On a daily basis I get asked lots of interesting and unusual questions, but obviously one of the most frequent questions is "how much will a website cost me?". This in general is a difficult question to answer on the spot, as nearly all project briefs are different and vary from client to client. If you search "web design in the UK" in Google or Yahoo, you will  no doubt see sponsored links for companies offering "Amazing Best Web Design From £299", and "Modern, Professional Websites from £99.00, Ready in 24 Hours!."

As a professional freelance web designer/developer with lots of experience, I tend to think I'm actually not that bad at what I do (being careful not to blow my own trumpet too much), but I hear on a regular basis of lots of people who 'think' they can design too, plus there is always someone’s son/daughter/friend/cousin who can build a website for the price of a snickers bar! Please remember, it takes years of experience and practice to be able to design and develop high quality/bespoke/workable/useable designs.

For a lot of the majority of small business owners / start ups and organisations, this will no doubt seem like a 'too good to be true' offer. The problem is most people do not understand how much time and work is involved in producing a professional and decent website that stands out.

As a rule of thumb and to give you an idea of the timescales and process, below is an overview of everything required from the initial kick off meeting through to putting your website launch day.

The Kick off Meeting

Recieve or create a brief for a new website; either via email or phone. Schedule a meeting where I can spend time listening and learning about a clients business; its objectives, company working ethos and your brand plus its customers. This meeting is normally free by the way. Send over a detailed quote/proposal to the client outlining the key areas for their approval. Agree on a price for the project, recieve deposit (normally 50%) and sign contracts.

The Design & Coding Stage

At this stage, I have normally recieved/collected all relevant information from the client, such as Logo's, any brochures the client may have, and any other supporting material. Using this material, I sketch out plausable layouts/wireframes which fit in with the clients content and current brand (if they have one). These layouts/wireframes are then mocked up in Photoshop/Illustrator. These initial mockups are only used as a usable guide to laying out the content in a useable manner. I next start on the actual design stage.

At this point we take these Photoshop documents and start slicing them up into XHTML templates.As with most projects, there is normally only a small amount of content that can be inserted into the website, so we use what's called 'Lorem Ipsum'. This is simply dummy text used as the industry text ever since the 1500s. Once complete, these template pages are uploaded to my development server which can be accessed through a simple URL, such as www.dev.yourcompanyname.co.uk. From here we can check the website in various browsers and iron out any bugs (which invenvitably there is) found in the different browsers. We also check all javascript functions, image/button rollovers, various text sizes etc. At this point, the templates should be pixel perfect when compared to the Photoshop designs I did. The only difference will be font sizes, which are different depending upon which browser we are viewing the website in. I then test, test, and test again...

Development Stage

We should now be at the point where the client has viewed these working HTML templates, and has signed them off ( It's important to have each stage signed of by the client ). We now start developing these templates into a fully working website.
At this stage, depending upon whether the client requires a CMS or a static brochure website, I move onto the actual development stage. Code the site using XHTML/CSS and any scripting language used (normally ASP). If a database is required, I start developing this along with the Content Management System. The client by now should have completed, or at least started compiling all relevant content for the website. Depending upon whether the client, or myself is inserting the content, this is the next stage. This is a great part of the development, as the client can really see the website coming together. If the client is inserting the content, I normally arrange a meeting or telephone call to go throught the websites content management system in detail.
With most of the content/products inserted into the website, I go through the website to make sure all targeted keywords are inserted correctly, and that any content added matches these keywords/phrases for each section. I also check all anchor text so that it also matches targeted keywords. Set up Google Analytics. (Reporting tool for Google) Once all the content has been added, I then (after final checks and sign off) upload the webite to the clients web server.

Final Stage

At this point I insert what is called verification code for Google, Yahoo and Bing (this is used to verifiy the website with these search engines).Create an XML site map and upload to the relevant search engines. If the website has been a redesign, the client should hopefully have a customer base email list. If they do, I normally (if agreed in the quotation/contract) send out notification emails to all of these customers informing them that the client has a new website.

Is that the end of the relationship?

No; Most web designers should offer hosting services and some form of maintenance, this doesn’t come free and should have been outlined in the quotation/proposal. As you can see, there is lot more goes into the design and development of a professional website than most people think. Add to this the equipment used/software and not accounting for various other requirements such as font selection, copywriting, Search Engine Optimisation, Flash, specialist JavaScript implementation and other extras. Talking of equipment, most professional web developers will have ten's of thousands of pounds worth of equipment and software. To be able to develop upto date websites etc, you need upto date equipment and this doesn't come cheap.

A high quality, professionally designed and developed website should contain all of the above, and if you think it sounds to cheap, then it most certainly is! As the saying goes, "You get what you pay for!".

So, the next time you hear about, or see an advert for 'cheap web design', ask yourself the question "why is it so cheap". There is generally a reason why it’s so cheap, and I have seen many horror stories over the years; although it’s not my place to divulge theses; but normally there is a reason why they have such cut down prices, and is it really a good investment for your company having a 'cheap website'.. what will it do to your brand image?

Would you deliver a cheap/substandard product(s) to your customers? I thought not, so why deliver a cheap/substandard website to your customers when it is infact one of the first ports of call for your business, and whether you like it or not, first impressions do count!