In the past few months, WebMetro has launched several new client websites.  These sites have ranged from both B2B and B2C lead generation to fully ecommerce B2C sites.  The sites have ranged from very small sites of less than 10 pages to mid-sized ecommerce sites of 4,000 pages.

This past week I received a call from a customer asking about website design and development pricing.  Specifically she asked, “How much would it cost to build a website using a template?”

I stated I don’t know as WebMetro doesn’t build sites from pre-canned websites and asked her to provide more detail on her question.  Apparently she engaged a website design firm that offered to build a 10 page website for $499.  As part of this process, she needed to select a website template from one of 10 available designs.  The company would change the website colors and plug her company’s logo in the masthead and produce the website. 

I proceeded to explain that website design and development means taking the time to custom design and build website from scratch.  In the end I shared the following:

Understanding Business Goals and Objectives
We interview the client to understand the business goals and objectives.  We learn about cost per lead and cost per sale objectives.  We learn about market share, competitive differentiation and of course budget. 

Learning about Target Audiences
We learn about their target audiences and what is important to their website goals.  We review the client website analytics files (e.g. Google Analytics, WebTrends, Omniture) to appreciate how people are currently navigating the site and where they are abandoning the sales funnel. 

Market and Competitive Analysis
We spend time analyzing competitors’ sites to determine how best to formulate and communicate the clients unique selling proposition on their new website.  We examine market data to learn how people shop online for the client’s products and services. 

Technical Considerations
We consider the business model as it relates to return on investment in terms of website technologies and platform choice.  We ask questions about the number of products you have and customer lifetime value so we can match the appropriate shopping cart platform to the business needs.  We ask questions about hosting and how you plan to maintain the site so we can recommend the appropriate content management solution. 

I stated all of this helps us understand what you plan to build and why you want to build it.  With this understanding we can then build the appropriate site to achieve the business goals. 

Usability and Conversion
As the site is being designed we will also integrate best practices in terms of usability and conversion.  Usability is very important as it builds visitors confidence in your site.  In terms of usability how easy is it to find products, contact the company, find pricing information, change colors or learn about a return policy.  Does the site feature testimonials at the appropriate stage in the sales funnel?  What does the privacy policy say?  Does the site try to comply with the Americans With Disability Act? These and other factors ultimately influence conversion. 

Branding Needs
How does the site reflect your brand?  Does it properly communicate and reinforce your unique selling proposition?  Are your brand pillars adequately supporting the primary message?  How appropriate is the website design to your customers needs?

SEO Best Practices
Although exceptions occur every site should be built with best practices from a search engine optimization perspective.  This means an SEO analyst must work with the website designer and website developer to ensure best practices are addressed in terms Site Architecture, Page Construction and the layout of Content.  In addition, when the new site is launched, internal and external link popularity must be properly transferred.  In many situations a new link development campaign might be considered to the new pages.  Of course, best practices in terms of web server configuration to address issues such as robots.txt, canonicalization, error recovery, etc. should also be followed. 

All of this research and analysis takes time, experience and knowledge.  $499 is an excellent price for a website.  However, if the website fails to recognize your business goals and objectives, then $499 is too much money.  If the website does not follow best practices in terms of usability and as a result the conversion is below market average, then $499 is too much money.  If the website does not build your brand or provide brand differentiation, then $499 is too much money.  If the site does not employ best practices in terms of search engine optimization, then $499 is too much money.  So what does a $499 website design cost your business?