 How much is a website?
Friday, 9 December 2005
After some six years of web development, I still get the “I want a website, how much will it cost” question on a regular basis. Over the years, I have learnt to reply with:
“How much would you like to pay for it?”
That usually stumps them. When I simply repeat the question, I typically get this as the response:
“Well, I’ve had this quote for $2,000 from so and so but I thought I’d ask you because you’ve been recommended.”
Or something along those lines.
I normally respond by confirming that I understand the reasons why they contacted me: they’re hoping to get the extra assurance that my experience brings by paying more for it; how much more is the issue. Sadly however, a lot of SME managers still think that they can get a $15,000 website for $2,000. And of course, like with everything else, they can’t. They will get a $2,000 website.
One of the first questions I always ask early on in a conversation with a prospect is:
“What is your realistic budget for this project?”
If they can’t answer that, then I’m not interested. Sounds a bit arrogant, I know. But that’s ok, I can live with that. What I can’t live with is spending hours explaining why my work is dearer, then spending countless more hours continuously having to explain why functionality can’t be created with smoke and mirrors, it must be programmed.
Yes, it’s true that the backyarders, hobbyists and whiz kids are responsible for a large portion of the bad reputation that the website production industry has copped over the years. But the real problem is people’s attitude that quality is less important than price. Consumers are being brainwashed to accept this to be the natural order of things in the free enterprise society we live in, where everything is branded and even a service is effectively a product.
But this is not the philosophy I subscribe to. I have never competed on price. I never will either. Maybe that’s why we only work on a handful of projects per year but those projects always seem to be interesting and profitable, for us and our clients.
Is that a just a coincidence?
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