Oh, like this is anything new…
Still, I find myself rolling my eyes when people start ‘bargain shopping’ when it comes to creating an online presence.
And I roll them again when I see small town flyers advertising websites “as low as $99/$299/$499”… just insert whatever you deem to be a ‘blue light special’ price in here.
If the vendor is treating their service as a commodity, how good can you expect it to be?
Do they take the time to understand your business objectives? Can they do any advanced programming, put in a shopping cart, or implement your marketing strategies? Are they actually DESIGNING a site that will support your brand and message or are they resorting to templates and couldn’t reformat the thing if their life depended on it?
Are they even going to be in business next year when your domain needs to be renewed? Can I tell you how many times I’ve heard of rural and small town businesses losing their domains because the ‘cheap’ provider closed up shop and left town without passing along any instructions or contact information?
Oh yeah… it happens.
Look, this is a reflection of your business, your brand. Don’t mess it up by looking for the cheapest solution. And unless you’re willing to start learning HTML, CSS, CGI, PHP, ASP and a whole mess more of alphabet soup in coding and programming, you might not want to take on the D.I.Y. option either.
Shop around, sure, but get referrals from people who have websites you like to visit. Ask for estimates. Look at a provider’s portfolio. Talk to references. This is an investment in your business folks, not a heifer sale at the local auction mart.
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Tags: brand, business, commodity, design, price, programming, small business, websit, website tips, websites
