Kim’s Website Design & Marketing

How you can get an affordable website designed for your business

Also searched as: Affordable websites designed for your business

Having a website is one of the prerequisites for any business that wants to tap into the customer base on the internet. Today it is possible to have your business’s website designed within a day or two if the developer has the right tools and resources required to build the site. The good news is that we have a lot of tools today that developers can take advantage of to design websites faster without incurring lots of costs as well – want to know what they are? Just ask us.

If you have been looking for ways you can get an affordable website for your business, this article is for you. I am going to share with you some of the best methods you and your developer can use so that you reduce the time and costs required to build your website.

• Choose a relevant website builder.

Today, your web designer doesn’t necessarily have to code the website from scratch thanks to the many website builders that you can use to create your website with drag and drop tools. There are several website builders out there that you can use to create your website, and the one you choose will affect how much time and money you will need to have the site done.

Some of the most common website builders include; WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, WooCommerce, and many more – check out our recent blog on these. Each of these have particular types of websites it was designed to help create. If you need a basic information website, using Wix would be the best idea. Shopify and WooCommerce are good for building eCommerce websites. WordPress is the most flexible and can be used to create any type of website, but it may require your developer to have some medium to advanced web design and development skills if you want the website to be unique.

So, before deciding on which website builder to use, you need to first consider the type of website you want to build and your website goals, then choose a builder that was specifically designed to build that kind of website or that will help you achieve your website goals over time. You also need to consult your website developer ahead of time so that you choose a website builder that they are familiar with.

• Choose the right plan.

Website builders normally come with different packages that offer different sets of features that your website can use. While choosing a plan, make sure you choose one whose software resources you can fully take advantage of and can grow with your business. You can choose to start with the cheapest plan if you are building a simple informational website that you don’t expect to be overwhelmed by traffic in the first days and then upgrade in the future.

Most of the current website builders have the option of upgrading to a much more robust package whenever you wish. So, you can choose to start small and later go to the bigger packages as your website grows.

• Choose the right website theme/website template.

Website builders have pre-built themes and templates that you can use to create your website. The theme/template you choose has an impact on the cost and time it takes to have your website built. While choosing a template, make sure you choose one that has a design that is closest to the kind of design you want your website to have. For instance, if you want your website to have a blog section, make sure you choose a template/theme that has this section by default.

If you are using WordPress, make sure you choose a theme that is compatible with the page builder you want to use. Research the theme you are about to install on your website and confirm if it supports some of the most common WordPress website builders like Elementor, Divi, and Beaver Builder, WP Bakery and more. This will save you the hustle of having to use unpopular or complex builders.

• Use affordable website plugins

Website builders have stores where you can get plugins that you can install in your website to add extra functionalities and also enhance performance. While choosing plugins, make sure you look for ones that you need and those that are within a reasonable price range (some are free). It doesn’t make sense to buy expensive plugins whose features you may not fully utilise. All that matters is getting only what you need.

Also look for the ratings of the plugins, you don’t want to select a plugin you love the features of, only to realise it is not very compatible or causes conflicts with other aspects of your website.

• Have all the content available

When your developer is building the website, it makes it more cost-effective for you by having all the content about your company ready. It will become more costly having your web designer research, write and input all the content on your website without you contributing anything to it. For instance, you can provide information for pages like the About us, privacy policy, contact page, etc.

You may also advise the developer to only build the structure of the website, and then you input some of the content yourself if you want to be really savvy – we get clients who prefer this often. It works to their budget but achieves a high-end result. That’s a big win for you. When all the page sections are built, adding content is not a complex process and doesn’t need any technical skills to have it done.

• Don’t compromise the security.

No matter how cheap you want your website to be, make sure you don’t comprise security in the name of saving some dollars because security vulnerabilities in your website can lead you into incurring more costs in the future. The good news is that most website builders already have security features installed by default for all websites.

However, if you are using open source platforms like WordPress, you need to make sure you purchase all the necessary security features. The hosting provider you choose will also affect your website’s security level. So, make sure you choose one that has a good reputation when it comes to security.

Final thoughts

Building websites in 2020 and beyond should not be an expensive venture like it used to be 10 or 15 years back. With so many website builders in the market right now, it is possible to have websites built without having to code it from scratch. All you need is to get proper guidance from your web developer or designer – aka us, regarding which website building platform is best for the kind of website you want to build and choosing the most suitable themes/templates to achieve the look and feel you desire added with the functionality required. However, as you try to cut the costs of building your website please make sure you don’t compromise key issues like security, performance and layout.

For a quote on a service like this, contact us by calling us on 0450 871 934 or emailing us at kim@kimswebsites.com.au