Business cost is perhaps the single most important factor in running a successful venture. Cost crunches often lead to promising projects never seeing the light of day. Hence, it is important to monitor your costs effectively. It is not an easy job, however. There are so many aspects of a business. But when it comes to the online presence of your business, monitoring costs is not all that hard. As any web design company in India will tell you, the cost is a deal-maker (or deal-breaker) in most negotiations between a business-owner and a design partner company. A web asset is yet another asset for a business after all, right? It is only natural to save money while building a website, isn’t it? The answer to the above questions, as it turns out, is slightly more complicated than it seems at first glance. Cost cutting is good, but how much is too much? Your website is your online identity, it is not advisable to underestimate its importance. Many businesses have succeeded where many others failed simply because of a great website. So is it really hopeless? Is it not possible to be successful without shelling big bucks on your website? Now, this is where our views diverge from your run-of-the-mill web design company. Our motto is – A good website doesn’t have to break your bank. Making a good website is a complex process. It requires planning, effort, skill, expertise. But it doesn’t need a fortune. Follow the tips below to learn how to plan your website so that it doesn’t cost you too much:
Minimise Dependency
This one is a little tricky. This method to decrease costs actually increases costs, but only in the short term. In the long run, your business will flourish from the positive effects of reduced dependency on third parties.
How to do it? Start with asking your web design company – how easy will it be for us to operate the website? A website is not just for the end user, it is also intended to be used by various managers at various levels. This could involve various things, depending on what type of website you own – adding blogs, uploading products, extracting analytics, and so on. The more you can do on your end without any support or intervention from your design partners, the better.
Scope It Out
Spend some time on the drawing board. Most excess costs in a web design project are not initial building costs, but overheads. These overheads happen due to one reason only – lack of scope. Many people exhaust all their budgets long before they have a working website due to this. A scope is important. The more you plan and organise your ideas beforehand, the less time and effort (read money) you exhaust in getting your website ready.
Know the extent of work your ideas need, and modify your plans accordingly. Be extra careful when working with an hourly rate company. Spend some time developing your idea, then discuss it openly with your web design company. You can save a lot if you and your web design company are on the same page at all times.
Hourly or Fixed
Choosing the right plan can also help you save quite some money (and regret) later. There are many web design companies with both plans on offer. Rule of thumb is – fixed for the known hourly for the unknown.
Fixed price is best suited when the scope, approval process, deadlines and revision needs of the project are clearly defined right at the beginning. If you are aware of the scope of the project from the beginning, fixed pricing is for you. You will be able to ascertain the correct budget for your project easily and choose the right design company.
Hourly rates work best when there are a number of unavoidable unknowns at play. For flexible projects that involve or might require multiple revisions, hourly rates are much better than fixed-price plans. Fixed price plans are liable to run out once the design company checks out all requirements in the initial scope. After that, a fixed price partner may refuse to entertain new changes unless you agree to new budgets for revisions.
Make sure you choose the right project plan for your website and you will be a happy customer.
Conclusion
Saving money is not easy, but really important. The above methods will not only help you reduce business costs, they will also help you foster a good relationship with your web design company. Are there any more ideas or suggestions on our picks for the best ways to save money with your website design company? Let us know in the comments below.