I found someone who can make me a $400 website. Can you beat that price?
My first reaction is “yikes!” I have done estimates for people getting bids from these $400 guys and it's definitely comparing apples to oranges. Be sure they are being clear about what they are offering:
My first question is what does their portfolio look like? Do they create sites that visually represent the quality of service or product you provide because that is what people think when they see your site. If it's clunky, doesn't work well and visually unappealling, do you think that your site will compete with your competitors?
Once you look at their portfolio, look at your competitors' sites. Do your competitors have similar sites or better sites than these? If your competitors have better sites, then why spend the money on something inferior if this is going to be your main point of online advertising?
What type of site are you getting for $400? Is it a content management site or html site? If it is a content management site, do they train you and what does the site include? If it is an html site, how much will they charge you each time you need an update? In both cases, review what they include, what the base price of $400 includes and how much all the add-ons and changes will cost you. Also, ask them if they be providing anything custom or will it look exactly like your competitors sites.
Do they include hosting and if so, how much do they mark it up?
Do they outsource all of their work overseas and if so, what type of working conditions do these programmers have (and do you want your business associated with that?).
Here are some other questions to go through when deciding which web designer to work with:
http://www.sarazimmerman.net/2011/09/29/how-to-choose-a-web-designer/
Click to share thisClick to share this