It is not at all uncommon for a business owner to tell me they have no idea what they are paying for when it comes to their website. Along the same lines, I often hear business owners question if they are getting enough value for what they’re spending. Many express that they entered contracts early on, and now that they know a little more, they wish they’d gone a different direction.

If you’re considering hiring someone to build a website for you, or if you already have a website contract but are considering a change, the information below covers what to know before hiring a web designer, including the basics of how websites work, different agency pricing models, and tips to keep in mind when deciding whom to hire.

Why Every Business Needs a Website

Every business needs a website today. A website is your online storefront, and its purpose is to:

• Build trust with potential customers
• Answer questions for people
• Help to turn interest into a sale

Even if you have a tremendous social media following, it’s a good idea to have a website as well. Social platforms are great tools for engagement and visibility, but it can be a bit risky to depend on these platforms entirely for your online presence. Algorithms change frequently, you can locked out of your account—what happens then? A website is necessary because it is media you own. As long as you keep paying your domain and hosting bills, your website won’t go anywhere. 

What are the Necessary Components in Creating a Website?

Building a website requires a few technical pieces to get it onto the internet. These include:

• Domain: Every site must have a domain. This is the address where your site lives on the internet. For example, the domain for this website is StradtnerStrategic.com.
• Hosting: All websites need a host. This is a home on a server where your website files are stored. This can be purchased directly from companies like SiteGround, Bluehost, or GoDaddy, and some marketing agencies manage hosting as well. 
• Content Management System (CMS): You don’t technically need a CMS, but unless you’re a large company building something fully custom, a CMS makes things much faster and easier. Platforms like Squarespace and Wix allow for drag and drop design with no coding, and even WordPress, with the aid of plugins, can be fairly low code.

Once you have those pieces in place, you’re well on your way. But there’s one more crucial piece:

• Content: You can’t have a website if there is no information on it! Content includes all of the copy on your pages, such as headlines, paragraph copy, calls-to-action, photos, videos, and graphics.

Options for Building the Website

You have several options for building your website. The right choice depends on your comfort level with website technology, the time you have available to build it, and well, your willingness to do it. Options include:

• Build the Website Yourself: Fortunately, building websites is becoming increasingly easier. With CMS platforms like Wix and Squarespace, it is easier than ever before to put a modern, respectable website for your business into the world. There is a bit of a learning curve in building your own site, but it is manageable if you want to do it. 
• Hire Out the Build, and Maintain the Site Yourself: Another option is to hire a developer to build the website for you. For an additional cost, you can often have the website copy created for you too. The developer will lead you through the project from start to finish, ensuring the project gets completed on time. Once the website is live, the developer will turn it over, and you will handle future edits and maintenance.
• Be Completely Hands Off: For businesses with little technical knowledge, little time, or simply no desire to handle their web presence, this option allows a business to take the task off their plate.

Do You Want to Own Your Website or Lease It?

In the web design world, you’ll find a variety of contract structures, which can make it a bit challenging to know what is the best fit for you. Most agency contracts, however, fall into one of two general models:

Website-As-a-Subscription Model

This plan generally includes the cost of hosting, website build, and ongoing web maintenance all in one. It may even include some local SEO work.

Advantages

• Low monthly fee
• Regular updates and fixes
• Fast turnaround

Disadvantages

• Website design is not customized; it goes up fast because it is a plug-and-play template.
• You do not own the website. If you cancel your contract, your website generally goes away.
• Some agencies will allow you to have your website files for a (not insignificant) fee. Sometimes, you are not even able to take the content.

The Upfront Build (With or Without Hosting and Maintenance)

With this plan, you pay one fee (generally a deposit + remainder at completion) for the design and build of the website. You can handle the copywriting and image sourcing if you want, but many agencies will handle this task for you for an additional fee. Hosting-wise, some agencies offer their own hosting plans, while other agencies prefer to set clients up on independent hosting plans. Maintenance plans are often an add-on as well—you can choose whether you want to pay a monthly fee for regular edits and oversight, or you can choose to take this on yourself.

Advantages

• You own the site. There is no worry about cancelling a plan and seeing your website vanish.

Disadvantages

• Greater cost upfront

Advice For Choosing an Agency to Build Your Website

If you’ve made the decision to hire an agency to build a site for you, the following tips will hopefully provide some guidance as you choose which agency is the right fit for you:

The Cheapest Developer Is Not Always the Best.

This is generally the case for any contractor you hire. It’s good to ask around and get referrals. A lower price may be appealing, but you’ll want to make sure the quality of work, communication style, and project management fit your needs. (Also note: Expensive isn’t always better either. I have heard from business owners before who have paid quite a bit for their websites, but unfortunately, were not satisfied with the result.  

Be Clear About the Scope.

What is the agency doing for you? What are they not doing? Have them explain this to you in clear, everyday language, so you understand what you’re actually buying. A good sign is an agency that will take the time to explain things to you, like what hosting is, or what SEO means. Doing marketing for someone else’s business must be a partnership, and the best fit is an agency who understands that.

Ask About Account Ownership

You’ll want to find out who is directly paying for the domain, hosting, and other tools. Ask for administrator-level access to your site, and ask for ownership over tools like Google Analytics or Google Search Console. Even if you don’t quite understand what all of this is, keep all of this information filed away, so that if you ever decide to make a change one day, you have the control.

Know What Happens if You Leave Your Contract

If you choose to go the monthly contract route, there are some clarifications you’ll want to get upfront. Does your whole website go away? Can you purchase the website files? Do you own the content? Does the agency pay for certain plugins that you will lose access to once the website turns over? Do you have access to customer form submissions? These details often get overlooked in the thrill of launching a new site, but again, you want to think about the possibility of future changes and make sure you are prepared.

Understand You Have Responsibilities

While you can be almost entirely hands off of your website if you choose, you will still need to review and give approvals along the way. It’s important to remember that these tasks need to be completed on time to keep the project on track.

Is it Bad If My Website Goes Away?

You might be wondering, is it bad if my website goes offline for awhile? Perhaps you want to make the transition from a monthly contract to owning your site, and you’re facing a lapse in your web presence while the new site is being built. The short answer is, yes, it is not an ideal situation. First, this can be very confusing for potential customers. Not finding a website, they may believe that you are no longer in business and go elsewhere. At the very least, it will come across as unprofessional.

Second, this could be damaging to the SEO you have built up with your previous website. Instead of finding your site, search engines will be met with broken links, which, if the site is down long enough, can cause pages to be deindexed. This means any search engine “trust” you have built up over the years with your first site will need to be reacquired.

If this is you—if you’re in that transition period between being on a monthly plan and building a new website—don’t worry. There are, fortunately, ways to mitigate SEO damage during the transition.

Conclusion

Getting your business online can feel a bit intimidating for some business owners, but it doesn’t have to. With a little guidance from this and other articles, hopefully the process will feel more manageable. There are huge benefits to having a website, so the payoff is worth it. If you’re needing a website built, or even just need some help updating or maintaining your current website, reach out to us today.