How to Buy a Website
If you’re buying a car there is a process that most people will go through. There are those lucky enough to buy a car arbitrarily, or just because they want to, but for most of us, there is a logical process to go through.
First we will decide why we want a new vehicle. Is our family growing and we need a new vehicle, or maybe we need a truck for our new landscaping company? Next we will settle on a budget. How much can we afford to spend on a car, or how much would we realistically like to spend? Next we will probably decide what we want in this new vehicle. Do we want leather seats, all wheel drive or a sunroof?
After we have decided on all these things, we’ll do some research. What vehicles are available in my price range that fulfill my needs? We might find a number of vehicles that meet all these requirements. At this point it would likely come down to personal preference and which brand we are most comfortable with. If we don’t find anything that fits our price and feature requirements then we’re going to have to rethink things.
Only after you have been through all these steps will you buy a particular vehicle. You won’t show up at the dealership with no idea of how much money you want/are able to spend, no clue as to what options or capabilities you would like or any idea of what you will use this new vehicle for.
The same should be true for websites, unfortunately it isn’t. This is probably due to the relatively new nature of the web design market. The internet as we know it today has only been around for about 15 years but people have been buying cars for over a century. Most people that look to get a website built, especially those that have never gotten one made before, have no idea what their options are, or how much they should expect to pay. Here are a few ideas on how clients can tackle some of these ’steps’ before speaking to a web designer, but also how a web designer can work with a client who doesn’t have much experience getting websites built.
Purpose: Why do you want a website and what should it achieve?
There are so many small businesses that will approach the task of creating a website without any real goal in mind. This makes it harder for a web designer to create something truly great because they have no idea what they’re aiming for. It would be hard to win a game of hockey if you didn’t know where the goal was.
On the other hand some websites are just too ambitious. It is difficult for there to be any kind of focus in a website if it is aiming to achieve too many things.
The goal of the website could be a number of things. Some of these things are easily measurable, some not as much:
- Increase sales to out-of-town customers through online orders
- Drive more local customers to our physical store
- Develop relationships with customers and provide another medium to provide customer support
- Provide information for potential visitors to our town/attraction/hotel to increase the likelyhood that they visit us
All of these goals are fairly specific. The net result of all of them is that the business makes more money, but that isn’t the goal itself.
This step is something that you will need to decide yourself, although some web designers may be able to give you some suggestions.
Budget: How much can you spend on a website?
This is something you as a potential website owner need to know. If you have never had a website built before then it is difficult to know how much you should budget to spend. Like buying a car, it is possible to spend a lot of money and get very little. It is also possible to spend a relatively small amount and get quite a lot.
If money isn’t too much of a problem, choose an amount that you are comfortable spending on a website. After going around to a few web designers and getting some quotes, you might find that it simply isn’t enough money in which case you would need to budget more. On the other hand, the final cost might be a major concern (i.e. you just don’t have the funds to spend thousands of dollars on a website). In this case, set your budget to however much you are comfortable spending on a website. After getting a few estimates you may find this simply isn’t enough for what you want. At this point you will have to re-evaluate what functionality you want in a website, or you might just have to put the project on hold until funds are more readily available.
Clients should be aware that a web designer will probably ask you what your budget is for a website. This is essential for a web designer to know so that they know how to approach a project and so they know what you can and can’t afford. It may be that you can’t afford some of your "want to haves", so there is no point in a web designer estimating a price for them if you can’t afford them. Paul Boag uses an excellent metaphor in an article he recently wrote.
"In your [the web designers] mind, building a website is like building a house. Without knowing the budget, you can’t possibly know how many rooms the client can afford or what materials you should use to build."
Wants vs. Needs: What does my website need to do?
Like the car buying example, the functionality requirements are closely related to the purpose. The easiest way to explain this is with some examples.
If you are wanting to increase sales to out-of-town customers through online orders you will need an online store. The level of functionality will be based on what your business is. If you have a catalogue of thousands of products you’re going to need a complex store with many different categories and comprehensive search features. On the other hand, if your business is selling knitted tea cosies, you probably don’t need such a complicated feature set.
To drive more customers to your physical store you will need prominent and detailed information about where you are located, you’re opening hours and the products and/or services you provide. This will help increase the likelyhood that people visit your business.
Customer support might be the main goal of your website. In this case you would probably want an easy way for customers to contact you from your website. This could be a simple contact form that sends a message to your email address. Or it might be a complex online customer support application that helps you manage a database of thousands of customers and is accessed by dozens of employees.
Are you trying to attract visitors from out of town? In this case you are probably going to want lots of photography, plenty of information about your attraction/town/hotel and the area surrounding it. You’ll also want guidance on how to get there and where it is located.
In some of these examples you might not be able to afford everything that you want. You might want a complicated online store with thousands of products and a built in customer support system but you might only be able to afford a basic shopping cart system with a few dozen products.
You may have a clear idea of what you want your website to achieve (the purpose), but you might not know the best way to achieve this. A good web designer will work with you to decide what would be best for your situation. They should help you decide what features you really need and what you can get within your budget. They also shouldn’t try to sell you something you don’t need. If you’re just selling knitted tea cosies, a web designer worth his salt won’t try and sell you something more expensive that you don’t need.
Research: How much will this website cost?
Your now armed with a lot of useful information that you need to take to web designers in order to get some estimates. Different web designers do things differently. Some charge on a per project basis, others charge hourly. Either way you are going to want to get an estimate for the total overall cost.
You’ll also want to find out what aspects of the website the web designer covers. Some will simply design the website and leave you to find your own hosting company and domain name. Others will handle all this for you.
Purchase: Choosing your web designer
Remember that the best web designer for your needs may not necessarily be the cheapest. Just like buying the cheapest car will not always leave you the most satisified, skimping on a website might not produce the best results. If you actually care about your website and your business, you shouldn’t mind spending that little bit extra to get a great site. Your website will be the first impression many people get of your company, so you make sure it’s a good one!