticated, hire someone. Again, make sure you have a clear idea and requirements of waht you want.
2. The biggest pain depends on how clear are your goals and your requirements.
3. It depends on what you need. A simple site can go (if you hire someone) from $2,000 to $20,000. However, it depends on your needs. It can go in the hundreds of thousands or more in many cases.
4. This is a wrong question. You should care on the features you need. Maybe if you provide some information about your business, we can make some specific suggestions.
5. Again, this is not relevant for your case.
Once I finished writing this I clicked to see you your profile to learn about your company to see whether or not I could be more specific. to my surprise your service is to build websites for very small businesses. Go figure.
May 13, 2015
I built my own website with Wordpress. I already had a good knowledge of Wordpress, online marketing and copywriting, as that's what I do in my business. I'm constantly updating it and tinkering with it as that's what I love to do.
When I work with clients, I find that the biggest stumbling block for them is content and the lack of a digital marketing strategy. Or then there are those who want to write their own content, but don't know their way around Wordpress and it's my job to teach them.
Your website needs to be built in line with your digital marketing strategy, so that's where I would start if you're thinking of outsourcing it. You need to know what the purpose of your website is, how people are going to find it and how they're going to interact with it once they get there.
May 23, 2015
I built my WordPress site and blog myself. Actually, there is a great book for beginners for WordPress - WordPress To Go, by Sarah McHerry. And it is a rather thin paperback, but it really helped me make sense of WordPress.
http://www.amazon.com/WordPress-To-Go-Complete-Beginner-ebook/dp/B0072V4EYS
Dorothy: I think one thing that will help in dealing with clients is their understanding the need for consistency across web and print - so people can relate to a brand.
WordPress has a great optimization tool called WordPress SEO by Yoast. It has worked very well for me. Make sure every page is optimized - both the web site and the blog. You will be surprised at how often your blog will come up for subjects related to what people are searching for. I also recommend along with the search engines directory placement services to help you get found in the major directories and directories related to your business.
May 13, 2015
Hey Jared,
1. We are inbound marketing agency and official Hubspot partner. For our website which is
incredo.co
We haven't hired anybody because it is using simple page drag and drop web elements and we always analyse what CTA works, what blogs, web pages, landing pages perform the best and do appropriate actions immediately (again without hiring anybody).
2. The biggest investment was money. Although it's a all on one marketing tool including blogging, CMS, CRM, social media management, analytics. The cost is around $300 per month
3. The far price for a stand alone website on Wordpress, or custom front end I think would be around $300
4. DIY, analytics and some template guides
5. It has total 250+ indexed pages on Google
May 14, 2015
Hi Jared
I'm a small business, I'm not a web designer or techy person:
1. I built it myself - on Wordpress using OptimizePress 2 theme
2. Finding a theme that I liked, that gave me lots of design options but was easy to use. Learning the backend of Wordpress as I built the site. The time it took because I kept tweaking it.
3. I was quoted $5,000 which is why I chose to build it myself.
4. I implemented: a scheduling tool (vCita), mailing list software (GetResponse, I also looked at Aweber and bought SendReach), various plugins for security and SEO etc, Amazon S3, Membership site plugin (OP2), Webinar software (EasyWebinar and GoToWebinar)
5. lots of pages plus a membership section and a live events section for hosting hangouts.
Hope this helps!
Jane
May 14, 2015
Hi!
1) I have a web development company, so, of course, I created and mantain it.
2) Creating a website is easy, fill it with great content in order to get traffic, create a website that I'd love to visit every day, that is the difficult part.
3) Depending if you are using a CMS, a theme or manual deployment, depending on your needings, around 25$ - 30$ per hour is a fair price. So you can have a nice website per 1.000 - 1.200 $.
4) Social media, content management system, correct SEO, good server for a great speed and of course, cool pictures.
5) As many as you need.
May 14, 2015
Hi Jared,
I'm going to answer this in 2 parts - both DIY, but very different.
Three years ago, despite having worked in IT for over 25 years, I knew very little about how to create a website, but to help promote a book I'd just written, I created a pretty simple one (just a few dozen pages) using Wordpress.org and found extremely easy to build and maintain.
Then 18 months ago I had an idea for a much more ambitious web venture to help other authors promote their books and to help readers find discounted books that met their preferences. The site is called Readers in the Know.
Although I'd not done any serious coding since leaving university, I decided once more to give it a go myself. So I spent a couple of months researching the best tools / frameworks and languages to use, bought a bunch of coding books and set to it.
The biggest challenge, though also in my opinion, the best decision I made, was to use Symfony2 as programming framework. It has quite a steep learning curve, but once you've figured it out, it's well well worth it.
The site was coded in PHP (using all the symfony libraries and a few symfony plugins) and Javascript, with quite extensive use of jQuery.
The database used was MYSQL although Symfony2 came with Doctrine database abstraction so I could easily change to another database with very little modification of the code.
Building it cost me nothing except 8 months of my life spent coding it (learning as I went along), and now, almost a year since launch, maintenance is minimal, although of course the business and marketing side takes quite a lot of time and financial investment.
It has a huge range of functionality - especially for authors and publishers, some of which you can see demonstrated in these video tutorials:
http://www.readersintheknow.com/videos
It currently has just under 2000 pages I think.
Hope that helps you.
Simon.
May 14, 2015
Thanks so much for the detailed write-up. You're definitely not my target market, as you're very tech-savvy haha :-) But congrats on sticking with it and building something out!
May 14, 2015
I built my own website through a company that does the maintenance and upkeep. Also, I have found that working with a company that is concerned with your SEO and will offer opportunities for expansion as your business needs grow is a great idea. Fair value is a month to month consideration in pricing for starters- as the website has to produce fair value to keep my interest as an investor. Even though I do not use them, the capability to provide "hot spot" buttons and linkage on the internet network engines is a plus. Pages that can be added or subtracted at different cost levels arranged in small increments are attractive...in fact I am currently think of expanding mine. I hope this helps!
May 24, 2015
Kimberly: Best way to grow a web site - blog to your hearts content. Another thing - believe it or not, you can create pages with unique content to the areas you serve. Just remember that there is still competition in the areas you want to expand to. Make sure you optimize all your web site pages and blogs - they help you increase your chances of getting found. And one person in another thread (as well as one of my marketing partners) strongly recommends the use of landing pages. If you have a booklet, brochure or some other reading materials that can help educate your clients and potential clients, having landing pages can do the following things for you. Just like blogging, the materials you are creating a landing page for set you apart as an expert in your field.
May 24, 2015
And there are several ways you can promote a landing page - the e-mail you would use the landing page to collect (in order to get the free booklet, brochure of other materials, they would have to give their contact information, and then be redirected to get the free materials. Social media, directories, and your web site all play an important part in all of this.
May 18, 2015
1. Did you do it on your own or hire someone? -
Did it own
2. What was the biggest pain of it all (cost, time investment from you, turnaround time, displeased with the outcome, ongoing maintenance, need for other web-related services, etc.)? -
No pain. I just bought best WordPress theme matching my requirements.
3. What did you pay / what would you consider a fair price for your website?
Depends on your requirements. It may start from just 500 US$ only (including everything) ...4. What features did you find necessary to implement / do you wish you could easily implement?
Contact US, Ask for opinion/quote
5. How many pages does it have?
Uncountable ...I can add new page using in built blogging functionality every day ..
Sherry, I love how you answered the critical questions as asked by Jared Gold. And your answers were straight on target, without a lot of fluff. Without question, if my company was looking at doing a redesign of our website, I'd contact you. OnWard!