How a Cheap Website Can Cost Your Business

Web

At Sherbet Donkey Media, we see so many businesses with low quality and cheap websites looking for ways to improve as a business. We understand businesses who have a website (albeit a cheap one) may be reluctant to spend more money on a newer website with us; either because they feel it is too expensive in relation to their previous one, or they don’t understand how beneficial a good website is in their marketing, online presence, and customer experience.

In this blog, we’re going to look at how a cheap website can cost your businesses in the long term, what a website should have, and how a good quality website can make a difference to your business.

Building Your Website

Whether you’re launching a new business or taking your existing business online, getting your first website can be confusing. There is lots to consider, and if you’re not clued up on what it all means it can feel daunting. When creating your first website you need to consider the basics:

• Domain
• URL
• Hosting
• Cost
• Features
• Design
• Audience

Handing over X amount of money for a website can feel scary. If you’re not familiar with websites, you might be hesitant to pay for things that are essential to a well-functioning website, simply because you don’t see them as essential. As a result of this, you end up negotiating a cheaper price for your website or receive misinformation and sold a rubbish, cheap website. However, you’ll soon find this was actually a waste of money and the website you have paid for does nothing to help you as a business.

Purchasing a cheap website may feel like a bargain initially, but once it’s built and linked to your business, it can work to hinder your sales and present the wrong impression of your business.

Found on the Internet

Having a website and an internet presence provides your business with a base, or a home, for your clients to turn to when they require assistance, support, etc. A website is the first point of call when a client requires something: contact email, phone number, opening times, services, etc. Therefore, having a functional website is incredibly important for your customers’ satisfaction, converting consumers to customers, and the reputation of your business.

The internet plays an integral role in all our lives, which is why consumers require a good website to purchase from and refer to. Calling up and asking for services nowadays feels archaic but browsing a well-designed website that simply states the required information is not only the most functional but the preferred option.

Consumers today do not want to waste their time calling up dead ends and searching for their required information, they want it all conveniently online so they can make their decision to purchase there and then. It’s in your best interest to give your customers easy access to you as a business and the best way to do this is with a good quality website.

Bad or Outdated Websites

You may already have a website. You’re not taken with it, but it does the job (or so you think). Your website acts as 24-hour marketing. If your website is bad quality or outdated, it could have a negative effect on your business and discourage customers from using your services or purchasing with you.

Below are some reasons why a bad or cheap website can negatively affect your business

01 A website that is not visually appealing misses out on the opportunity to gain trust and credibility.

Consumers do their own product research online and will have an idea of what they’re looking for, both from a business and a service/product. If your website doesn’t have the professional or easily digestible appearance they desire, they’ll go elsewhere. First impressions matter.

02 An outdated website is a big turn off for consumers and will hinder your ability to use website tools.

An old website with irrelevant content, outdated design and features will do nothing but enable consumers to bounce from your site and find relevant services elsewhere. Additionally, an outdated website will limit the tools you can use to track conversion, sales, etc. Tools such as Google Analytics are handy to track conversion but will not work with an old website.

03 A poorly optimised website will struggle to rank on Google

Research suggests that most people will look no further than page 3 of Google. Some not past page 1. Therefore, the higher your website ranks on Google, the more traffic you are likely to receive. Optimising your website correctly could be the difference between receiving a customer or losing them to a better optimised competitor.

04 Slow loading speeds will frustrate users and cause them to bounce

Consumers want answers and they want them quickly. A slow website will only cause frustration and lead to the loss of a customer. Additionally, that consumer will not recommend your website to others, and could even result in a poor review – turning away future potential clients.

05 Graphics, images, and conversion tools are missing from your website

Graphics and images are important for helping consumers gain a quick impression of your website. Graphics and images add a lot of value to websites, providing visitors with an idea of what you’re advertising and what your content is about, without reading everything. As mentioned above, conversion tools are your friend, make sure you can effectively use them.

Why?

Everything is online and readily accessible. Customers expect your business and its online profile to be easy to use and reflective of you as a business. If your website is unappealing and difficult to use, consumers are going to assume this is indicative of your services and will not stick around. They’re going elsewhere to find something more consumer friendly.

As mentioned above, there are some crucial things that need to be considered when creating a good website.

• Loading speed
• Pleasing to look at
• Quality content
• Customer journey

Web Design

While the general aesthetic of your website plays a big part in converting traffic, an over-designed website can also hinder your conversion. Studies have previously suggested the window for creating the first impression in adults is around twelve seconds. However, Ranieriandco suggests that this has actually shrunk to eight seconds.

This indicates that the gap to impress consumers and convert them into customers is shrinking – making a good quality website more important than ever.

Loading Speed

Your loading speed plays a huge part in your customer’s journey. Largely, consumers will access your website on their mobile phones, and the speed at which your pages load will influence how likely the consumer is to use your services. If they’re waiting a long time for your page to load, chances are they are going to look elsewhere, and you’ve lost a customer to a competitor.

Websitebuilderexpert.com state that the ideal loading speed is 2-3 seconds. Anything longer will result in increased bounce rates and lost customers.

Quality Content

Content plays an important role in the trustworthiness of your website. Website content contributes towards hitting EAT criteria. If you’re unfamiliar with EAT, we’ve previously written a blog on it that you can read here.

Website content must be easily digestible, relevant and indicate to the consumer how exactly you can help them. Relevant and accurate content contributes to how Google perceives your business. Having correct content informs Google that your website is trustworthy and knowledgeable enough to deliver correct information to consumers.

Customer Journey / Usability

Possibly the most important factor when creating a website is the customer journey or usability of your website. Customer journey refers to the path a consumer must take to get to the relevant information they were looking for. It is the roadmap a customer takes from discovery to the purchase of goods or services.

Many things can negatively affect the customer journey:

• Loading speed
• Broken links
• False information
• Hidden information (contact info, customer services, etc)
• Time taken to reach desired information.

If your website is too messy, not user friendly and takes too many clicks to reach the desired page, consumers are likely to bounce and go elsewhere.

Conclusion

Ultimately, a bad or cheap website can be the biggest contributor to losing traffic as a business. Having a cheap website, while providing consumers with some of the relevant information, will display the wrong impression of your business, frustrate customers causing them to bounce, drive traffic to your competitors, and ultimately lose you money, reputation, and time.

A website is your most valuable marketing tool for your business and therefore you should consider it an investment. When you purchase a cheap website, you’re only opening yourself up to needing another, better one down the line. It might be a daunting initial cost but doing it right the first time will save you website re-design costs and help you to gain traffic, clients, sales, and reputation.

A website should:

• Clearly indicate how your business can solve your audience’s problems
• Describe the purpose of the website
• Meet the expectations of your audience (appearance and ease of use)
• Have relevant, up to date and accurate content
• Contain a clear call to action
• Collect email contact for follow up purposes
• Have clear contact information available
• Provide information that consumers want and need
• Be visually appealing and accurately represent your business

If you’re not happy with your current website, think you could be reaching better sales, or require a site audit, contact us today. At Sherbet Donkey Media we do the donkey work for you. We consider ourselves champions of optimised websites and hate to see businesses falling at the first hurdle.