A website is a valuable investment for your business.

Creating a website requires both time and resources, but there are various ways to cut costs. Here are four strategies to consider:

1. Host your own website

There are numerous hosting options available on the market. I recommend choosing a reliable hosting provider as it is more cost-effective than using a marketing agency. Marketing firms typically charge between $100-$200 per month for hosting services, whereas a hosting provider can charge as low as $125 per year for hosting your website. You can always upgrade your plan as your website grows and requires more resources. Additionally, most hosting providers offer website backups as a standard service. Here are a few hosting providers you may want to consider:

• IONOS (1 & 1)
• GoDaddy
• Bluehost

2. Buy your own domain name

Consider buying your domain name through your hosting provider. It can save you money and simplify the process. A .com domain name can cost around $15 per year.

3. Install WordPress

Many hosting providers offer free installation assistance, just follow their simple setup guide. If you are not comfortable with the installation process, your web designer can handle it for you. Additionally, WordPress is a widely used, open-source platform that is free to use.

4. Design Process

Once you have your host, domain, and WordPress installed, you will require a web designer to create a website that aligns with your brand and services. I do not recommend attempting to design and develop your own website without the necessary knowledge and skills. Building a website involves more than just adding text and photos; it also requires compliance with ADA guidelines, proper naming, and correctly set ALT tags and titles for all images. Failure to do so can negatively impact your website’s SEO and decrease its search engine ranking.

When working with an hourly web designer, it’s crucial to have all the required content ready before beginning the project. This not only helps to minimize revisions, but it also saves on overall work time. It is important to keep in mind that the more modifications you request, the more time will be added to the project, which can ultimately increase the overall cost of the project. One way to save on cost is to plan and organize the content for your website before you start working with a web designer. This will help to ensure that the design and development process runs smoothly, and that your website is completed on time and within budget. Additionally, having all your content ready will also help with the SEO of your website, as the designer can optimize all the images and texts for search engines.

If you need to contact an hourly web designer, I’m available!