Web sites done professionally - are they worth it?

Hi! I'm just about to set up a website for a complementary health business.

On the site I would like details of our business and what we offer and qualificaitons.

However, I would also like a blog, and links to facebook and twitter and to other resources.

I have seen an email consultation service in the U.K. and thought that might also be a possibility.

I also want to ensure that when someone types in the area of business that we are in that it comes up fairly often on when those terms are searched for.

Finally, how important do you think website are in terms of getting business - Ireland is such an informal, word of mouth kind of place.

Also do the various enterprise boards still give grants for websites.

I have been quoted e3,000 and e2750 for website design currently - and that is a little steep starting off.

Would really appreciate advice and comments from people who have done this before.

I think your best approach to a fairly routine task like this is to look at websites of your competitors. You will often find that there is a ready made website package for your industry which can be bought very cheaply.

For example, I could have specified what I wanted in a discussion forum, given it to a website designer and paid thousands of euro to get it developed. But, instead, I paid a few hundred dollars to vBulletin to buy the software package, which is much better than anything I could have specified and which is being continuously improved.

Thats a very high quote for any website, will you be selling online using the site? If its just a basic site there are lots of people who advertise on gumtree, donedeal offering sites for 199 euro, 99 euro etc.

Brendan Burgess said:

I think your best approach to a fairly routine task like this is to look at websites of your competitors. You will often find that there is a ready made website package for your industry which can be bought very cheaply.

For example, I could have specified what I wanted in a discussion forum, given it to a website designer and paid thousands of euro to get it developed. But, instead, I paid a few hundred dollars to vBulletin to buy the software package, which is much better than anything I could have specified and which is being continuously improved.

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I don't think that's a fair comparison Brendan - You wanted a Discussion Forum software package which led you to vBulletin which has been developed for a generic global market by a software company that grew out of some students desire to extend their application. Their annual license revenue is in the tens of millions with a similar scale of investment in development. This allows them to license their product to the mass market.

The OP is looking for a static website which could be off the shelf but they also want it linked into all of the other types of Social Media with SEO built in on top which is specific to their market. It's difficult to get something that will do all of that right out of the tin, especially the SEO element.

SEO in itself is quite a task, so much so that there are SEO specialists just concentrating on that side of the business. Google also run a certification program for their people who want to prove that they know what they're about in terms of SEO for Google.

OP - it's about where you want to present yourself in your marketplace.

A good website with good SEO and a very good Facebook page can do wonders for your business - especially the Facebook element, but do some research - what's your target audience, how do you plan to reach them, are they the local farmers market type of saturday aternoon browser of are they repeat customers who would buy this type of product repeatedly and want an easy online shopping portal.

If you want a recommendation I have a mate who does alot of web design and has a company exactly like yours in his portfolio. I can recommend if you want.

Professional websites - are they worth it?

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Brendan, I looked up a package for therapy sites - and there is a really good one. Just wondered what the monthly fee covers, and what ongoing fees I would likely incur in maintaining a website - who I would have to pay etc.

I would love to get a professional website - but am unsure if it's worth the money. It's probably not a good time to set up a therapy business so I'm just wondering would I get a return on my e2,000 or 3,0000 layout for a professional webiste. What do people think?

The business is a psychotherapy and accupuncture businesss - there will be two of us in it. Both with really good qualificaitons.

However, I'm thinking of going abroad rather than setting up business - which will be my next post.

Thank again for all the replies, they were really helpful.

I work in web design and like mentioned earlier, I think you should be able to get a site personally made for you for a lot less than mentioned above. There are various levels of SEO that you could choose and upgrade at a later date if you can afford it. Also modern Content Management System's make upgrading and expanding websites a lot easier now.

Also I would be very cautious of going for a "Website for €99" offer or monthly subscription packages, as they can often seem very generic or home made.

hi

i will say, definitely yes , a good website will have a positive impact on your customers, a bad website will not contribute to your business growth .

How can anyone do a website for €99 just reg the domain name and hosting costs that, the set up time alone would mean you would be paying someone below minimum wage,

I think 2-3k is about right but you will find people who offer simple websites for 600- 1200 any less and you will be doing a lot of the work yourself.

I think you need a website that is professional but this needs to work with Twitter and facebook to drive real business to your company.

A good website will most definitely help drive growth in your business. If you go down the route of buying a low-cost 'template' site, you will find it difficult to stand out in your marketplace. Like your product, the more you can differentiate your website from your competitors, the more you will stand out from the crowd - and the more success you will have.

Gone are the days of purchasing a website template, changing a few graphics and sticking in a few social media icons. In order to be successful on the web, you need a knowledable, dedicated professional who understands your product/service/industry and who is willing to offer you advice with regard to your site's search engine positioning, its 'hooks' and overall strategy.

The only exception to not needing professional, bespoke design and development is if you have an innovative idea, innovative content or an innovative method of marketing your product online that will carry a stock job. That said, having a superb idea may be even more of a reason to contract a professional, to maximise your product's potential.

we are a web company and the quote you got sounds about average. It might seem like a huge price for a start up company but a good website is vital for any business.

For your 3000 euro quote a good design would go and research your market, figure out what image your company needs to project, analyse exactly what your website needs (blogs etc) and then create a unique custom build site that hits all your companies target aims.

A professional looking, attractive website gives people confidence n your business.
It's usually the first point of call anyone has for your business, and a shabby looking, unprofessional one give people the impression you run a shabby unprofessional business.

I would also agree with the poster not to go for 99 euro design, and also don't get trapped with a monthly hosting fee.

Have a look at irish competitors whose websites you like, and see who did theirs (they might have a link at the end). Or else ask a friend with a business, who has gotten a nice website done, for a recommendation.

What you should look at doing is putting together as detailed a brief as possible, including the spec for what you want (pages, blog, basic Facebook page, etc), along with:
- Your business in one paragraph.
- Brief overview of target market, industry, competitors, challenges, etc
- Any USPs/key benefits that you have and that should be promoted
- Any marketing plans that you have put together
- Anything else that will help to inform the designer

Once you have a detailed brief, try to get a quote from a few designers based on this. But if I were you I'd also look at posting the project on eLance, Guru.com and 99Designs.com. 99Designs especially recommended - you offer to pay €800 or whatever for the winning design, and it becomes a competition to see who can design the best site for you.