The real cost of "cheap" design

A number of clients have turned to us to revamp their nearly new websites. Why would they redo them after only 6 months? Because of the painful discovery that what seemed to be a "good price" quoted for their project proved to be a total loss.

These clients never wondered why a 70% below market estimate might be too good to be true. It turned out that they received what they paid for: a sub-par web design solution from every angle.

Sometimes it was an over-used template that made their websites identical to those of their competitors, or former clients of that same "specialized" web design firm.

Other times a convoluted, poorly designed navigation scheme, perpetually abandoned by users, paired with a complicated Joomla, Drupal, or WordPress content management system interface proves to be too intricate for clients with limited computer knowledge.

Occasionally, an aura of mystery and an illusion of "expertise" is created by the so called SEO specialist who would use techno-lingo filled with buzz words they cannot understand themselves. The ever changing SEO field has always been peppered with such dabblers who take advantage of the widespread ignorance brought about by emerging technologies. However, they can be very convincing as they have the "affordable expert" appearance. For quick "high traffic and visibility results" they would engage black-hat techniques, violations that would most certainly get a website banned from indexing by Google.

A "personalized" website on a preexisting, cookie-cutter template would take up to one workday at most. So, what seems to be "cheap" turns out to be actually quite overpriced. In addition, skimpy or black-hat SEO work on the pages and spamming backlinks will send the website forever into the “search results abyss.”

The cost of a well-designed web presence is justified by the value it creates both for its owner and its end users. Once deployed, it should be able to immediately fulfill its purpose, bringing swift positive ROI and covering its cost in a matter of months.

In occasional situations when one cannot momentarily afford all the intricate elements required by a complex web presence, one should never settle for compromises that could become a total loss. We advise the creation of a simpler, scalable website that would allow later additions of more elaborate functions when conditions permit. Your web design and programming team at Image Factory can provide flexible solutions scaled to different budgets without leaving out the very essentials of a fully compatible web presence.