5 Ways to Save Money on a Website

Step away from the up-sell! Most businesses have learned that you get what you pay for, but there is such a thing as too much too soon. If your website budget is limited, you’ll want to get the biggest bang for your buck. Save money without sacrificing the quality of your site by following these five web design tips.

In a hurry? Jump to the Recap.

1. Start with a Template

No need to re-invent the wheel for an awesome website. Most sites have quite a few elements in common, so don’t fret over starting with a template, or pre-built theme, as opposed to spending more for a 100% custom built website. The key here is to start, not finish, with a template and further modify the design and add any additional required features. Later, when the requirements of your business warrant a custom build, you can invest in a completely custom website build.

A word of caution: Designers who use drag-and-drop plug-ins or builder theme templates can often work faster and touch less, if any, code, but their sites rely on many moving parts and often end up with a broken design when it comes time to install an update or add a new feature. Read Website Savings that Will Cost You More Later for other website cost-cutting measures to avoid.

2. Get a Website with CMS

A Content Management System (CMS) allows those who aren’t website code experts to add and edit content on your website. Without a CMS, any changes to your website usually require editing the actual code of your website. WordPress is an example of a CMS that allows users to log on to a dashboard to add and edit the pages, or blog posts, on your website using a tool that is very similar to word processing software. Users can also have varying levels of access and permissions, which is great for involving others in your website’s content creation process.

3. Put Yourself in Your Visitors’ Shoes

Hopefully you have defined personas or the ideal types of visitors who will be visiting your website. Step into their shoes for a moment and make a visit to your website from each of their perspectives:

• Are they visiting on a phone or a desktop?
• What specific things are they trying to accomplish on your site?
• How often will they have to click or scroll to do so?
• How long will they have to wait for each page to load?
• How likely are they to know where to click or get lost and give up?

Answering these questions will enlighten you on how visitors are interacting with your (hopefully responsive) design as well as the content you have provided and allow you to troubleshoot any issues that may hamper the user experience (UX). You may come across issues, such as an incorrect phone number, that require a simple fix but have a great impact on your business.

4. Be Well Prepared

Time is money, and the easiest way to save both is by having the ingredients for your website ready to go. A logo as well as the text and image content for your website are two obvious necessities. If time is precious, you may end up saving money by commissioning the content creation process. We highly recommend defining your corporate design guidelines beforehand so that your website developer can skip the guesswork on fonts, colors and the desired look or feel of your site’s design.

5. Create a Positive ROI

The most effective way to save money on your website is to do whatever it takes to create a positive return on your investment. Done right, your website will be earning, as opposed to costing, you money. You can increase your ROI and the effectiveness of your site by clearly defining your primary objective, promoting your website and using tools, such as analytics, to measure outcomes and obtain additional insights.