# Cost for a Website



## tutone (Nov 10, 2014)

Very generally speaking, how much does a website cost? How much did you pay for your website to be built?


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## GarfieldP (Aug 11, 2014)

We paid $2500. It's very simple-- Wordpress template-based.


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## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

I use Weebly and pay nothing, do it myself, just drag and drop stuff.


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## BamBamm5144 (Jul 12, 2008)

I would be more concerned with the VALUE of the website.

The first site I had built was over 5k. What a scam.

The second site was 1k. Another scam.

The third site was somewhere in the middle of that and by me not choosing that one first (when I could've) I am sure I lost hundreds of thousands in business.


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## EthanB (Sep 28, 2011)

The cost of a good website is variable. It all depends on the area and what keywords you are targeting. 

When picking a designer make sure that you pay more attention to the steak than the sizzle. They should be focused on keyword targeting, conversions(e.g. email signups, calls, clicks for service, etc.). All of this information should be laid out in spreadsheets, graphs, charts. You should then verify with some recent customers that the results are accurate and talk to them about conversions. If they don't know what you're talking about then the pitch was probably BS.

Websites are about generating an action. I don't care if it looks like a pile of crap that was lit on fire, if it converts well, it's the right website.

A pretty website with bad traffic is like a plumbing contractor driving a Landrover to the job.


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## Sprtman (Aug 16, 2010)

I just recieved a quote for $2,100.00 dollars. Have not responded yet and have not delved any deeper as to what all this includes.


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## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

Jeebus, no wonder so many people are getting into web design.


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## UkChippy (Nov 5, 2014)

My advise when having a website made for you is dont have all your eggs in one basket.
Buy your own domain name
Buy your own hosting
And have someone Build you a website and maybe seo or outsource that as well.

I've heard too many horror story's of people offering an all in one package and going out of business and taking there clients websites with them, or just uping the hosting costs year on year until people have enough and have to start again. 
And remember there's no such thing as free domains or hosting, they will get the money out of you some how.


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## SectorSecurity (Nov 26, 2013)

I do agree, purchase your own domain and hosting and provide who ever is making your site access to your hosting plan, this can prevent you being held hostage for higher prices. As for what you spend and the value that all depends on what you get.

If you get a wordpress site with a basic theme and some text for several grand in my opinion you paid to much and could have done the same yourself.

Don't let these web guys scare you into thinking its some mystical scary process to purchase a domain and hosting, it takes all of 5 minutes and is straight forward if you go with any large hosting provider such as godaddy or the like. A lot of these guys buy the unlimited hosting plan for like 30$ a month then charge you 100+ to host your website.


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## jaydee (Mar 20, 2014)

my 1st website was $1200, piece of shi*
guy built it olg school way, was outdated before IT was loaded.

@nd was $ 2500, works good, averages about 25-45 visits per day.
With about 5-10% of my sales.

POINTS to remember, (MY OPINION)
1) own your domain name
2) pay for your hosting separate from designer 
3) I like the person to be local to ME
4) tie to Facebook
5) maintain it and update often.


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## Jaxyaks (Nov 7, 2014)

I've built 3 of them and you do not need to pay a lot of money for one, unless the site and volume you are trying to generate with it is very large, think corporate scale.

If your trying to get some info out and some pics of your work as well as having surfers find you, you don't need to spend a lot of money. Weebly was mentioned, it is decent and if you spend a hundred dollars or so for the pro version it's even better


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## SectorSecurity (Nov 26, 2013)

Godaddy with Wordpress and Pagelines DMS for the theme. Cost is like 150$ for it all


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## EthanB (Sep 28, 2011)

That's not a website. That's a template. Turning that into a website is the equivalent turning a bunch of wood into a deck. I'm not saying someone shouldn't build their own site but it's likely to be about as good as that DIY deck.

You don't need to spend a ton of money on a Wordpress template site but someone needs to be responsible for figuring out which keywords should be targeted and making sure that the content is appropriate. Keeping and eye on the performance of those keywords over time is also important.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

What do you want the site to do? What size is the area you want to target?


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## thehockeydman (Dec 19, 2012)

EthanB said:


> That's not a website. That's a template. Turning that into a website is the equivalent turning a bunch of wood into a deck. I'm not saying someone shouldn't build their own site but it's likely to be about as good as that DIY deck.


Depends what you mean. I have a number of friends who own online marketing agencies, and they'll all say the same thing: ANYONE can build a professional looking website today. So in terms of appearance, it's not quite the same as a DIY vs professional deck.

