We’ll start with a price range for building a site. It’s useless really, but if we don’t show it up front we won’t answer the basic question. 

Building a new site can range from a few hundreds dollars to 10s of thousands. Is that vague enough? 

Most small businesses can expect to spend $2,000-$4,000 for a new site that is not one of the template drive CMS systems. More on those in a bit.

So why the wide range in cost site development? 

Broadly speaking, there are a few factors involved. The following will impact the price of building a new website..

Technical complexity of the user experience. 

Once you step beyond the basic HTML code of a site and start to address functionality, costs can rise. Any reaction the site has to a user action increases the technical complexity. Common elements  like form fills or simple roll-over/clicks to display expanded content, are usually not too costly.  Most front-end developers can handle these things, and if you have a CMS like WordPress, there are plugins the take care of them.

If you start to get too complex, you will need to engage UX designers and site architects as well as developers. The project can go from easy to difficult very quickly. It is not just a matter of coding a function, but ensuring the entire site navigation/interface  is user friendly, the technologies are compatible, and the structure is manageable as the technical aspects get complex. Very few sites get to this level, but when they do, it can be a 5 to 6 figure cost.

So the more you want the site to do, the more time and higher level of technical knowledge is required. This simply costs more.

The creative/aesthetic level

Do you want a truly unique creative execution with custom design and graphics, or are you good with available themes and stock creative?

There are a lot of stock image and video resources available. You can get some nice creative elements for relatively cheap. Then there is additional time to make the images web-friendly, resize and change their format. While it takes some time, it is a more economical option.

Custom creative elements take time to design and execute. For this site (fanaticallydigital.com) the creative is entirely custom. The graphic designer created the elements for all the main pages. This takes talent and time. A site that uses custom graphics can easily have a five-figure price tag. 

Managing the cost of revisions

Beyond the general directions (stock vs custom), is the number of revisions. Whichever route is taken, the website owner rarely accepts the first version. Each iteration is more time and adds more cost. Scopes of work have to be very clear on the number of revisions allowed or the approval process for the additional hours to make them.

Ongoing cost for hosting and maintenance

Once built, a website has to live somewhere and be updated regularly. Hosting can be as cheap as $15/month (or less) or $100+ (though rarely this high.) Most websites can have adequate hosting for $15-$30/month. 

Maintenance is another issue. For something like a WordPress site, basic upkeep is pretty straightforward. But, most site owners are not familiar enough with the CMS to do this. As a result, maintenance is not done and then a core WP update breaks the site because the site was too far out of date. 

Ultimately, time/hours are the most costly part of building a site. And the more specialized the knowledge needed, the higher the hourly rate.

So, realistically, what can a business expect to pay for a website to be created?

On the low end $20/month using templates and doing the work yourself.

Cost of Captive CMS Systems

Using platforms like Wix or Squarespace for a basic site, or Shopify for ecommerce, you can have a relatively low development cost IF you use the templates and do the work yourself. 

Wix starts at $17/month, but you’d likely want to opt for the $29/month Option or higher

SquareSpace starts at $16/month, but again, you’d want to opt for the higher $23/month option or higher.

Both Wix and SquareSpace have ecommerce capabilities, but if you are serious about selling online, you’ll want to look at Shopify

Shopify starts at $29/month and has good base packages. 

What about WordPress?

WordPress (WP) is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS),however  it is not an out-of-the-box solution. Where the above-mentioned website builders are straightforward if you use their templates, WordPress requires a basic understanding of how the CMS works and the ability to work with the Themes and Plugins. If you are not familiar with it, WordPress can be frustrating (you do need that for the others, but they are easier to grasp.)

That said, companies like GoDaddy and BlueHost have built website wizards to help you create a WordPress site. What is challenging is that, even with the wizards, things can go sideways. You can only deal with that if you learn the ins and outs of the CMS. 

So, why is WordPress so popular?

 It was an early entry into the CMS ecosystem before sites like Wix and SquareSpace became popular. As an open source CMS, developers could implement sites and site owners could edit the sites without having to pay recurring license fees. It became an early goto for a CMS because little else could compare.

WordPress is also more flexible than the captive CMS systems like Wix and SquareSpace. The UX can be customized and functionality can be created that is unique. Developers soon specialized in WP development, making it their goto for client solutions.  It also has a vast library of plugins that extend functionality for little or no additional cost. 

Other CMSs can be customized, but there are simply fewer resources available to do so and the knowledge is applicable only to the respective CMS. Besides, once you start with customization that requires code development, you step away from the low-cost advantage of these CMSs.

Also, WordPress is portable. Unlike the captive CMS systems, you can move a WP site from one host to another. This allows site owners to assess their hosting costs and make adjustments if needed.

What should a site developed in WordPress Cost?

If you hire a WordPress developer to create your site, the cost will range based on customization.

