Website Packages

A website normally falls in one of these broad categories;

• An editable brochure / information website (requiring a database and our content management system to handle the editing and adding of new pages). 
• An editable website with dynamic functions and greater engagement and interaction with users (member areas, appointment bookings etc), all managed using our content management system dashboard.
• An Ecommerce website with cart, checkout and payment system, integrated with a payment gateway such as Paypal, Sagepay or banks such as Barclays ePDQ and HSBC etc..
• A web application – where a website / business needs custom programmed functionality in order to provide its customers with an online service matching the normal day-to-day business operation.

Which type of website you need depends on what you need the website to do - or, to put it another way, what you want your customers / users to be able to do and what you want to be able to do in terms of managing it. If your need for a website is based solely on the fact that every business should have one (they should!), then you would presumably require nothing more than a simple brochure website with just a few pages. 

Pricing

Except for core system applications and website add-on modules, prices are not set in stone. Every business is different, Every client has a unique set of requirements based on the look, feel and style to achieve, the extent of graphic work and the nature of the products or services being sold. As a benchmark, a small content-managed website fully designed can cost as little as £750. Ecommerce websites for small businesses start at £950. 

Brochure / Information websites with content management

The brochure website will normally be a simple extension of your sales and marketing covering all the main aspects of your business. For many startup and small businesses, it's often all that's needed. Our content management system. however, allows you to add new pages into your website so that it can grow with you.

The content management system

The Content Management System (CMS) is a database-driven backoffice admin dashboard which allows you or an employee to edit content throughout the website. This may be as simple as adding new pages or editing existing content or it may extend to managing customer enquiries, appointments, bookings - or whatever. Using our WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) page editor, you can format your pages using a comprehensive toolbar that works like Microsoft Word without any need for technical know-how.

The CMS stores pages in a database which allows you to simply click on a page name to open it in the editor and make changes. The really useful thing about a CMS is that it allows you to add new pages and save them as drafts to finish later or to instantly replace old, out of date pages. You can also choose whether to show them on your navigation menu or not. The CMS picture management lets you add pictures into your pages as well as videos and other media.

You may not need a fully bespoke CMS to do what your business needs a website to do. There are countless CMS systems available, many of them free which allow you to edit content simply and effectively. However, if you are not familiar with graphics, you will need professional help to make your website look good. Don't forget .... a bad or obviously DIY website is far more damaging to a business than not having one at all.

eCommerce

There are many eCommerce platforms and systems ranging from the cheap, easily set up hosted options such as Shopify to systems such as Magento which is much more advanced. Our own eCommerce platform was first developed in 2020 and it has been extended, enhanced, improved and refined every year since then. It's not a 'one-system-suits-all' thing - it's fully self-contained and can be programmed to provide absolutely any functionality required. So, when deciding which approach to take, think carefully about exactly what you need it to do and be clear about the number of categories, subcategories or even sub-subcategories you may need to properly handle your products.

How many products will there be in total? How often will prices or other factors change? Will you find it easier to upload product data directly from an imported file such as Excel / CSV or to use a product form? Do you use a fulfilment house or dropship service? How do you need to handle delivery charging? How do you want to take payment from your customers - and which payment gateway should you choose? How important is the graphic content of your website - are you able to produce good quality graphics yourself or would you need to call in a professional? All these factors will affect your decision as to the approach you need to take.

An eCommerce website demands much more attention than a simple brochure or CMS website. It's not a question of building it and expecting orders to flood in. It's not going to happen. There's a lot of work involved in getting an eCommerce website to the top of the rankings and gaining good traction in the market. A good developer with knowledge and experience of business will reap rewards for you. Look at the websites of leading businesses in your market and learn from them, see what they do and why. Mostly, you can't simply rent a monthly hosted shopping cart system and expect to compete with the sort of functionality they offer.

Web Applications & Add-on Modules

If your website needs to do more than simply display pages about your business or services or use dynamic contact or other forms to handle user enquiries, what you need is most likely a web application. An application is required when the functions and processes of the website are complex and demand a lot of custom programming and coding to make it do exactly what you need your users to be able to do with a backoffice admin dashboard which allows you to manage every aspect of the programmed system. It may or may not involve a degree of eCommerce or at least a means of payment. It will usually require normal website content pages as well. 

There are many businesses that often need a web application added onto a currently static or CMS website. These include, for example, motor service companies who need customers to book timeslots for vehicle servicing or MOTs, hair salons wanting to let their customers book online, sports venues hiring out space, courts, time etc, medical practices to let patients book appointments - and many others. Very often these applications can be seamlessly added into an existing website to avoid having to completely start afresh. Click on the Apps & Website Modules link above to see some examples.

How much should you budget?

Whilst prices for custom work can never be set in stone and can vary upwards or downwards based on exactly what you need, the price will include:

• Project planning & management
• Planning the user interface and user experience
• Bespoke graphic design, layout and styling
• Installation and configuration of the database
• Development & Programming
• Testing, training and implementation

You may also need help with content, copywriting, styling, digital marketing, strategic planning of social media as well as search engine optimisation and hosting. Read about our SEO, Reputation / Brand management here.

What next?

If you have a fairly good idea of the type of approach / website your business needs, you should give us a call or email us with the details. If you have a brief already prepared, you can submit it here.