Where it is similar is in the content. Writing website copy and content that actually generates leads and entices your prospects to take action is an art in of itself. A lot of people go wrong because they can build a website that looks like a professional built it, but the site doesn't sell. If this is what you mean by DIY vs pro, I agree.

If you do go with a professional, make sure they're focused on building you a website that will sell. Not just something that looks pretty.


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## EthanB (Sep 28, 2011)

thehockeydman said:


> Depends what you mean. I have a number of friends who own online marketing agencies, and they'll all say the same thing: ANYONE can build a professional looking website today. So in terms of appearance, it's not quite the same as a DIY vs professional deck.


That's pretty much exactly why I said it that way. Almost anyone can build a decent LOOKING deck too but we know that it's what's underneath that counts. I would take issue with the average person being able to build a "professional" looking site as well. I've spent a fair amount of time working in marketing and most of the sites I see by DIY'ers and the graphic design school dropouts have terrible site architecture, poor keyword focus(if any), no inbound links, no local search citations, images aren't correctly optimized, etc.. Basically no real usability or SEO to speak of. To any professional, that's an abomination.


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## thehockeydman (Dec 19, 2012)

EthanB said:


> Almost anyone can build a decent LOOKING deck...


We seem to have very different experiences with DIY decks…


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## EthanB (Sep 28, 2011)

thehockeydman said:


> We seem to have very different experiences with DIY decks…


Or maybe I know more about websites....


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## thehockeydman (Dec 19, 2012)

EthanB said:


> Or maybe I know more about websites....


Then me? Maybe you do. Than the friends of mine who do own online marketing companies that do websites for a number of 10M+ businesses and who consistently achieve results for their clients far above the industry average? Doubtful. 

They would tell you the exact same thing I just did.


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## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

EthanB said:


> That's pretty much exactly why I said it that way. Almost anyone can build a decent LOOKING deck too but we know that it's what's underneath that counts. I would take issue with the average person being able to build a "professional" looking site as well. I've spent a fair amount of time working in marketing and most of the sites I see by DIY'ers and the graphic design school dropouts have terrible site architecture, poor keyword focus(if any), no inbound links, no local search citations, images aren't correctly optimized, etc.. Basically no real usability or SEO to speak of. To any professional, that's an abomination.


But, like anything else, it depends on what it's for. I put mine together (I do have a graphics background though) but basically it is text and photos. I advertise elsewhere and link to the site. 

In order to get up to the top of the SEO you need to outdo mosto f the other guys and websites are getting ridiculous. I bail very quickly when I see all the whirly gigs and doodads that keeps the google crawler sniffing around the site. I am probably not alone in this.


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## clearlybath (Nov 21, 2014)

So back to the question...

I would budget 2.5k to 3k if you want a marketing agency to build it, buy the domain, do SEO and to have ongoing maintenance and updating built in. This will insure that your site ranks high and looks good on ALL mobile devices. 

Your diy site may look nice, but wait until someone is on a 320 retina screen and everything breaks to hell. Just like you wait for your drunk aunt to come over and manage to break that diy deck. 

A company in my town does a basic site with no maintenance for $350 to start. Wordpress, hosting, and domain. They look like crap but nearly everyone in my town and the surrounding area uses them for their small business sites. Another company won't take any jobs under $3k and writes everything from scratch or uses their own custom CMS if you want to update yourself. They have dedicated designers and developers and are an incredibly well rounded company.

I would also look for a company that will write your copy for you! Having well written copy can make or break a site. A marketing agency can also get stock photos easier if you are lacking in the quality project photos department. It may also be worth hiring a professional photography to drag along to a couple projects to get some really top quality photos (and videos!) for your site. 

Another thing you could do is post on elance or craigslist to find a freelancers. These guys live on one off projects and are usually a tad bit cheaper, but you either have to find a designer/developer/seo master/copy writer or hire four or five freelancers to do the same thing. The only problem is never expect quick responses because chances are when you have a question, they are asleep XD

Now no one look at my site because I did not follow any of this advice


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## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

clearlybath said:


> Your diy site may look nice, but wait until someone is on a 320 retina screen and everything breaks to hell. Just like you wait for your drunk aunt to come over and manage to break that diy deck.


You are speaking for yourself, not everyone else.


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## clearlybath (Nov 21, 2014)

Yes, thank you for pointing that out! We all have different skill levels and I'm sorry that I implied that the OP can't build a professional site or a deck. 

