Quite often I get inquiries from people running small businesses about how to establish an online presence and what it involves. The first question is usually, "How much does a website cost?” and the answer is generally, “That depends…”

It's hard to give realistic numbers with no details, so I find the best route to start out with is to explore and identify what the client’s actual needs are. What are the main goals of the website and what would they like to accomplish for their business. A major problem is that so many people don’t have a clue what they want and they just want a price so they can get online as quickly as possible - which is a shame. So with limited details and an eager potential customer, I usually will give a ballpark quote and then entertain the next question. “Why does it cost that much? My friend's nephew does websites for $200. Why would I pay more?”

If someone can actually get a “quality” website for that price, then by all means I'll encourage them to do it. The problem is that 99% of the time, that doesn’t happen. Most people end up with a website that isn’t doing what they intended or needed and isn't helping their business perform. Even worse is that many businesses end up completly redoing their site, because the first one was so poorly designed and can actually be hurting their image.

The purpose of your website may be a number of things from building your brand to increasing sales, or even just presenting information to your customers. The problem with having that poorly designed $200 page (just so you have one) is that it can sometimes damage your businesses credibility and reputation. Let’s take a look at banks as an example. Banks have exceptionally strong branding built into their web design and they convey a very professional image as it’s essential to establish trust with their customers. The same is true in their physical branch locations, professionalism, neatness and quality – it all matters.

Now “Joe’s Fine Jewellery” down the street might have a website as well, but let’s say Joe decided he didn't want to spend very much because he sells diamonds in the store and not online, in fact he doesn’t care what his site looks like as long as he has one. Now can you imagine what people would think if Joe had the same attitude towards his storefront and displays? What if he made his displays out of cardboard and markers, had a messy store, homemade ads on the walls and a $200 decorating budget? Joe’s Fine Jewellery would look more like “Joe’s Pawn Shop”.

Obviously this would be an unacceptable way to present a retail location to high-end clientele - so why is it okay to do this online? Joe would be better off either getting a professionally produced website that matches his retail image, sells his brand and promotes his theme of quality. Instead he's doing just the opposite as many people are doing now with the advent of templates, do-it-yourself web software and fly-by-night designers. Anyone who hasn’t seen Joe's store and decides to check out his website first will now probably avoid even visiting his shop and will check out the competition first.

The best thing you can do if you are considering having a website built for your company is to plan ahead, don't just wing it. Take a look around at some of your competition's pages, see what you like and what you don’t like. Establish some goals and decide what you would like the site to do for your business, what information and image you want to present to your current and potential customers. Most of all, don’t become “Joe’s Pawn Shop” and hurt your brand with a poorly designed website.