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How much does it cost to pay someone to build a website?

Two female entrepreneurs sitting side by side. One is holding a mobile phone and on is writing on a notepad. Both are looking at the notepad with a laptop in front of them

When looking to create your own website, one of the options is to pay a web developer to design it for you. This will require minimal technical input from you and will result in a website that is tailor-made to you and your company’s needs, but it comes at a cost. 

Paying a web developer to create a custom-designed website starts at around £5000, but can turn into tens of thousands for a high-quality product. If you don’t have coding experience, be aware that you will have to pay the developer for any and all maintenance on the site, which could be costly and time-consuming. You’ll also have to pay for your own domain and web host, which costs a minimum of £70 with a shared host.

It’s also worth noting that the basic overall design may not look that different from a website builder either, as many of the pre-loaded themes are based on high-quality designs. 

What are the benefits of getting a custom-designed website?

If you already have a detailed vision of how you want your website to look and function, and you’re not willing to compromise, then a custom-built website may be the only way for you to get the precise design you’re after. In this way, you’ll be able to liaise with the developer to make sure it’s exactly what you want.

A developer also does a lot more work behind the scenes than just creating a pretty design. An experienced designer will help you avoid potential technical and financial potholes, as well as tailoring their work according to your budget level, coding experience, and time restrictions. 

If you’re just a small company with a limited budget, however, the price difference between a custom-built website and a website builder is vast. If you don’t have the financial resources to fund and maintain a tailor-made website, it might be worth going for a website builder that handles the domain name, web host and design for you. 

Why not try it for yourself? For 14 days, you can register for a free trial at Go SiteBuilder, which allows you to create your own website from beautiful preloaded themes, with a domain and five email addresses to get your company’s website up and running in no time!

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What is crucial for effective website design?

A man and a woman standing over a table looking at a piece of paper. The male is wearing a casual denim shirt and holding a pen. The female is wearing a white t-shirt and is standing slightly in the background

A beautiful website will leave a great impression. There are a lot of different directions you can adventure into when designing a new website. We’ve put our heads together to give you this easy to follow list that will help you create the most effective website design.

Keep it simple

You could be forgiven for thinking that the more you add to your website, the better the experience for your audiences. But, there is a fine line between being informative and causing confusion or clutter. Simplicity is the way to go.

Use your space to say what you need to say, but don’t go overboard. Keep your colour palettes, fonts and other design elements clean, minimalist and simple. Not only will this create a sleek design but it will also make it easy for the viewer to digest the information. And, don’t be afraid of the white or blank spaces on your site. These are actually important design elements in their own right.

Use logical navigation

Try to view your website like taking a journey, in that there should be a logical path to follow to get from A to B. Straightforward navigation is a vital component of any website because it enables viewers to easily find the information they’re looking for. If your site lacks cohesion, some visitors may be left wondering where they’re supposed to go.

Your menu bars and page layouts are key to providing clear navigation, but you should also include easy-to-understand calls to actions so that viewers know what to expect or do next. You can easily lead them exactly where you want them to go!

Try out visual media

Cramming your website with text could be hard for your viewers, so think carefully about how you present your written information. Ideally, your text should be easily scannable, so time-starved viewers can still easily find the information they need.

Quick tip: Use lists and bullet points, for example, to break chunks of text up.

Another essential strategy to break text up is to include visual media on your site. Images speak louder than words so they’re a really important asset to your site to promote your products or services. Ideally, use your own photos, but whether you use originals or stock images make sure they’re of good quality – you don’t want a blurry, oversized image to be representing your business.

Responsive design

Effective website design involves enabling the site to be compatible for use on a range of devices, including smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. If you’ve already got a Go Sitebuilder website you won’t need to worry about responsive design as everything you create is instantly responsive!

Responsive design, in a nutshell, means that your website will adjust in size to suit a particular device. This leaves your content clear and easy to read no matter what device it’s viewed upon. With many internet users now relying exclusively on smartphones for web viewing, this is a design element that is nowadays a necessity rather than a luxury if you don’t want to miss a potential audience!

You don’t have to be a professional designer to build a website with Go Sitebuilder. Our hand-crafted, beautiful website sections will have you online within minutes – so what are you waiting for? Get online today with a 14-day free trial!