I just assumed that if he wasn't sure what a site would cost, maybe he didn't know much about them, but I know what assuming does...


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

RangoWA said:


> You are speaking for yourself, not everyone else.


What's that even mean?


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## prolongroofcare (Jun 9, 2014)

The cost of a web site has more to do with the content than the layout. Think of it this way. If you went to a printer to build a 5 page brochure and said build it for me you would get one price. Give them all the photos, graphics, sections, titles and content you will get another. Buy a copy of Adobe Illustrator and lay it all out yourself you will get a third price. Same thing with a web site.

The hardest part is creating the content and messaging. That costs a lot if you don't do it yourself. Second most expensive is photos and graphics. Third most is layout and composition, cheapest is hosting it. How much of all this do you plan to do yourself.

Given that prices can go from $5 a month or less to $10,000 or more. Cost per hour of work for skilled work is really not any higher than other skilled trades. My auto mechanic charges $100 an hour. Web design is in the same ballpark.

Tony
Pro Long Roof Care and Gutters
www.prolongroofcare.com


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## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

JBM said:


> What's that even mean?


Which word was too big?


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## prolongroofcare (Jun 9, 2014)

RangoWA said:


> Which word was too big?


Would be nice to be civil on this forum. I think the first comment about small displays was just that if you build it yourself that you are likely to not take into account small mobile web browsers. That is probably true for most.

I think your comment about the fact that you would take them into account is well taken. But not everyone will.

You are both correct.

Tony
Pro Long Roof Care
http://www.prolongroofcare.com


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## shadshad898 (Nov 16, 2014)

*What about the sales funnel?*

Very interesting thread, but I think the conversation is missing one key point - a website needs to be part of a sales funnel for it to be most effective.

Good responsive design across all devices and screen sizes is important, but if you don't set up lead capture and lead nurturing, you're missing out on a huge opportunity of converting people coming to your site who are not quite ready to buy. Once they leave you'll lose them as a customer.

The best sales funnel works likes this:
> Visitor is sent to the site (through search engines or an ad)
> While researching your site they are presented with some type of free offer (like a report on the 10 things to look for when choosing a contractor, or some type of pricing information). 
> They give you their email address for the information (boom! Hot lead)
> Use an email followup series to educate them about your company, with each email ending for a call to action of contacting you either to answer any questions or for a free consultation.

Setting up this sales funnel allows you to get people who are in every stage of buying, not just ready to buy now.

A mediocre website with a good sales funnel will convert many more customers than an awesome website with no sales funnel.


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## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

shadshad898 said:


> Very interesting thread, but I think the conversation is missing one key point - a website needs to be part of a sales funnel for it to be most effective.
> 
> Good responsive design across all devices and screen sizes is important, but if you don't set up lead capture and lead nurturing, you're missing out on a huge opportunity of converting people coming to your site who are not quite ready to buy. Once they leave you'll lose them as a customer.
> 
> ...


Speaking of sales, have you contacted the administrator to set up a payment plan for hawking your wares on their website?

I will say again, a website should indeed serve its' purpose but not everyone is trying desperately to gobble up as much sales as they possibly can. If you buy into all the sales features your site, signs and advertising can get too busy. I was in commercial graphics for 28 years and have some insight in this basic concept that is lost on many. Just because something can be done that doesn't mean it should be done. If it's overwhelming, you spent a LOT of money for nothing.

A good designer will know how to draw a balance but if a decent looking basic website serves your needs it isn't wrong and it may, in fact, be superior in function to an expensive no holds bared counterpart. Different strokes for different folks.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

RangoWA said:


> Speaking of sales, have you contacted the administrator to set up a payment plan for hawking your wares on their website?
> 
> I will say again, a website should indeed serve its' purpose but not everyone is trying desperately to gobble up as much sales as they possibly can. If you buy into all the sales features your site, signs and advertising can get too busy. I was in commercial graphics for 28 years and have some insight in this basic concept that is lost on many. Just because something can be done that doesn't mean it should be done. If it's overwhelming, you spent a LOT of money for nothing.
> 
> A good designer will know how to draw a balance but if a decent looking basic website serves your needs it isn't wrong and it may, in fact, be superior in function to an expensive no holds bared counterpart. Different strokes for different folks.


You basically said nothing. That there is a style for everyone.....


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## SectorSecurity (Nov 26, 2013)

The problem here is we are lumping having a website, having good SEO and lead generation into one. While they all work together to land you a job they are 3 separate aspects.


