Deciding which direction to go in for your next website can be a confusing and lengthy process. And though it may be tempting to simply opt for the cheapest alternative, there are a few things you should consider before making your final conclusion.
Some companies will try to hook you in quickly, with promises of “cheap websites” that can be launched in an instant. Nine times out of ten, these websites are thrown together using ready-made templates from WordPress or Joomla, which is why they are so cheap and quick to produce.
Others will try their best to convince you that custom-built websites are the way forward, and may try to wow you with flashy bespoke add-ons that you may not even need. Custom built websites are normally more expensive because they require more development work, which means they also tend to take considerably more time to produce.
However, there are pros and cons to both, and it really does depend what you are hoping to achieve with your new website as to which will be the best option for you and your business. Before you even begin to weigh up the options, have a go at answering the following questions:
- How quickly do you need your new website up and running?
As mentioned above, cheap websites tend to come in template format. This means most of the work is already done for you, allowing you to simply drop your content into a pre-styled webpage. This speeds the process up considerably.
On the other hand, custom designs go through several stages of proofing and tweaking before the content is even introduced. This can add weeks (sometimes months) to the schedule, but it does mean you have much more freedom with your design.
- How involved do you want to be in the process?
If you’re working with a program like WordPress, you can do most (if not all) of the work yourself. And while this can save you a huge chunk of cash, it will eat up a lot of your time.
Unless you can read and write HTML and CSS code, you’ll need the help of a developer if a custom-built website is what you require. That does also mean that your content will be populated and formatted for you though, allowing you to sit back and wait for the work to be done.
- How much money have you set aside for your new website?
WordPress templates can cost anything in the region of £50-£150, with added costs of domain registration, hosting and any premium plugins/development work that may be required. That means you could be looking at a rough total of anything from £200-£1,000.
For a custom built website on the other hand, you’re looking at an all inclusive cost (minus hosting charges of between £10 and £30 per month) of anything from £2,000 and £5,000 (that’s with minimal bespoke development work).
Having thought about the questions above, you should now have some sort of idea about which route you’d like to go down, although there a number of other factors that you may need to consider. For more information, why not seek the help of a local development company such as MA Design, web designers in Cheltenham, who can advise you on all of the available options?