Budgeting for Your New Website: What Should It Cost?

Face it, the majority of people turn to the Internet when they’re looking for solutions to their problems. Often times, these solutions involve a product or service. If you’re like most businesses, you likely have a website that’s great at showcasing your address and phone number, but not so great at directly generating customers. If this describes you, then a new website may be in your future - and setting a realistic budget for your new site is the first big step you need to take to get the ball rolling.

Why There Isn’t a Standard Website Design Cost?

Depending on what you want your website to include, the price of a website can vary drastically. If you’re a small, single-location business, you could likely get away with a four-page website that includes a home page, about page, services page, and contact page.

On the other hand, if you’re a larger corporation, you’ll likely have hundreds if not thousands of pages for products or other services and may need an e-commerce system included. Your business probably falls between these two extremes and has unique needs of its own.

Because of this, it is hard to give a ballpark answer on how much a new website will cost; it is best to talk directly with someone who has the experience to accurately calculate a price based on your unique needs. However, I can help you budget for the maximum amount you should spend.

Determine What Your Website Should Cost

Websites are usually seen as a marketing tool, but in reality, they can also be a sales tool. Ideally, your website will take pieces from both worlds and come together to build one “smarketing” machine. The way to do this is to build it with inbound in mind.

Building a website with inbound in mind means you strategically create ways to take prospects through the buyer’s journey. It involves attracting visitors to your site because it offers a potential solution to their problem (usually through social media or organic search), and then continuing to give them the resources they need until they determine they want to buy from you. An important tool to do this is the Call-To-Action (CTA). A CTA could be for a free trial, an eBook download, an appointment request, or anything else you can think of that your prospects could benefit from.

By placing these elements on your website, you are able to nurture visitors along at their own pace while keeping in mind the final goal of them contacting you and becoming customers. All of this work is done through your website. It’s like a 24/7 salesperson!

So what does your website’s ability to create customers have to do with how much you should spend on building one? The answer is simple: spend no more creating your website than the revenue it will generate in return. Many of our clients are comfortable with a 12-24-month timeline to achieve this.

The first step in determining the budget for your new website is to clarify what the average value of a customer is. If the value is large, then you’ll only need a few prospects to come through your website and become customers to pay back your investment. The next step is to determine what an acceptable payback period is for your website. Based on how quickly you would like your website investment paid off, you can determine the total number of customers you need to come through your website based on their average value.

Remember to be realistic and set a budget based on a specific and measurable goal. Also keep in mind that every year after the initial investment is covered, the website will continue to generate revenue and add to your bottom line. Thanks to you, your company will forever change how it views your website – as a revenue-generating machine.

Next Steps

With your budget and goal for your new website established, the next step is to figure out who will build this new website. This might include interviewing agencies and evaluating if they would be good partners. If you decide one is a good fit for you, you can set a launch date and work with them to build out your new website.

Remember, websites are always works in progress – don’t get caught up in perfection and risk delaying your launch. As long as you include elements to move your prospects through the buyer’s journey, you are sure to give your visitors what they want and guarantee your website will be worth the investment.