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## tutone (Nov 10, 2014)

*cost*

This thread was originally about the 'cost of a website'. I think the cost is over $10,000.00 for a site with good photos, content, layout, and responsive design. I think a lot of people pay $2000 and their sites show it, by not being very good.


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## prolongroofcare (Jun 9, 2014)

tutone said:


> This thread was originally about the 'cost of a website'. I think the cost is over $10,000.00 for a site with good photos, content, layout, and responsive design. I think a lot of people pay $2000 and their sites show it, by not being very good.


Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Plus how your site looks and works needs to be matched against the goals and more is not always more.

Tony
www.prolongroofcare.com
Pro Long Roof Care and Repair


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## SectorSecurity (Nov 26, 2013)

tutone said:


> This thread was originally about the 'cost of a website'. I think the cost is over $10,000.00 for a site with good photos, content, layout, and responsive design. I think a lot of people pay $2000 and their sites show it, by not being very good.


Paying more doesn't always mean getting more.


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## MKE (Dec 21, 2014)

*I can put one together for a good price*

I'm a wordpress developer and can build affordable sites. They look great on all platforms (mac, pc, mobile) 

•It's template based and made on wordpress.

•You would sign up for your own hosting through Bluehost or similar provider.

•The example I'm giving took a ton of time and effort, so far I'm receiving good feed back and it seems to be working as a good landing page.

•This is my personal page www.mketileandstone.com and I can build clones for $630. I came up with that number by 18hrs invested times $35/hr.

•you will have complete access to the back end which is pretty easy to edit and add content.

•I can provide on going monthly service/updates or just help on a case by case basis.

•If you just want me build it you can change your password after completion and take it from there:thumbup:


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## Tech Dawg (Dec 13, 2010)

MKE said:


> I'm a wordpress developer and can build affordable sites. They look great on all platforms (mac, pc, mobile)
> 
> •It's template based and made on wordpress.
> 
> ...



*You should probably sign up as a Service Provider since you're advertising website sales:whistling


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## RangoWA (Jun 25, 2014)

JBM said:


> You basically said nothing. That there is a style for everyone.....


LOL. I made the point that not one size fits all, you confirmed it while saying it means nothing. That's about as dense as it gets.

I also said putting money into something doesn't neccessarily yeild positive results. In this case, getting someone to your website does little good if it takes too long to load, too long to read or has too much going on and people just leave. I've spent many years in graphics and have seen it many times, websites are no different. 

You are welcome to your opinion but don't tell others that their opinions don't matter.


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## brettminer (Dec 20, 2014)

My best advice is to do it yourself. Wordpress based websites are very easy to set up and take little computer knowledge. Buy a domain and hosting for a year and you can get a website up for as little as $50 while still looking professional. Yes you could pay someone $2500 to build a website from scratch but with pre-coded website themes from wordpress you end up in the same place but down $2500.


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## NYgutterguy (Mar 3, 2014)

My website is pretty basic and I just finished recently. I never even heard of seo till this site.(CT talk) I just wanted something simple just to have something out there. If I got a few leads from it cool. I had someone build a wordpress site that was like $1000. I started to learn more about wordpress and was able to use the outline he created to and add my own wording and pics etc.. The changes I'm not able to do or have no clue how to do I pay someone to make. Think like 100-125 an hour. The site has actually gotten me some decent leads and should have stepped it up a while ago. I made my money back in one 2 hour job so I guess in ahead of the game


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## rjconstructs (Apr 26, 2009)

I got a price a couple days ago. $500.00 to build, maintenance in the future $30.00/hr. I started working on building a site myself and realized it was going to take more time than I could devote to it.


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## CQC (Aug 5, 2013)

The answer is it depends. Do you want a website that actually gets you sales leads or not? The only way you are going to get sales leads is if you are on the first page of search results on search engines, namely Google where 3/4's of all search is done. So you have a few options:

A. Hire a professional that knows what they are doing and can get you on the first page. Cost $2k-$5k.
B. Take the DIY approach, which will save you money but you won't get leads as you will be on page 7 of search results. Cost $100
C. At least buy a domain and point it to a Facebook, Wix, or Weebly page for your business. At least you can place the domain on your business card. Cost $12/year.
D. Do nothing

According to this bit of *research*, 90% of home pros don't have a website or even a company Facebook page. So going for *option C* gives you a leg up on most of your competition.


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## DeBernardi (Oct 2, 2014)

GarfieldP said:


> We paid $2500. It's very simple-- Wordpress template-based.


