As the representative of your online presence, it’s essential that your website is well-designed and tailored for your business. A great website will attract new customers, drive conversions, and generally help grow your business. On the other hand, a poorly designed website can achieve just the opposite.
Since the quality of your website plays such an important role in your business, when you’re hiring someone else to create it, you need to be careful about what you’re paying for. Cheap web design may seem appealing at first, but it could end up costing your business in more ways than one. However, there are telltale signs of cheap web design that you can look out for when searching for someone to hire.
What You’re Likely to Get with a Cheap Website
A great website takes time, experience, and expertise to create, all of which cost money. In order to provide cheaper services, something here is going to get cut, and the quality of your site will suffer for it. When costs are cut, you run the risk of bad website design, low rankings, and little support from your hired service.
1. Bad Design
A website can be considered poorly designed for a few reasons. The first would be that it just doesn’t look very good or professional. An unattractive site can give consumers negative impressions, which is less likely to result in conversions. Bad design can also mean that it’s not tailored to your business. To reduce costs, some web designers may use templates that they’d minimally adapt to fit your business. In this case, your site is definitely not unique, and it may be misrepresenting your business and your brand.
You also need to worry about the back end.
With cheap developers, you can’t be sure that the site will hold up. It may look good initially, but then start breaking or even crash in the near future. While a poorly designed back end may only be a nuisance for some businesses, this sort of mistake can be disastrous for others.
2. Low Rankings
How well your site is ranking in search engines is highly dependent on its design. A fast and secure site that focuses on SEO will rank higher than slow, not secure sites that aren’t search engine optimised. A cheaper web designer may not have the expertise, experience, or time necessary to develop a high-ranking website.
3. Little Support
Finally, you’re unlikely to get much support for you or your team once your website development is complete. This may not seem like a big deal at first, but it will if you’re having trouble with your website in the future. When poorly designed websites are more likely to create problems in the future, it’s doubly troubling when you’re unable to get assistance from your site’s designer.
You’ll End Up Paying to Fix Mistakes
Although it may be cheaper upfront, not paying for a well-designed website can end up costing you more in the long run. A decrease in website traffic and a decrease in conversions are bad for both profits and business growth. On top of that, if your site ends up failing due to poor back end design, you’ll then have to pay to either get it fixed or build a new one altogether. In the end, paying more for an exceptional website is a better use of your money.
How to Read the Warning Signs
When you’re searching for someone to design and build your website, you want to ensure your investment will be worth it. There are a few signs to look for that will let you know whether the cost of the web design service is too good to be true.
Their Own Website Is Poorly Designed
The most obvious sign is that their own site is poorly designed. When you’re on their site, you should find it visually appealing and compelling to go through. If not, that’s a good indication they won’t be able to achieve that with your site as well.
They Don’t Ask Questions or Keep You Involved
The best way to create a unique site tailored to your business is to involve you in the process. This means asking you about your business, not making assumptions, and keeping you updated on the progress. If this isn’t what you’re being offered, then you can’t be sure the site you receive will be the best for your business.
They Don’t Offer Examples of Their Work
One of the best ways to tell if a web designer is right for you is by looking at their previous work. A worrying sign, though, is if they don’t have samples of their work on their website or if they don’t provide examples when you ask for them. This is likely indicative of poor quality websites or that they just aren’t confident in their work.
Invest in an Exceptional Website
An exceptional website is an investment. It may not be cheap upfront, but a great website design will pay for itself over time. At Macedon Digital, we understand what it takes to make a unique, tailored website. Our dedicated team has both the experience and expertise to get it done right, and they care about how their efforts will affect your business. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can improve your digital presence.