Using a theme with no customization, but adding your graphics and images, you can expect $750 on the very low end to $3,000 on the higher end. 

If you add custom page templates, the cost can increase by a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Sorry, but it just depends on the complexity of the customization.

Add custom graphics and WP sites can cost $10k or more. 

The two pricing elements in site development (including WP sites) are time and specialized knowledge. 

Most businesses can get a nice WordPress site developed for a few thousand dollars.

There is much ambiguity in website development pricing. Some of this has to do with the number of technical variables and some has to do with who is developing the site. Domestic developers cost more, off-shore is less to varying degrees, As you reap the benefit of lower cost, you experience the trade-offs of off-shoring projects. 

We may dive into the components of a website development project to provide a better understanding of why the cost and experience you have can vary so much.

Finally, we’ll close with this: Whether a development project is successful or not depends as much on your ability to understand what the purpose of the site will be. Is it a sales-assist for your sales team, is it a lead gen, ecomm/sales,  or is in branding and awareness. Chances are it can be all, but your company may emphasize one or two more than the others. The site needs to be designed accordingly. 

Is SEO critical, Conversion Optimization, Calculators for prospective customers, disseminating sales material? This an a host of other questions should be answered before the site development project gets going.

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When it comes to event tracking in Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Google Analytics (GA), redundancy is not a sign of inefficiency; in fact, it’s a crucial safety net.

Implementing redundant triggers for each essential conversion events or GTM tags helps ensure data accuracy and reduces the risk of data loss.

By setting multiple triggers, such as the URL, button text, ID, or class, you ensure one alteration doesn’t spell disaster. In this way, redundancy is your safeguard against unforeseen changes, providing a failsafe mechanism for your data collection.

In this post, we’ll look at why redundancy matters in event tracking and how to set up redundant triggers.

The Basics of GTM Tags and Triggers

Google Tag Manager (GTM) operates on a system of tags and triggers. A tag is a snippet of code that performs a specific function on your site, such as sending information to Google Analytics (GA). Each tag is associated with one or more triggers, which are conditions that dictate when the tag should fire.

Triggers can be based on a variety of events, such as a page view, a click, or form submission. They can also be refined with factors like click classes, URLs, or form IDs, offering a customizable and precise way to monitor interactions on your site.

For example, if you want to track when visitors to your site do something specific—like clicking a button—you would set up a tag to send that information to GA. You’d then set up a trigger to tell GTM when to send that information—like when the button with a specific ID is clicked.

So, when a visitor clicks that button, the trigger fires, and the tag sends the information to GA. This is how you can capture and analyze specific user interactions on your website, providing you with valuable insight into user behavior and website performance.

Understanding the Risks of Single-Point Event Triggers

Relying solely on single-point event triggers is akin to walking on a tightrope without a safety net. This is especially true for larger websites with multiple people or teams working on them, where elements — URLs, button classes, or IDs, for instance — can be altered without any prior notice or communication, potentially breaking your triggers.

For example, imagine you’re tracking button clicks on your website and your GTM tag is set to fire when a user submits a form with a specific ID. But one day, someone from sales creates a new, slightly different form with a different ID, you’re trigger for that event will fail to fire.

When a trigger fails, you don’t just lose a few data points; you risk losing significant amounts of valuable user interaction data that could drive your business decisions.

The absence of redundancy, in this case, could mean the difference between a comprehensive understanding of your user behavior and a gaping hole in your analytics.

Implementing Redundant GTM Tags for Button Click Tracking

This strategy may initially seem like an overkill, but consider this how easily a small miscue can result in days, weeks, or even months of lost data. For the marketing folks and decision makers who rely on… well reliable data, it can be incredibly frustrating to NOT have redundancies to fall back on if something goes wrong.

Diversifying Trigger Elements for Reliable Event Firing

To establish redundancies, you can utilize a variety of trigger elements in GTM. For instance, when tracking button clicks, besides utilizing the button’s ID, consider triggers that fire on the button’s text, CSS class, or even the URL the button directs to.

1. Button Text: If you have a “Buy Now” button, a Click Text trigger could be set to fire when “Buy Now” is clicked. Even if someone changes the button’s ID or class without informing you, this trigger would ensure event tracking.
2. CSS Class: Suppose your button has a unique CSS class. In that case, you could add a Click Class trigger that fires when that specific class is interacted with, providing another layer of redundancy.
3. URL: If your button redirects to a specific URL, a Click URL trigger could be set to fire when that URL is clicked. This adds another level of redundancy and ensures the event is tracked even if the button text or class is altered.

These are just a few examples of how diversifying your trigger elements can help ensure reliable event firing, regardless of changes made on the site. By implementing these redundancies, you’re bolstering your event tracking, ensuring the integrity of your data, and ultimately making more informed business decisions.

The post <strong>The Importance of Redundant Event Tracking: Ensuring Accurate Data</strong> appeared first on Fanatically Digital.

