Arrow Design- We GET Business -

Cheap Website Design – is there such a thing?

The answer is probably no but you might get the right person, at the right time. Like with all life, you get what you pay for but there can be exceptions with regards to great website design. It all depends on what you want to get from your website and if you want to get a cheap website design, you need to know how to spot a real website bargain. You just need to know what to look for in your web designer and why they may be giving you such a ‘great’ deal.

There are four types mythical people offering cheap website design

Cheap website design, searched on google, returns a stunning amount of people offering cheap or even free website design. Can a website be designed for €99? Can it be offered for free? Think about what is being offered and who is offering it to you. There are common types of web designer offering ‘cheap website design’. If you know the background to this ‘cheap website design’, you might get lucky. Like finding a four leaf clover or winning both lotteries the same day, without even buying a ticket.

Students might offer you cheap website design as they need to do a college portfolio – these students tend to come in two main types:

Top-of-the-class Students

These are the guys (and gals) who may even be thinking about doing your website as part of their class project. This could be great for ye both! .. but probably only in the short term. What happens when this ‘coding genus’ gets snapped up by NASA or starts their next project? Who now looks after your website when things go wrong? Websites do not just stay perfect! Do I even have my login details is normally heard once it’s time for a change. These days, websites need to be maintain, regularly. Gone are the days of a just designing a website in HTML and changing it a little, every couple of years

*Not* top of the class Students

These are the guys (and gals) give your websites design their best but run the risk of getting disheartened or even giving up. They usually realise that they can only get *most* of the work done to give you a half decent looking website. The problems really start as the young designer learns one of life’s harsh lessons. They slowly realise that the amount of work put into creating and maintaining your website equals practically no money for them. They charged too little and are now working for peanuts. This usually is accompanied by the fact that the designers life has moved on a little – they may be working full time for a company and have a lot on their plate.

Factors to look for in cheap website design:

☑Responsive Design

☑The Best Server Available (Hosting)

☑.ie domains Cost More Per Year

☑Social Media Should be PROPERLY Integrated

☑Google Business Should Be Integrated

(Hosting + Domain) = (Roughly €150 per year)

☑Keywords Should Be Analysed

☑Content Should Be Written With Keywords In Mind

☑Content Should Be Formatted Correctly

☑Images Should Be Optimised

☑The Design Should Look Astounding

☑Website Should Be Submitted To Search Engines

The web service providers that even advertise on tv – They promise the cheapest websites on a ‘do it yourself’ basis

You could possibly cut your own hair, but you don’t… What would people think of your new look?

Cheap website design is offered to ‘have-a-go hero’s’ who will either love it or quickly realise that it is a lot of work, and they should have paid more for their tools! There are a lot of reasons why I would never tell someone to go this route. This once again is a complete – you get what you pay for scenario. Good designers know a lot about what they do because they do it daily and have and have got all the common mistakes out of the way. Good website designers also know that paying a little more for exceptional hosting is usually best. Google rewards good servers in the same way as it rewards great website design. Your hosting account directly affects speed times bandwith and all the other fun stuff that goes along with servers (i.e. hosting). These fun providers also charge you on every little extra that you will need and the price tag quickly jumps when you need the most basic extras. Sometimes even charging to remove their branding (and the fact that you bought from the bargain isle). Professional Web designers will never use them, despite the price, as the bad points far out-weight the cost. Also, the ‘do it yourself part’ usually takes more time, which costs you more money in the long run.

Professional Irish Website Designers Offer Much More For Your Money

Registered, professional web designers with years of experience tend not to offer the cheapest website design, but you are actually getting a bargain. There are great designers in Ireland who have actually worked how low you can actually go, while still maintaining cutting edge design that manages to stay relevant and provide everything you need, without any hassle. I have a lot of respect for the other professional Irish designers, especially the up and coming, who design, properly. The designer has to become a researcher, author, planner, typography master, photo editor specialist, mathematical analyst, social media expert, browser and responsive tester, programmer and general problem fixer. All this while keeping up with the website designer ‘jones’s.’ a.k.a keeping designs and content new and interesting. These designers do not tend to offer ‘rock-bottom-prices’ but the services they offer offers excellent value for money in the long run.

Conclusion:

Cheap website design is never usually what you want it to be.

If cheap hosting accounts are good, professional website design companies would all be using them. Great hosting and domain names should cost about €150 per year – so do the maths on how long your designer is likely to work. We recommend Lets Host which is a great Irish hosting company. Doing it yourself and using ‘bargain’ hosting; should be avoided at all costs. It will only cost you more in the long run. Choose a reputable, dedicated Irish website design company. Reputable companies have to charge a little more because they pay for the best, to give you the best. I would recommend Arrow Design for professional website design, but I may be biased 🙂

We are lucky in Dublin as there are some great web design companies who create great websites. Great website design is instantly noticed and stands out from the crowd. The reality is that website design takes much more time than you think and takes a lifetime to master. SEO takes equally as long to master but great SEO means you are noticed – that you are not just another name on a list. Technologies will always change and professional website designers will always take the time to keep up.

The time it takes for a novice to look after your website usually gets neglected once the enthusiasm goes. Web design and e-marketing takes a lot of time… Not to mention social media – your online image will take time to build and maintain. Even if you are offered a cheap website from a student, you need to think ahead. That being said, you could hit the absolute jackpot and get the top-of-the class student that is genuinely interested in a lifetime of web design and does everything to perfection. They become the Dedicated Designers described above. They have also charged you so little, and put so much time into it, they view your website as one of their children and still dedicate their life to it. In my opinion, the chances of finding good, cheap website design, by a website designer that will look after you for life not good. About as likely as being struck by lightning 8 times on the one day, while walking your cat – that kind of ‘likely’.

Arrow Design offers full web design services in Dublin and offer prices to suit all pockets – you choose what you need!

View Our Web Design Costs Here

…We do more, so you can do less 🙂