If you’re a new small business or online start-up, naturally costs to get a professional website designed are top of mind. Our recent client was quoted $3,000 to $5,000 to get her services website designed – mainly because she wanted her site to be dynamic and “optimised for mobile devices”. Well, here’s an insider secret: Mobile optimisation (far from adding one grand) can be performed with a plug-in and costs $39 extra – if you go for the ‘Ferrari’ edition with all the works.

Using this plug-in is assuming that you want to use WordPress as a CMS, a handy choice for many who are interested in updating their website and having full control. So how much does a WordPress CMS (totally customised) website cost? A 5 to 15 page website with designed header (can be rotating), matching opt-in box, and Home page as a Home Page (not as a blog) costs around $1,000 – $1,250+ gst at Red Planet Design. Usually the addition of a shopping cart and 3D images/products will add a little, but it need not be thousands.

Warning: If you don’t do certain things to a WordPress website it can look clunky, not have optimised titles, and under-perform… there is a world of difference between customised WordPress websites and the ‘free theme’ type blogs you’ve seen. (RPD pay for a top-end theme and then work it in with your colours).

Having only spent one grand, and saving on Yellow Pages display ads that used to cost a few thousand, this leaves you a nice amount for the copywriting and marketing of your new site. We believe that the persuasive content of your site is as important as the design – it works together as a package. Good copy writing and attention to detail will repay you time and time again. Consider using a copywriter and consider having a headline for your website. Good headlines attract attention in a crowded market.

Marketing Your New Website

In our experience it’s prudent if the business owner allocates some budget for marketing of the site. Rather than pushing external SEO services, it’s merely an option after the internal optimisation on a clean site has been done. Again, a WordPress site with lots of pages is really effective… we have seen great results and instant Google ranking for long tail (niche) search terms. Gaining links is best over a fairly long period of time, so ensure that is in your budget — you might use a virtual admin assistant, or see our SEO Packages.

For other marketing, besides ensuring your new URL is on your corporate stationery, directory advertising and magazine ads, there are a variety of new ways to become more visible. A few ideas:

* Google Adwords gives instant results (ensure that Jen sets it up for you so you don’t get rorted).
* Google Places – ensure this free tool is listing your correct categories, but not keyword stuffed.
* FaceBook Ads offers a lower cost-per-click and is good for consumer business.
* Get busy with Facebook Groups and a Business Page as they work well together; ensure Facebook Place is added for a bricks & mortar business.
* LinkedIn groups and Inmail is great for reaching prospects who are executives and CEOs
* How about offering a free report on a new topic in your industry (such as “What do the new Tax Laws mean for your Business?”) and capturing keen prospects email and telephone number. Link this to an Email autoresponder and at a further stage in the sales cycle enter into your Customer Relationship Management system.

Remember that you’re in business to make a profit, not take a punt that a whizz-bang design is going to be the answer to all your prayers. We believe in giving maximum value for your dollars. These clients of Red Planet Design have happy tales of repaying their website costs a short time afterward:

* Northside Driver Training (still achieving good ranking with no external SEO)
* Greenscene Gardenscope (landscapers who write their own Blog/DIYers)
* InsideOut Coaching & Training (new design on WordPress getting about 600 Google visitors per month)