When you decide to have a website, the most stressful thing that comes to mind is how much money will it cost you to have a website and whether you can justify paying for it. There really isn't a straightforward answer to that question. We will clarify why estimating costs is not as easy as purchasing a product.


Website Cost At A Glance

Website FeatureWebsite Cost
Website DomainRM40 - RM250
Website HostingRM70 - RM600
SSL CertificateRM0 - RM200
Website Template or ThemeRM0 - RM200
Ecommerce FunctionalityRM50 - RM24,000
Website ContentRM0 - RM3,000
Apps and IntegrationsRM0 - RM500
SEO and MarketingRM0 - RM6000

The cost of your website is dictated by the type of website you want and the amount of functionalities you have to have. On average, it going to cost about RM200 to build a website using the DIY approach, with a monthly maintenance possible cost of about RM100. Hiring a freelancer will cost about RM6,000, with an average annual cost of RM1,000. The cost would be much higher if you hire a web agency.

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Let's have a look at how you'll build your website – and how the pros and cons of each option will influence your budget.


A) Do Everything Yourself

The most budget - friendly option is to build a website all by yourself. But you do not have any coding and design skills.

A website builder is the approach you seek. A Website Builder platform does precisely as its name implies. You can create any website you like with a drag-and-drop user interface. It is a platform designed to help people create and manage their own websites with little to no web design or technical knowledge.

Image credit: wix.com

In terms of price, this is undoubtedly the cheapest, and in terms of ease of use, it is definitely the fastest. These are hosted solutions that allow people with no technical skills to create websites without coding. Website builders usually charge on a monthly or yearly basis and sell a variety of plans with various levels of functionality.

Using a website builder makes it simple to turn plain sites into appealing ones. Website builders have a wide range of templates, making it simple to change the designs and font styles on your web. Templates also allow you to place graphics and other design elements exactly where you want them, saving you time that can be spent on marketing your brand.

Here are some pros of using a website builder:

Cons of website builders are:

Investment Cost:
RM100 – RM500 per year.


B) Hire a Freelancer

Of course, if you have the money, you can hire a web designer to do it for you. The cost of a website is highly dependent on who you work with and how long it takes to finish your project.

Instead of relying on a random Google search, it's time to tap into your professional network to find a web designer. You should better choose one that comes highly recommended by someone you trust.

Photo by Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash

There are millions of web designers worldwide who can assist you in building a website, but if you choose to meet with someone in person rather than over Skype, your network might be able to help you reach them.

If you can't find someone locally, or if you don't mind hiring people remotely, you can browse the online web designer pool to find a good fit.

The Perks of Working with a Freelancer:

Disadvantages of Working With a Freelancer:

Investment Cost:
RM2,000 – RM12,000. Pricing will depend largely on the developer's experiences as well as the complexity of the website development.


C) Hire a Web Design Agency

Established web design firms with a proven track record seem to be a trustable choice. Any reputable web design firm should have a list of past customers. You may request examples of previous websites they have built that are in a related market, have strong relevance, and have similar functionality to yours. You can contact the firm of your choice to get in touch with their physical location, and in most cases you can also visit if you wish.

Photo by Leon on Unsplash

Pros of using a working with an agency:

Cons of using a working with an agency:

Investment Cost:
RM15,000 – RM40,000. The agency website redesign cost, like freelance costs, varies depending on the agency's experience and reputation, as well as the scope of the project.


Additional Cost

In addition to the technical parts of web development, you might needs the following related services. If you hire an agency or freelancer, they may include everything into the offered package.

Graphic design:

Graphic designers will assist with logos, drawings, and other visual assets you place on your website.

Rate: RM30-RM100 per hour

UIUX design:

If you have an unique fresh idea and doesn't like template-based design, you can hire the freelancer or agency to spend more time perfecting the design based on your feedbacks.

Rate: RM50-RM200 per hour

Copywriting:

Some web development and design agencies can also provide copywriting assistance, if you need help writing anything from your about page to product descriptions.

Rate: RM100-RM2000 per pages or length of your content

Search engine optimization (SEO):

If you hire developer, they probably already setup basic SEO in the website. However, if you need to gain more traffic from search engine, then you have to spend around RM200-RM3000.

Hosting:

Website hosting rates differ depending on the specifications and provider. You can get as little as RM 100 a year, all the way up to a few thousands. The package subscription services will have an impact on the website's loading speed, storage capacity, security, and so on.

Domain fees:

You must acquire a domain name for your website (example: zerrodigital.com). Each domain name costs an average of RM20 per year.


The Verdict: Hiring A Professional vs. Do-It-Yourself

Finally, you must understand the role your website will play in your market. If you're starting a new company and need a simple website to create a web presence, you may be able to do it yourself.

Your website is closely connected to your product, target market, marketing objectives, and opportunity to reach potential clients. A high-quality website demands a wide range of abilities. You have to do design, writing content, setup hosting, experiment with different plugins, etc. Can you imagine doing everything by yourself?

Who do you ask when you encounter a problem you can't solve? Usually you have to contact the platform support, then wait for an hour or two for their replies. Best case scenario, they will successfully guide you or they just point you to buy another subscription items in their marketplace. This is very time consuming and frustating.

If your website is vital to your marketing and contains e-commerce or more advanced functionality such as booking modules, hiring a specialist is a better investment. Why choose to struggle doing something that is outside of your line of work while there are affordable experts qualified to do the tough work for you?

