Build Your Website On A Tight Budget

website on a tight budget

As I’m sure you know, you need a website if you want your business to be a success. However, you probably don’t want to have to pay an agency tens of thousands of dollars just to ensure your site is meeting professional standards. It may not seem like it now, but there are many ways to build a slick and professional website on a tight budget. Here are a few of the best tips we can offer.

Crowdsource Your Design

The design of a website alone can often cost $1,500 or even more, and that’s before you even begin to think about programming and development. Fortunately, you can save money at this stage by using a crowdsourcing company, which can offer a wide range of great sample designs. You’ll only pay for the one you like the most, and prices rarely breach $1,000. While this can take some of the creative flexibility out of your design, and you’ll still need to find a developer, there’s a fair chance you’ll be able to find something that suits your needs.

Shop Around For Hosting

Web hosting is essential for any professional website, but it can be hard to afford when you restrict your search to a lot of popular companies. These tend to offer rigid package deals which serve their purpose fairly well, but can mean you end up paying a lot more for features you don’t really need. It may seem like hosting services are fairly universal, but if you want to save a considerable amount of money, you should take your time to look at all your options, and find a service that you’ll be able to tailor to your needs. This means you’ll be able to avoid paying any more for unnecessary frills.

Hire A Student

If your capital is really stretched, you can minimize the amount you spend on your website by contacting a program director at a local college, and asking them to link you up with a student who shows great web design and development skills. Many of these students are desperate to start building their portfolio and resume, and may even agree to do the work for free! At the very least, they’ll charge significantly less than your standard pro. Obviously, they’re not going to have all the skills and experience that web design professionals have, but you can still get some pretty great work from local colleges.

Barter For The Work

If you know an experienced designer on a personal or professional level, it may be worth trying to barter for their services. This is an especially good idea if they happen to be an entrepreneur as well. If you’re able to offer something in return, like accounting, legal or creative services, these professionals may agree to work entirely or partially for a trade-off. You can even offer up a considerable (but affordable) discount on your B2C products or services in the future. Bartering isn’t always appropriate, but when it is it can lead to a great win-win situation!

With over 9 years of search marketing experience, Sandra is cross skilled between PPC and SEO. Her experience in search spans across different verticals including Technology, Retail, Travel & Automotive.