# Website cost



## Marian Ambers (Oct 6, 2015)

Hi guys! Do you have any idea how much it costs to have someone build my website?  You see, I've been using social media for my business.  Now it's doing good, I guess I can afford to have a nice website to have more clients.  Suggestions anyone?  Thanks!


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## jks9199 (Oct 6, 2015)

Marian Ambers said:


> Hi guys! Do you have any idea how much it costs to have someone build my website?  You see, I've been using social media for my business.  Now it's doing good, I guess I can afford to have a nice website to have more clients.  Suggestions anyone?  Thanks!


You might check with Bob Hubbard. ..  

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## Andrew Green (Oct 6, 2015)

Marian Ambers said:


> Hi guys! Do you have any idea how much it costs to have someone build my website?  You see, I've been using social media for my business.  Now it's doing good, I guess I can afford to have a nice website to have more clients.  Suggestions anyone?  Thanks!



It depends... do you want a good website?  or just a website?  It's kind of like asking how much a meal costs.  You can get a pack of Mr. Noodles, or dinner at a high end restaurant and get very different products.

There is the cheap way, just get someone to whip up a wordpress site and slap a theme on it and let you fill in the content.  Then there is the mid range way, which is get a plug and play website that is already done, written and play tested (Full-contact online marketing, 97 Displays, MA Whiteboards, New member ninja, etc.) and they will get better results, that will cost you a couple hundred a month. Or you can pay bigger bucks to get a custom site with good copywriting. 

Either way, figure out what you want it to do before you start investing.  A website needs a purpose, just like any form of advertising.  

Now when you say you've been using social, what do you mean?  have you been using Facebook ads?


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## Bob Hubbard (Oct 8, 2015)

How much?  Free to Quite a Lot.

What's your budget? 
Who is your target market?
Are you looking to recruit new students, or educate and inform current ones?
Are you looking for a "fire and forget" site that is more an online brochure or something more dynamic that you can update over time?
Are you  looking to update it yourself or will you need ongoing updates from your designer?
Are you on your own or do you have a team on your end who will help you promote and maintain the site?
Are you serious and will put the time and energy in to make sure your designer has the information needed to complete your site quickly?

My design projects these days average around $1,500, and secure managed hosting through me runs $50/month.  You can go cheaper in which case try Thumbtack for a designer and 1&1 or Hostgator for a host. I don't use any of those but they are the cheap options.

If you'd like to chat more, please take a look at my sites, 
Internet Consultant Bob Hubbard, I Solve Problems Buffalo NY, 
Web Design & Development | Buffalo NY 
and they'll give you more information on me and some of my previous clients and jobs.


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## Gerry Seymour (Oct 11, 2015)

There's a huge variability of cost, even within "good". I've spent thousands on business sites, and I've had sites done for under $100. The former came with more support in design decisions, finding graphics, and planning the site layout. The latter got me an excellent execution on a layout I chose, with little customization.

So, as others have said, "It depends." If you aren't sure what you want, go for a generic site at first. Don't spend a ton of money on a highly-customized site until you know what you want it to  be (and, most importanly, why). I've seen many people go for the best with no real idea of what they wanted, and they invariably ended up pushing the developers to create a monstrosity that had to be replaced later.


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## JowGaWolf (Oct 14, 2015)

I design websites starting at $900.  I designed this one (currently working on it as well) Jow Ga Kung Fu Academy - Martial Arts
The thing about websites is that you have to know why you want one.  Don't get one to just be a fancy business card.  The website should be a working extension of your business, it's the part of the business that stays open when the office is closed.

The website that I'm working is not only for advertising, it actually serves a purpose that includes membership both for students and non students. I would recommend hostgator for hosting services. I use them and I'm always recommending them to my clients. They have almost everything you'll need to get started, unlimited domain hosting, unlimited space, unlimited bandwith.  Easy installs for Joomla and Wordpress.  I recommend Joomla for business purposes and Wordpress for blogging purposes. In your case it would be Joomla.

Before you buy a website or have one made.  Start now and write the wording that you want on the website, start thinking about how you want to use the website in year one and what you might want to add in year 5.  You'll want to make sure the website will allow for those changes without having to totally redesign the website to make it possible.

I provide free professional website consultation if you are serious about looking into getting a website designed and hosted. 
#1 advice is to not use one of those website services that let you to easily design your own website online using their tools. They aren't as good as people think and it's not until they want more from their website that they realize the mistake they made.


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## Bob Hubbard (Oct 28, 2015)

Something to be aware of.  Google is de-listing Wix based sites, meaning if you use Wix, you won't be found through Google.  I've seen some suggestions this is intentional, Google says it's a bug and they're working on fixing it. 
Google temporarily de-indexes Wix sites - The American Genius
Google Working On Fixing Problem With Wix Websites Not Showing Up In Search Results


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