Most business owners understand the need to have a website in today’s marketplace. However, if you are still on the fence about if you need a website for your business, check out our Top 10 Reasons Every Business Needs A Website. A lot of owners will attempt to create their own website using tools like Weebly or Wix. While these tools have come a long way, the truth is that a DIY site is more costly for many of these business owners. Today, we will give a breakdown and compare the costs of building a DIY site vs getting a professional custom site created.
No two websites are exactly alike, and different businesses will demand a certain kind of website based on their preferences and online goals. Similarly, since the style, design, and primary purpose of every website is different, the sophistication and amount of build time required will also differ. However, to buttress this illustration, we will be making this comparison based on the most common type of business site – a 5-page standard informational website.
Cost Breakdown for a DIY Website
- DIY Website Tool / Hosting fees = $10 – $20 monthly ($15 average)
- Total amount of hours (on average) spent on website design = 20 hours
- Let’s opt for a cheap hourly rate of $10/hr. Thus, for 20 hours ($10 x 20hrs) = $200
- Total hours spent updating website content/troubleshooting = 1 hour per month. Based on the assumed hourly fee; $10 x 1hr monthly = $10 monthly.
- Cost of 1 Branded Email Box (average) = $3 per month.
Cost calculations are based on a basic 5-page informational website and an hourly wage of $10.
One thing to note with the cost calculation above – the actual amount it takes to build your DIY website will significantly depend on how much your time is worth. The average amount of time it takes for a first-time user to create a basic website is just over 20 hours.
Let’s say Bob owns a small auto repair shop and needs a site. If Bob builds the site on his own and pays himself $10 per hour, his development cost is $200, and he will spend an average of $28 monthly on website management. This puts the first-year cost of his DIY site at $536 and then $336 for subsequent years. However, most business owners find that their time is much more valuable than this. Afterall, the business likely isn’t running while he is actively working on the site. If Bob decides his time is worth $20 per hour, the price quickly increases to $400 for development and $38 monthly. This puts the cost of his DIY site at $856 for the first year and then $456 for each year after.
Cost Breakdown for a Professional Website Built by EBizNerd
- Development fee = $500
- Monthly Maintenance fee = $30
- Total cost for first year = $860
- Yearly cost after first year = $360
Unlike the DIY solution, this basic package includes:
- 3 branded email boxes (instead of 1)
- Up to 2 hours update time monthly (instead of 1)
Cost Comparison
Now let’s bring Bob back in for comparison. If his time is worth $10 per hour, he saves $324 in the first year and then just $24 per year thereafter. At $20 per hour, he saves just $4 in the first year and ends up spending $96 more each year after.
This doesn’t even account for the fact that a professionally built website is much more likely to attract and convert visitors into customers than a DIY website. If the professionally built website attracts just a single customer that the DIY website might not have, Bob would have likely made up half the cost of his entire site.
As a business owner, or really anyone looking to attract customers on the internet; first impression is everything. Potential customers that find your website unprofessional, poorly designed or lacking style – are likely to question the veracity and competency of your business .
Business owners that are looking to take their business online, truly should not settle for anything less than a professionally designed business website that will reflect both the legitimacy and credibility of their products and services. If you are ready for your business to take full advantage of the internet, contact the experts at EBizNerd for a free consultation!