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So you have made the decision to have a website built for your business, but are not sure of what is involved, and where the costs lie? It can be confusing, especially if you are not particularly Internet or PC savvy: web development, web hosting, domain names, email addresses. All of these are factors that need to be considered and costed into your project. As well as that, you've seen many great websites on the net, which are packed with loads of cool features, moving graphics, options to sign up for newsletters, database searches and links to other sites. Do you need all these features, and how much will all that cost? What should you have in your website, what's the process, and how much will it all set you back?
by AshleyBryan
So you have made the decision to have a website built for your business, but are not sure of what is involved, and where the costs lie? It can be confusing, especially if you are not particularly Internet or PC savvy: web development, web hosting, domain names, email addresses. All of these are factors that need to be considered and costed into your project. As well as that, you've seen many great websites on the net, which are packed with loads of cool features, moving graphics, options to sign up for newsletters, database searches and links to other sites. Do you need all these features, and how much will all that cost? What should you have in your website, what's the process, and how much will it all set you back?
The first step is to think of a suitable domain name. The name of your company can be a great start, so you get www.mybusiness.co.nz or www.mybusiness.com . Which do you need: dot co or dot com? I believe that a dot co domain name is OK for most New Zealand businesses, and that a dot com name still really implies an American site, although this is not a fast rule. Why not identify your business as a NZ one straight off and use dot co, which will promote our country to overseas net users? Something else to think about is whether the name lends itself to what your business does or provides. So the domain name www.circusanimalhire.co.nz (it doesn't exist, I checked!) tells you pretty much what the website is all about. A name like www.prsmythe.co.nz doesn't give as much information about the core business, and so users then have to actually view the site to determine what is provided. You need a lot of advertising, PR and brand marketing clout to get a name like www.amazon.com to be synonymous with books right? But it is possible as we know. When you've thought of your name, register it: $39.95 will secure you the name for a year.
What does a website cost? A basic website can cost as little as $1000 - $2000. What do you get for that? You generally get what's called a brochureware website. That's one that is like what it's name suggests: an online brochure introducing your business, products and services, and encouraging users of your site (your target market) to contact you. You can have the basic structure of three pages: 1) Home page which introduces you, your business, products and services 2) Products and/or Services page for more detail 3) Contact page, which may include location (a map!), phone numbers and email facility. The latter may be in the form of a link, which opens up a blank email when clicked on, or may include a form, which users fill in, and this generates an email which is sent to you. The form is great way of encouraging users to give you a certain amount of required information, so that you can give the most informed response, and hopefully generate some business. A brochureware website is a great start if you want to start off small, with a good Internet presence at a reasonable price. Don't forget you can always expand it over time once you have analysed its effectiveness, seen the benefits, and increased your confidence. This sort of site supports your existing marketing strategy and initiatives and is another facet of your marketing strategy: it's an advertisement for your business.
The other costs to consider when getting a website built include the purchase of a domain name, and the annual renewal, your website hosting and email hosting, and marketing and search engine services.
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Before you get a website designed and developed you should know and understand what the costs are. This articles reviews those costs. Only registered users can write comments.
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