Paying for a cheap website design is like paying for cheap brakes.
It might work…
For now.
But it will likely fall apart right in front of you (and cause some damage along the way).
It certainly will over time.
Cheap brakes are cheap for a reason — a quality mechanic does a lot more than slap the pads on your car and call it a day.
Cheap brakes have this nasty habit of failing.
Or damaging your car.
Or, you know, not working when you need to brake and killing you.
Ok, maybe the analogy breaks down at this point… but maybe not.
1. A Cheap Website Design Will Have to Be Redone, Probably Sooner Than You Think
And it’s going to cost you.
I would rather write a new article myself than have to edit a crappy one.
The crappy one will take a LOT longer.
It’s the same with a website.
If you pay someone for a cheap website design, you’re going to end up with something ugly and possibly broken.
If the website development team is cheap too, only God knows how easy or difficult (or even possible) it will be to fix it.
In the meantime, it’s out there.
It’s one of the most visible aspects of your brand.
Most people check out websites before they ever even consider giving you a call.
Now, that’s not ALL folks certainly, but it’s enough that you should consider carefully how you want to appear.
Do you want to appear professional? A cheap website design isn’t going to do that.
In fact, it will do the opposite — it will make you look like a fool.
But you’re not a fool.
And eventually, you’ll realize that your website that you paid $ 500 for looks like shit and that you need to redo it (oh, and if it looks terrible, it was most likely built terribly as well).
Then you’ll have to hire some poor schmuck to look through it, figure out how to fix it, make it look pretty, fix all the broken junk, and hand you a bill for $ 5000, because just like the crappy article, it takes a LOT longer to fix a broken website than to make a new one the right way.
When you could have paid half that if you’d just done it right in the first place.
A cheap website design is MUCH more expensive than a reasonably priced website design in the long run, and that’s the harsh truth.
I read something amazing (October 13, 2016) that really showed me the truth of what I’m trying to tell you.
I’ll tell you here in just a second, but please, please believe me when I say a cheap website design is not something people are going to overlook or look past.
I’m trying to save you — help me help you.
2. The Average Person Judges a Website Based on Its Looks — A Cheap Website Design Will Be Dismissed Out of Hand
Ok, here’s what I read.
I was reading a book that had nothing to do with website design or development. It was about a completely different subject.
The writer was describing a simple method she uses to determine whether a particular company in this space (and there are many) was worth investigating or investing in.
Here are her criteria for combing through the crap.
You ready?
She said (roughly), “I look at the aesthetics of the website. If the website is ugly or hard to navigate, I don’t bother. I know this is a shallow method, but it seems pretty effective.”
Why, we might ask, would such a thing be effective?
I would argue that it’s probably not a very effective method. That many excellent companies, in this example, are being left in the dust.
But here’s the rub — they have no one to blame but themselves.
Your customers just aren’t going to take you seriously if your website looks bad.
This isn’t 1996. The World Wide Web isn’t brand new. People, average people, know what a quality website should look like.
They can recognize a bad one.
And they’ll avoid it.
Or worse, think it’s spam, which damages your brand.
Which brings me to reason number 3:
3. A Cheap Website Design Harms Your Brand
You don’t want to be associated with the word cheap.
Ever.
Burn it out of your vocabulary when it comes to your business.
I mean, let’s be real here — you aren’t cheap! Your business isn’t cheap, you don’t make cheap products, you don’t have cheap services.
You kick ass, you take names, you put out a quality product and you work hard dammit.
Your website should reflect that.
People should come to your website and feel that they’ve come to a professional.
But a cheap website design steals from you and your hard work.
It devalues your brand.
And your brand is better than that.
You’re better than that!
For yourself, for your business, for the future of your company, don’t get a cheap website design.
Invest in your future — get a website that looks great while still being affordable.
I’m just going to go ahead and say that this is certainly possible.
There are turnkey solutions that allow a minimally customized website to still look clean and professional without costing you an arm and a leg.
It’s going to be more than $ 500, but it’s not going to break the bank.
And just as those brakes might cost me a little bit extra.
But save my life in the long run.
Spending a little bit more upfront on your website is going to save the reputation of your brand in the long run.
Is going to bring in more business in the long run.
And could be the difference between growing your business.
And going back to your old boss begging for your job back.
Which do you prefer?
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