Whether you just came up with the GREATEST new business idea or you’ve had your company up and running for decades- there is no denying that having a website in today's business world is essential. And you may think – we already have a website, we’re all set.

The catch? Merely having a website is not enough. You need one that is appropriately designed to work on mobile devices, is visually appealing, easy for users to navigate, and capable of being upgraded for the ever-changing digital world.

Okay, so, you're here to learn about website costs, so let's dive in! (Disclaimer: this isn’t a quote for a website – you can get a quote for a Brambaly site by clicking here).

DOMAIN NAME

Buying your dot com on the right service, like GoDaddy or another competitor, as well as monthly hosting fees, can be one of the relatively smallest costs - but can certainly stack up. If your domain name is available, you could purchase it for around $18 through GoDaddy or a similar service.

HOSTING

Your website needs to live somewhere – so you’ll have to purchase website hosting. Hosting can range from $10 a month to hundreds depending on the options you add. Some things to consider:

• How many visitors will your site have?
• Is your site being backed up once a month, once a week?
• What happens if your site crashes – when was the last backup of your website?
• How long will your backups be kept before they’re overwritten? (if you didn’t realize your site was hacked and your fully working backup is overwritten with the hacked website – you’re in deep $%^&)
• What about company email addresses? Are you using an IT company that is managing your email or do you need to get that with your hosting?
• Who is going to help you with your MX records?

DESIGN & BUILD

Alright, so the foundation has been set. You have your dot com, know where you are hosting- but what about that design and build step? You may be able to get away with a DIY website, and you’d be all set; however, when your business requires a custom solution, you may find yourself spending 30k+ or more depending on the functionality and content on the site. 

This step can take the most time and the most capital. We understand your concerns – because we’ve probably heard them all. Do any of these sound familiar?

• “I already did this and had a terrible experience; I can’t possibly do this again.”
• "We don’t have the budget for a custom site, so we’ll just keep the one we have – it’s not perfect – but we’ll just have to wait.”
• “It took us four months of manpower to get the website up, we don’t have that kind of time right now – so we’ll just have to wait”
• “We launched our site last year, but the vendor has stopped returning our calls, how do I trust someone else?”

Brambaly is often the “fixer” in these situations and would love to help you fix your website.

MAINTENANCE

At the beginning of this blog, we mentioned something about "upgrading in the ever-changing digital world." Do you remember a few years ago when "Mobilegeddon" took place? Unless you're a web developer or marketer, probably not. But this was a time when Google was set to impose Google results ranking penalties on websites that were NOT mobile optimized. The issue? So many weren't! Companies like J.Crew and Restoration Hardware have just recently joined the mobile world, and they have all the monies! We live in an age where more people find businesses on their phones than on a desktop computer, so making sure your website is mobile-friendly, like it will be with Brambaly, is a necessity. But have you budgeted for this upgrade? When we mentioned that J.Crew and Restoration Hardware just got caught up – do you think it’s because they didn’t care? While we don’t work with or at either company – we’re guessing it was cost-prohibitive and time-consuming to make this change. Are you financially prepared for this unexpected requirement?

What about the newest issue hitting companies – the American with Disabilities Act? If your website is not addressing these requirements, you might find yourself with a lawsuit on your hands. Last year, there were 2,285 ADA website lawsuits filed in federal courts across the nation, an increase of a 181 percent from 2017, according to website accessibility company UsableNet.

Brambaly addresses these concerns, so you don’t have to worry about it. Your monthly subscription fee covers technology upgrades. No additional costs are associated with this type of maintenance. On the other hand, if you have a custom site built by another company, they’re going to charge you for each plugin update and each technology update which could be pretty significant. Remember – Restoration Hardware didn’t have mobile upgrade money the year it was announced – are you sure you will? 

KEEPING YOUR SITE UPDATED

Related to maintenance, how do you plan on adding new content to your website? New products, new blogs, new photos? At Brambaly, we can show you how to do it using our super easy to use content management system, or you can purchase a discounted block of time, so you don’t have to worry about it.

EXTRAS

Last, but not least, it costs money to add on all of the extras your company website might need to succeed in the modern-day. Search engine optimization (SEO), social media, drip campaigns, paid advertising, and more are all areas of expertise that Brambaly can help you solve and deliver real results. 

To find out more about the costs of building your new manufacturing, distribution, or wholesale business website and subscription options from Brambaly, click here to contact us today!