How much should I budget for a website?

 Budgeting for a website can be a difficult task. There are many elements that one should take into account when laying out a website and marketing budget for your company.

Templated Website/ Low Budget - $400-$1,000
A templated website can allow your company to get on its web-feet quickly and on a limited budget. Templated websites often get a bad rap for being "dime a dozen". Many web designers do not approve of these kind of sites because they pose a threat. The truth is they have their place, and as demand for inexpensive websites increases, so will the quantity of templated websites. Admittedly, templated websites have their limitations and should only be considered as a temporary fix to your long-term web marketing goals. Appeal offers templated sites with a Content Management System that allows for 5 pages of content custom chosen colors.

Custom-Designed Website - $1,500-$5,000
Custom graphic design is widely underestimated when referring to websites. A properly custom design allows your website to target to your audience and corral them into a set path where the call to action is a very easy route for them to take. Custom-Designed sites allow you to capture leads, incorporate custom programming, Ecommerce and Flash.

Flash Animation and Interactivity +$250-$3,000
Flash can be as simple as adding a header banner or an interactive widget, or as complex dynamically informed Flash website. Either way it is an effective way of sprucing up your website and letting your audience know you take your web presence very seriously.

Custom Programming and Ecommerce +$250 - ?
Programming is a very open-ended realm of web applications. Complex functionality and database management are becoming more important as users need to edit and update their sites' content quickly.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - $100-$1,000 monthly
"How do I get my website to the top of a Search Engine (Google/MSN/Yahoo)?" The magic question is easy to ask, but one of the most difficult to answer and implement. The answer lies in an algorithm that each of the Search Engines have devised. Companies spend millions each year to make sure that their company's website is answering the call of these algorithms which base their results on things like Title Tags, Alt Tags, Meta Tags, "Backlinks", Site Architecture, Keyword Density. The bottom line is that no one can guarantee search engine results, but we have become very good at figuring out what works. The challenge is doing those things better than your competition. If Search Engine Results are absolutely vital to the livelihood of your business, you should plan to spend monthly to analyze, restructure, and generate searchable content for Search Engines to find.