2.5k for a Wordpress site?! Was the template custom made for you?


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## retrogradeMT (Oct 20, 2014)

*I recommend a landing page instead of a website*

I have a construction related startup, so I have become familiar with web marketing. As a result I often help my contractor friends with their websites. 

I have found that most construction companies don't need a "website", they need a landing page. 

Here is what I experienced with my friends:
1. they had no idea what they wanted, but they just knew they needed a site.
2. They rarely updated their site (and didn't want to start)
3. They don't want to learn about SEO or internet marketing. 

If you are interested in having a full blown website, my suggestion is to hire a web developer that will update it monthly for you (put up new pictures, blog about something related to your business, post on facebook)

For a reasonable small business site with monthly updates you are looking at $3-5K for the first year and a maintenance contract of about $500 - 1k.

Perhaps a better option is to build a landing page instead of a full website. 

A landing page is a simple single page site. It has a big focus on "call to action" for the users, in this case emailing or calling you. The landing page should cost about $700 or so and requires very little maintenance. You can take the money you save from not developing a full site and buy a year's worth of google adwords. 

Landing page: 
1. Highlight your product or service first
2. Call to action is prominent (email or call the contractor)
3. show a few pictures of past project and provide several reasons why they should choose your company. 
4. more call to action options. 

The whole point of a landing page is to lend credibility to your company and get the client to call you if they want more info. It works remarkably well.

Since I don't have of my friends permission, I won't link to their sites. I did attach a partial screenshot of one I am working on now.


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## tutone (Nov 10, 2014)

*Excellent*

Excellent advise! Thanks for sharing.



retrogradeMT said:


> I have a construction related startup, so I have become familiar with web marketing. As a result I often help my contractor friends with their websites.
> 
> I have found that most construction companies don't need a "website", they need a landing page.
> 
> ...


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Landing pages dont rank using traditional seo strategies. Good if you dont need or want additional work from a website I suppose.


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## retrogradeMT (Oct 20, 2014)

Sure they do, there just isn't as much content for inbound marketing. Link building, for example, will still work great. 

Honestly, 3/4th of the construction websites I have seen are really bad at SEO anyway. A landing page with good link backs, relevant content, and google local setup will beat most competitors. It won't beat a site with a weekly blog posts plus everything else I've mentioned.


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## Snavazio (Dec 31, 2014)

*I'd Use Fiverr.com for landing pages*

If you really just want a landing page, use Fiverr.com ($5 NOW plus 50 cents service charge) and search for "landing page". Make sure you re-order the results by clicking "High Rating" in the center just on top of the results. 

Then post it on godaddy or hostgator, if you can't/don't want to learn how to post it NP, many providers will post it for you, for an extra $10.00 (plus $1 service charge).

Not sure why someone would pay $700 for a landing page.

Disclosure, I don't have any interest in Fiverr.com other than being a happy customer for many years.


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## GCmedia (Feb 3, 2015)

It depends on the focus of the website. Do you want a place where people can learn about you or do you want a site to convert sales?

If you want a website that will generate leads for your business, the true cost of the website is determined by the cost per lead and the investment you want to make into inbound marketing to get those leads to your site. That's how you determine the value of a web site.

I can't count how many times I crossed paths with clients who spent a few thousand to get a site that didn't get any traffic because it wasn't properly formatted for conversion or lead generation, wasn't competitive in content and had no source for traffic beyond SEO.

A small company with little competition may only need to spend $100 on a website for marketing. A company with a lot of local competition may need to invest hundreds in website marketing because their cost per lead is higher.

First you have to know the value of your customer (how much your average sale is worth), how many new customers you can handle a month, then determine the cost to get that customer to your site (paid or search marketing and competition). As a general rule, I suggest you stick to paying no less or more than 8-20% of your monthly revenues on marketing your website to leave room for other overhead and profit margin growth. The beauty is when your marketing cost stays the same but your revenues continue to grow.


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## Maxon100 (Feb 11, 2015)

When I decided to do a website for our company I just started researching and found out how to buy a domain name (http://stormproofroofing.org/) for $100 and then I started playing around with it for a few days. If you don't know what to do just get on YouTube and there's tons of videos that will walk you through the process. Then I hired a friend for a couple hundred to help me make it the way I really wanted and that was it. Pretty cheap on my end but the site is very simple and I knew what I wanted. All the pictures on the site are actually my jobs so this made it easier for my SEO guy to put everything together. 

http://stormproofroofing.org/


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