Web design in this day and age can be confusing. Who’s good? Who’s bad? How do I know? What’s the difference between going to a web design studio and going to someone that posted an ad on craigslist for $399? Well we will explain some very important facts to let you know exactly why web site design and development does not cost anywhere from $299-$499.
This will be a comparison of “cheap web design” to “professional web design” and why professionals do not charge $499 and under for a web site and why spending the extra money will be worth it.
What is web design?
Web design is a company or individuals web presence. It can be a great way to generate leads, gain exposure, relay news, start a community, assist a cause and much more. Your web site is a first impression of what you are relaying to the viewer. With this said I can’t help but to think, why waste your time on a cheap sites when if done correctly your site can save you time and money.
Designs for $399 or less
The web is flooded with ads and posts about “cheap web design” or web design at a unrealistically low price. It is important to realize you wouldn’t go to a doctor if he worked out the back of a van. This applies the same for web design. Prices incredibly low as well as quality. Most of these sites consist of straight HTML programming and are designed with no marketing or viewer consideration in mind. Most $399 web ads are web templates (or template resellers) which are pre made web sites which may not be compatible with browsers and you may be sharing the same design with someone else. Read: What’s so bad about web templates? gives a great explanation. The old expression “you get what you pay for” comes to mind. It is also important to know almost all of these sites do not come with a CMS.
The Bad
Here is a list of bad design features that will help you separate the good from the bad.
Examples:
The examples above go against much of what makes a web site effective.
Ask yourself these questions in regards to the web sites above:
- Convey the company’s personality, character or attitude?
- Relate to your clients by conveying a feeling of familiarity and credibility?
- Have association with quality and satisfaction?
- Can I contact the website owner quickly and effectively?
- Is the website communicating news to me in a effective way?
The Good
Now take the same questions from above and apply them to the good examples.
Why is the difference so apparent? There are many examples and variations of web sites out there. This is an extreme compare and contrast. Most of the bad web sites will not look that bad but the question to ask is, “Will it do what I want it to do?”
Professional web designers have process and procedures put in place to assure effective design involving proper research, preparation, conceptualizing, understanding of the clients needs, implementing them correctly and so they are effective. This is why professional web design does not cost $499 and under.
The design process of a professional web designer typically consists of:
- Gathering Information: They conduct a questionnaire or interview with the client to get the design brief.
- Research: They conduct research focused on the industry itself, on its history, and on its competitors.
- Reference: They conduct research into logo designs that have been successful and current styles and trends that are related to the design brief.
- Sketching & Conceptualizing: They develop the web design concept(s) around the brief and research.
- Presentation: Showing the concept site based off of all of the information collected and demonstrating how it will all function.
- Development: Taking the approved concept and developing (or coding) it in to an actually web site.
- Presentation #2: Showing the developed site based off the first presentation and demonstrating how it all functions.
- Making The Site Live: Taking the site developed and uploading it to the domain and hosting accounts.
With all that said here are some links to some other sources as to the importance of web design:
Why good website design is important
Why Having a Quality Web Design Matters
Don’t have a professional web design? Check out our Portfolio and if you like what you see then Contact Us and we can give you a quote for free.
Michael Garmahis said:
Here are my thoughts about Web design process
Saul Goodman said:
There is a certain level of irony in an article about bad design that has snow java scripts (or maybe we’re on to something else now, I’m afraid I’m not up to date on my web-snow-effects).
The truth is, you can do decent cheap design. I know a guy who makes wonderful websites for under $500, simply because he uses the same framework, and then only has to write a style and rework a few pages. However you need to keep an eye on peoples portfolios, and talk to them in depth about what they are going to make, and how.
bpdsbot said:
@saul goodman
The creator of wordpress requested it. If you see blogs with the same effect most likely the blog is in wordpress using the same plugin.
The snow is from this: http://ma.tt/2007/12/falling-snow-script/
Also see: http://blueprintds.com/2008/12/20/its-snowing-and-you-can-have-it-too
Thank you for the input!
Joey said:
@Saul Goodman
You shouldn’t settle for decent. I just can’t see anyone doing good web design for under $500 dollars. Just like anything else, you get what you pay for. Great article btw.
Web Design Rates said:
Please do not believe in such prices! Working in web design company for 8 years, I know that it is not possible to give a web design quote without any information from the client.
John said:
While I agree with some parts of the article, I find it quite interesting that one cannot provide a true and professional web design for under $500 or $400. I don’t agree with this concept, as we have done just that and continue to provide good quality work to our clients. Small businesses and individuals do not have to spend $500 or even $800 for a simple 5 page informative site about their business. It is ludicrous to suggest a simple 5 page informative site should even cost $300. The work involved is minimal and some clients want clean, professional and open source graphics to project their business. A custom 5 page site in Photoshop can be design and sliced for less than $300 and not a template. Customizing a template to one’s specific need will cost much less. It all boils down to “how much the designer wants for his work”. Let’s be realistic, most designers will charge $200 for work that took them 10 minutes. Is that really justified? There is a niche out there that needs to be served and that niche deserves the lowest cost possible with an acceptable profit margin and not $200 or $500 for a few hours of work.
Johan Botes said:
Just yesterday I wrote an article on this - While the Internet has become an irreplaceable and key instrument and resource in business conduct today, it has also become the gateway that many con artists use to gain access to clients who know less about the internet than the con artists themselves. Although there is no tool of verification yet, there are other means of determining whether or not a potential company will be able to live up to their promises.
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