If you think it's simple, then you have misunderstood the problem.
― Bjarne Stroustrup

It is much wiser to focus on things that generate profits for you rather than those that would end up costing you money over the long term.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many people thought that websites were important for modern businesses. Nonetheless, slightly more than a quarter of small businesses (28%) do not have a website. Most small businesses (71 percent) have a website, but creating and maintaining one remains difficult as enterprise business websites escalate consumer expectations.

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In 2021, a high-quality website will be much more important, and small businesses will need to hire teams to keep up with the market demands and demand. Checkout 8 reasons to have a business website below:


A Website Establishes The Credibility Of Your Brand

More and more customers are looking online for what they want, answers to their issues, price comparisons, or simply to learn more about a shop, restaurant, or company before making a purchase from them.

When you tell people about your business, this is the first question they would ask, “Do you have a website?”. If you do not have a website, potential customers will go to your competitors who do, particularly if you are a home-based business with no physical location. Having a website will not only provide them with the information they need, but it will also lend credibility to your business.

The consumer of the twenty-first century is sceptical. 56% of people stated that they won’t trust a business without a website.


Your Competitors Already Have A Website

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This is the modern world, and your competitors are almost certainly already available on the internet. If you have a sloppy, poorly-made site, it will not stand a chance against your competitor's beautiful, easily navigable site. Customers will go with them first.

The majority of similar companies in the same industry have comparable data.. Your website is where you can set yourself apart and make your company the obvious choice.

How can you defeat them? You should employ a dedicated publicity team and spend a large amount on advertising and ad ads to do this. However, this just leads to more work and higher costs. You can get a website built for about half the price.

Furthermore, once you have a website, you have the opportunity to research and integrate features that your rivals do not have. You should take advantage of their flaws.


To Clarify What Your Company Has To Offer

A website is a perfect way to advertise your work or highlight your talents no matter what kind of industry you are in. You may show what makes your business or you special by having a portfolio, picture collection, or photographs, as well as testimonials about your work. Everyone can access your profile from everywhere, and you have complete control of what viewers see, the content and size of your photos, and how people interact with those image features.

It's also important that we display our capabilities as well as possible, and getting a website will assist with that. It allows you to be creative and original. You have complete control of how the goods are shown. Beautiful photos, short clip tutorials, and free Online instructions can all be included.

Customers get exactly what they want. As a result, they are fascinated and can not buy anything else. This ultimately leads to the creation of a loyal customer base.


A Professional Brand Image

Would you rather get a well-dressed, professional, and supportive brand representative or a sloppy, disrespectful, and unhelpful one if you portrayed your website?

Although it is impossible to monitor what others think about you, you can manipulate your brand perception by writing your own content and publishing it on the website. A website is a much more efficient solution than a brochure.

Image Source: Unsplash.com

This is also something that will help you stand out from the crowd. It can be very difficult to do this without a website because people cannot easily find quality and credible information about your business.

Among the most important things you'll do is demonstrate your goods to prospective customers. Customers are more likely to buy from you if you clearly state who you are, what you stand for, and what you represent.


Businesses With A Website Are Easily Found

A website is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, unlike a physical store that is only open a few hours a day. When your shop or office is closed, you can give regular and prospective clients the convenience of checking your goods and services.

Not just that, but with so many added features and offer up included, website visitors can email you, sign up for your classes, plan meetings, and even order directly from your website even when you're not at your desk or after you've closed.

Given today's fast - paced lives, this is a perfect selling thing when it comes to making a decision to purchase.


Google Searches Can Be Helpful

We're all aware of how stressful and time-consuming conventional ways of promotion, such as press releases, newspaper advertising, and flyers, can be. They are expensive and time-consuming. Then again, the figures always does not meet the expectations.

In the other hand, online marketing is less costly and more efficient. It will provide more results with less effort and is therefore a much smarter route if you want to get things done quicker.

Almost any company today should engage in a kind of digital marketing. According to the Digital 2019 survey, the world's average internet time is 6h 42m, and as an entrepreneur, you'd want some of that time to be spent on your business.

A website will be the final stop to which the customers will be redirected from various platforms such as social media, forums, online advertising, and multimedia streams.


Website Is A Vital Component Of Online Marketing

This is the modern world, and your competitors are almost certainly already available on the internet. If you have a sloppy, poorly-made site, it will not stand a chance against your competitor's beautiful, easily navigable site. Customers will go with them first.

The majority of similar companies in the same industry have comparable data.. Your website is where you can set yourself apart and make your company the obvious choice.

How can you defeat them? You should employ a dedicated publicity team and spend a large amount on advertising and ad ads to do this. However, this just leads to more work and higher costs. You can get a website built for about half the price.

Furthermore, once you have a website, you have the opportunity to research and integrate features that your rivals do not have. You should take advantage of their flaws.


You Could Use Your Website To Target Your Customers In A Structured Way

You can't communicate to your best potential customers while still speaking to their children, parents, partners, and colleagues. Don't be afraid to be very precise when establishing your target audience model. You can begin with major groups such as millennials or single moms. However, good social media audience research will allow you to get even more specific.

By having a website allows you to not only attract visitors but also monitor the following main performance metrics:

All of these statistics will help to determine how to strategically reach your customers. You will learn what types of content consumers like and how to boost the user experience to keep them coming back.


As a result, the website will improve and attract more visitors. So, you should consider getting a better website.

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