Yet despite this, many businesses treat them as a bit of an afterthought. Maybe because websites are complex and intimidating things or perhaps it’s because they can be too expensive to actively maintain.

Whatever the reasons, the fact of the matter is that, as a digital marketing agency, we see many businesses squander their website’s potential because of misunderstandings and critical mistakes.

Here are the most common mistakes businesses make when designing and creating a website and how you can avoid them.

Mistake 1) Businesses don’t have an established “purpose” or “function” for their site.

All too often, we see SMB owners who throw together a couple of web pages — because, again, it’s the 2020s, and having a website is just ‘the thing that businesses do now’ — without considering how to integrate them into their sales process.

How to fix: Clearly define how and where your site fits within your sales funnel; define its role in how it helps achieve business objectives. Depending on that answer, your priorities and website will look very different. 

For example, if you’re a B2B firm, then a probable function of your site might be to generate leads for your sales team. If that’s the case, then investing time and resources in good search marketing, copywriting, and conversion rate optimization is a must. On the other hand, maybe you’re a restaurant looking for more sit-in diners. Then strong local SEO, a Google Business Profile account, clear branding, and an appealing menu with quality images on your website will be critical.

Mistake 2) Fail to understand how search engines work at the most fundamental levels. 

If you expect a significant amount of traffic to come from search engines, then a strong understanding of how those search engines crawl and index websites is crucial. Specifically, mistakes can include a lack of internal linking (such as orphaned pages), no sitemap, and lots of unnecessary code that can slow down load speeds.

How to fix: In the absence of professional developers or search marketers, unfortunately, the best fix here is simply to research. Don’t worry, there are a wealth of good articles and explainer videos teaching the best ways to design, organize, and code a website to rank on search engines.

Mistake 3) Designers don’t give enough thought to marketing and SEO.

You’ve made your sleek new website. Great. Now, how do your potential clients/customers find you? Whether business owners handle it themselves, they hire in-house, or go the agency route, marketing is a step that CANNOT be overlooked if a website is to be worth the effort, resources, and frankly, the headache.

This is the scary part for most business owners. Nobody wants to fork over a ton of cash — usually thousands of dollars a month — for something that won’t guarantee returns right away. 

How to fix: If your website plays any role in your sales process, ensure that your marketing team has at least some grasp of SEO and digital marketing. Search marketing tools such as Moz or SEMRush offer great SEO overview courses and are well worth the investment.

Mistake 4) Don’t have a dedicated in-house webmaster.

Even if a business outsources its website management, there needs to be someone in-house who is responsible for overseeing the website. As a digital marketing agency, it’s common for us to onboard new clients who have forgotten the login credentials for their CMS, hosting service, or Analytics accounts. Needless to say, if you can’t even access the site to make changes, install updates, or fortify security, it can quickly become a major liability for your company

How to fix: Assign or hire for the responsibility of webmaster at your company. Ensure the person can, at the very least, keep track of login credentials, make simple updates, content changes, and ensure that security measures are up-to-date.

How can these mistakes hurt a business?

A bad web designer has the potential to put a business under. This is especially the case when established sites decide to redesign and relaunch their site. Here’s a true story from one of our clients (again, we are a digital marketing firm for SMBs):

The client was a small Ecommerce site selling heavy equipment. We had been working with them for years at this point. They had strong SEO, decent year-over-year growth, and a good website structure. They wanted to redesign their site and went with a small, local firm — turns out to be just one guy. 

Without our consultation (another big mistake; everyone working on a website needs to be in the loop about big changes at all times!), the client and designer changed the URL scheme of ALL of their core landing pages.

This guy (a “professional” webdesigner) didn’t realize that Google operates by keeping all of the URLs it knows about in a massive database.  So when the new URLs didn’t match anything Google had in its database, in the eyes of search engines, the landing pages simply disappeared and new ones were created. And, for many different reasons, new pages take time to start ranking on Google (and also note: THEY DIDN’T BACK UP THEIR SITE — maybe the biggest, most costly, most avoidable of all possible mistakes involve big changes and no back up).

Predictably, traffic, and therefore sales, plummeted. However we’re still making a slow but steady recovery. So in short, this bad designer hurt their business because he and they (the client):

1) didn’t understand just how important their website was to their sales process (mind you, this is AN ECOMMERCE WEBSITE!)

2) didn’t understand the fundamentals of the internet and search engines in particular.

3) gave no thought to the SEO aspect of web design.

Should You Go With a Pro?

Websites are extremely complex and powerful tools that have the ability to skyrocket your business beyond the ‘small-midsize’ level. But, at the same time, one bad line of code can tank the whole thing. The more ambitious your business objectives are, the more necessary a good professional web developer will become.

Fanatically Digital is here for all of your digital marketing needs. Whether it’s SEO, PPC, social media marketing, or any other web-marketing project you have, contact us today!

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