Five Tips for Affordable Web Design

Control Wild Web Budgets with Five Easy to Follow Tips

For most businesses a website is a must, but how do you get your business on the web without it costing an arm and a leg? Here are five tips for affordable web design and controlling wild web design budgets.

1. If you can do it for free, then why pay?

Free is about as affordable as your web design can get and if you’re prepared to put in the time to learn the basics then your affordable web design project could easily be a free web design project.

Look on the web for companies offering free websites, free templates and free web hosting. A word of warning though, often free packages will have advertising on them, so be sure you know fully what you’re signing up for else you might end up advertising your competitors on your website.

2. Use a Fixed price Web Design Package

If you need something more professional than a free web site but still need to keep your web design project affordable then look for companies that offers a fixed price affordable web design packages.

You can get a fixed number of pages designed just for your business with a contact form for a really competitive price. Another advantage with this approach is the help you’ll get from your web design company in avoiding common mistakes.

Keep an eye out for hidden extras. Make sure that your package includes everything you need to get your business on the web. Ask about the cost of hosting, domain name, images, logo design and web statistics. The better companies all include this in the price.

3. Know What You Want and Stick to It

Nothing drives up the cost of a web design project like re-working design and content. Successful, affordable web design projects are the ones that have clients who start with a clear vision and stick to that vision throughout the project.

If you keep changing your mind then the web designer will have to do more work which can mean a higher bill than necessary. Once you have a quote for your affordable web design project, stick to it. That way there can be no nasty surprises when the invoice lands on your mat.

4. Know the on-going costs

The on-going costs vary wildly from web design company to web design company. Some companies will charge what seems to be a low cost until you realise that this is the annual cost.

If you’re on a fixed budget and need an affordable website then you need to choose a web designer who will tell you honestly what the ongoing costs are going to be.

The main cost you will encounter is web hosting renewal and domain name registration. This is usually an annual cost so make sure you know how much it will be in the future. Ask your web designer if you are unhappy with their support and hosting costs will you be able to move to a different company.

Good web designers are always confident you won’t want to move and will be happy for you to do so.

5. Control Update Costs with a Content Management System

If the term content management system (or CMS) is new to you, a CMS is simply a website where you can change the content on your website yourself through an easy to use interface.

It may cost a little more for a CMS over the traditional website but if you need to make updates a few times a year then for truly affordable web design updates you can’t beat a content management system.