We all know how awful the economy is right now, so I will spare you the details in this intro. I'm sure Katie Couric will fill you in tonight if you've been hiding under a rock somewhere.Here's some ideas to get good quality web work done for less:
1. Do It Yourself - this is an absolute no brainer, but that doesn't change the fact that you can save a lot of money learning how to design your own web site. You can easily find tutorial web sites that will teach you the basics of HTML, and http://www.webmonkey.com/ is a great example.
2. Sign up for a free web site building site, such as Moonfruit. It takes you through the design of your site, step by step and you end up with a fairly search-engine friendly, professional looking site.
3. Look for a web design firm that is offering a free web site design, as long you have your own domain name and hosting, or you pay for it through the firm. A good example: http://www.seo-firm.ca
4. If you have multiple sites, hosting and domain name registration can get expensive. Make sure your hosting account has unlimited web site hosting an add-on domains. Also make sure that same hosting package offers unlimited email addresses and MySQL databases, as some hosting companies can say their accounts are unlimited but then ding you with all the bells and whistles. You also want a hosting company that offers you cPanel to administrate it, because, in my opinion, this is the easiest and clearest way to look after your account and to be able to pass it on to a web designer, webmaster or SEO. Canadians: support your local economy by getting Canadian hosting. Canadianwebhosting.com is a great example.
5. Use a free web site template rather than having your designer come up with something new and then upgrade when you can afford to. There are a lot of really beautiful free templates out there.
6. Install WordPress on your web site and use a free WordPress template. This is an easy way to be able to administrate and edit your own web site without knowing HTML. You may need to ask a designer to help you install the program and show you a few things about using it, but it will be a lot less expensive than hiring them to design a brand new web site.
7. Stay away from flash. Flash design can be more costly and take more time.
8. Stay away from excessive interactive features. Prioritize all the interactive features you would like to have on your site and get them done over time as you make more money. Heavy web apps can be extremely expensive.
9. Offer something in trade - we've done this many times ourselves, staying at beautiful bed and breakfasts in San Francisco and New York, as well as in trade for personal training, whale watching, etc. It's always worth a shot, you never know what your web designer might need!
10. Ask if your web designer offers referral credits, as many companies do. They will give you a credit to your account for each new client you refer to them. This can lower your final payment.
11. Go local, home based and freelance. These types of web designers tend to charge significantly less than big web design firms and are still capable of giving you an amazing finished product. Plus you will be supporting your local economy and helping us get out of this mess. If you are a member of your local chamber, find a web design firm in it's listings and ask if they offer discounts to chamber members.
12. Don't be afraid to ask for a lower price! Explain to your potential web designer what your budget constraints are. Sometimes web designers send out quotes and estimates that include things that are not necessary to create a well-functioning web site. Rather than turn your business away, they will oftentimes readjust their estimate to suit your needs. Not all companies do this, but freelancers and home based companies are definitely more likely to.
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