A simple question some might think, but it is far from an easy one to answer.
Another way to put it would be, “How much do you value your business’ image online?” That second question is perhaps more revealing. People put a lot of time and effort into building a business and yet often pay little attention to their online presence. This would be fine if you knew exactly who was visiting your website, but the reality is that you don’t. In fact, one of the reasons for having a site is as a first port of call for those that do not know your business, but want to find out.
These days there are a lot of cheap ways to build a website for yourself, or perhaps you know someone that is willing to do something for free, but you have to ask yourself, “Is this route appropriate for the business that I have put a lot of time, money and energy into building? If something goes wrong, am I confident that it will be fixed in a timely fashion?” You may find you are doing harm to your business by turning away potential leads without a professionally designed and developed website.
Another important factor to consider is your visibility to search engines, also known as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). If it is done correctly it can dramatically increase the traffic to your business’ site and every new visitor is a potential customer. This is something that professional web designers offer and has become a field of study in its own right. There are businesses dedicated to providing SEO services, so it is not something that can be overlooked.
If your business has built a brand or is looking to build one, then a good website can help to do that. In some cases it is a critical part of your brand building (e-commerce sites for instance). In most cases you are seeking to introduce new customers to your brand, in the hopes that they will want to do business with you. It is therefore important that you get it right first time, by investing wisely from the outset.
So, back to the original question. How much is a website worth? You can ask ten different people and get ten different answers. There is no right or wrong, as it really is up to your own judgement and personal opinion. However, I hope reading this post helps you to understand some of the considerations you need to be thinking about when deciding how much a website is worth to you.
alan’s it solutions – Improving the web one site at a time.