A company’s website is often the most important sales and marketing tool the business will have because it is often the center of an inbound marketing strategy and the first thing most prospects will want to look at before they will even engage in conversations. In general, most business websites have seen dramatic improvements in recent years.
Every single improvement to the technology behind a website not only makes interactions friendlier for visitors but also complicates marketing efforts. The people running websites have to understand how new technology can benefit their marketing efforts.
During some of the most challenging times, many companies may have to grapple with whether a website redesign will be in the best interests of the business. A website redesign often comes with immediate concerns about costs because while some jobs might only cost a few hundred dollars, there can also be many projects that quickly exceed their original budgets and end up costing several thousands of dollars.
With cost being the first priority, it is important to examine some of the financial issues that impact website redesign efforts. In general, a website design breaks down into three categories – the cost of a do-it-yourself (DIY) website redesign, the cost of hiring a freelancer for a website redesign, and the cost of hiring a website design agency.
When you are considering a web design issue, you need to understand the basic laws of supply and demand and how they have impacted web design prices. Whereas many companies were once reluctant to invest any money in their online efforts, most businesses now understand the importance of their websites and related material.
In addition to websites now being in greater use than ever before, there is also the matter of technology and how websites now operate more smoothly than ever. Websites are becoming increasingly strategic such that they now find more ways to interact with their visitors and collect valuable information.
The improvement of many other competitor websites means businesses today need to focus on optimization to ensure that their websites are offering the greatest speed, accessibility, and user experience. When a company is thinking about a website redesign, all of these considerations need to be taken into account and then there will be examining the three options we previously discussed.
DIY Website Redesign
When a person or a company opts to handle a website redesign on their own, then cost is generally not an issue because calculating the cost is simply a matter of the value of a person’s time. The trick to performing a DIY redesign is that a person performing the redesign will need to know how to code if the redesign is to have any kind of meaningful impact.
When you are performing a redesign yourself, you may be able to purchase a website theme that could cost as little as $30 up to $100. When looking at themes, you will want to be sure you focus on the level of customization that will be possible, how easy the theme is to update, and whether any out-of-the-box templates will be included.
When you think you find a theme that will satisfy your needs, be sure to read the reviews. Also, ensure that you will be able to make edits without any technical skills.
You could also benefit from Elementor, which is a back-end editor for a website that can be installed on WordPress. Elementor will provide the ability to create content and edit visual features of a theme through several modules and widgets with numerous formatting and styling options.
People can begin using Elementor for free, but it costs $49 a year to get more widgets, templates, and support for a single website. Another option could be HubSpot’s CMS Hub at roughly $300 per month which offers multiple customizable themes.
Freelancer Website Redesign
When you hire a freelancer, their rates are largely going to be based on their level of experience. Some freelancers may be negotiable on their rates, but you should generally expect to pay a couple of thousand dollars at least for a website redesign and some freelancers could charge as much as $10,000 or $20,000 for certain jobs.
You also need to keep in mind how your own project details could affect the rates you are quoted. If you are going to be needing a custom self-selection tool, you might expect to be paying higher rates.
A freelancer is still going to be motivated to deliver a pristine website that functions flawlessly, so it is not as though hiring a freelancer is going to jeopardize your website. In most cases, freelancers will want to deliver a website exactly as a client has specified they want it to be created.
The only real problems with freelancers can be their workloads, as independent freelancers can easily become overwhelmed with multiple assignments and projects could end up being delayed. Their knowledge of design and development issues could be relatively hit or miss.
A freelancer can often be a good option for people who are not capable of performing website redesigns on their own, but people also need to be cautious in finding a freelancer to work with. It is important to do your research and ensure that you are hiring someone who can perform the job.
Agency Website Redesign
Hiring an agency to handle your website redesign is undoubtedly the most expensive option you have, but it is also the one that will be capable of delivering the best results because an agency is usually a collection of individuals who have the experience to deliver what you need. The prices here can range quite wildly depending on the complexity of your project, as there are some agencies that may charge as little as $15,000 for a website redesign while others could be seeking in excess of $100,000.
While many people can be tempted to simply shop around and pick the cheapest option, you need to be cautious when hiring agencies with minimal experience that may be offering lower prices. You always want to investigate any agency and review their past work.
Working with an agency will be a much more intensive process than a simple freelancer because an agency will take a much larger view of your project. This means that an agency will know how to help you develop a winning sitemap architecture that allows you to create a website that is simple for users to navigate.
An agency can also review all of your website’s historical data to determine the actions that are going to work the best for your specific types of website users. In most cases, agencies are going to have the best understanding of what has worked successfully in the past and what is likely to work in the future.
Continuous Improvement
When a company is considering a redesign, the plan should not be some isolated incident that is forgotten about until another redesign becomes necessary in a few years. Companies should instead focus on growth-driven design, which simply means a website redesign process that allows a company to build a stronger website month over a month using its user data to improve the user journey.
While growth-driven design can be a somewhat expensive investment for many companies, it is also a worthwhile one. A company could be paying as much as $10,000 a month for growth-driven design services.
It is important for any company considering growth-driven design to identify the biggest areas for improvement on their websites based on their user data. There will be numerous tests to perform as well as adjustments to design, copy, and UX.
Growth-driven design will allow you to focus on the website elements that can yield the most improvement for your clients.
Content Concerns
Few things are as important to a website as its content because it is usually the content that allows a website to rank in search engines, helps drive user actions, and creates the text that outlines your company’s mission. Website content simply communicates the most basic message to a user.
Your content can help you connect with your prospects and also inform them about what services or products you offer. Website design rarely impacts what the content provides.
The unfortunate truth of a website redesign is that content can end up being incredibly time-consuming. All company owners should make sure to take a content-first approach to their redesign because it is always easier to begin with content and build around it than try to fill in the content afterward.
The manner in which you are redesigning your website will impact how you handle your content as well.
Content when building a website yourself
When a person will be handling a redesign on their own, then they want to begin by creating an architecture for their website. They will have to write all of the content for all of their web pages.
Content when working with freelancers or agencies
When you hire a freelancer, they may supply content on their own or hire a copywriter. Many agencies will employ their own copywriters.
Such situations can provide higher quality content because it will be written by experienced writers. Overall content costs can vary widely depending on the size of a website, the amount of content that is needed, and the level of expertise required.
Website redesign costs can be a major issue for many companies to grapple with, but there is no getting around the fact that most businesses that invest in their websites see real results that have demonstrated impact on their sales. It is important for all companies to be as thorough as possible in investigating their redesign options.
Find Website Redesign in Houston, TX | SERP Matrix
SERP Matrix handles web design and development issues, so you will never be left alone to deal with any of these kinds of problems while trying to improve your website. SERP Matrix knows how frustrating search engine optimization (SEO) content has proven to be for many companies, but we can help you get back on track.
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