National feature for local forager
Published: October 2011
6th October 2011
Having created websites for over 15 years I've noticed the current trends in pricing seem to have polarised like never before. As one of the big hosting companies has begun to push out the cheap "self-build" website principle on national UK TV and "app" building companies are charging upwards of £10,000 for custom app development the divergence in the cost of being online has reached a dramatic state.
But what is the comparative value of each end of the spectrum? In many respects this is an almost daily question for us as a web design agency. In every case where we provide a quote we wrestle with putting a tangible and intangible value on the money we charge for our services.
There aren't necessarily easy comparisons in other sectors to draw on either. Web design isn't yet (and probably never will be) a professionally regulated business; so you can't compare it to solicitors or accountants or doctors. It's not even directly comparable to traditional PR and marketing as there's a whole technical dimension to the web design process that has a real impact on performance in a way that is not replicated in print or other media. (If your server isn't fast enough, or if the code is buggy or not optimised then your site won't work fast enough and will plummet on the search engines and irritate your customers. There's no equivalent to this in print media. (As far as I know.))
So then how do we differentiate ourselves? What makes us "worth it" when compared to a cheap, self-service option?
Well I think it comes down to three key things:
These three dimensions are what distinguishes our services from the cheap, "self-build" offerings that are available. It is undoubtedly possible to build a successful site yourself from a position of innocence. But if your business is in a competitive market, or has very specific advertising and marketing needs then it's unlikely that you'll get it right first time without considerable research or a mighty dose of luck.
This personal and personalised way of working is what creates the real value of our services to our clients. They can be reassured that their website isn't going to be reliant on luck for its success, but rather on skill and insight and understanding. And because we share this information and knowledge with our clients, they can carry on the content development of their site with confidence that they know what they're doing and how to do it effectively.
In the light of this, the cheap cost of a self-build site may in fact mask a performance cost in the future, whereas the modest (£700-1,200) cost of a custom built site from Alacrify will bring tangible rewards to a business in terms of PR and sales, and has the potential to continue to increase the business' value significantly into the future.
If you'd like to talk to us about your ideas or ambitions for promoting your business on the web then please give us a call 01300 320076, or email jon@alacrify.co.uk