If done correctly, it sets the site apart, gives the experience that added edge, and boosts user engagement.
All of this is fun to implement but still can take time and adds to the cost. The “wow” factor - the bell here and the whistle there - may come in the form of animation, user-driven docks and slideshows, fades, parallax scrolling, and the like. So I want the website to be the best” or even just “I want this website to win an award” then: great! Once you manage their expectation that of course there are no guarantees for “winning”, you should prepare them to expect a healthy budget to really go above and beyond, not only with the homepage, but within the site. If you’ve got a superintendent or a head of school who says something like “We’re the best in our area. “Award-winning”Īdmittedly this is a strange criteria to include in this list, but worth noting. Knowing many schools are working within a limited budget, a pre-designed theme removes the creative discovery process and so are quicker to deploy, more affordable, and do not involve design time.Ī custom design is a ground-up design process with a “higher touch” experience to help guide you and your team it typically includes surveys, discovery meetings, and strategic consulting. Not that helpful? Here are a few ways we can narrow that number down: 1. And in the case of $150,000 the scope is likely a best-in-class creative service, with significant up-front strategic consulting, a lot of additional design and deployment hours, and which might include athletics and giving microsites, etc. So how can we get closer to a number than the infuriating, “it depends”? At Finalsite, in the case of $0, the design fee is likely built into the subscription fees.
MYSCHOOL WEBSITE FREE
Yet, I find myself saying exactly that to prospective Finaliste clients, and when I share my stock follow-up answer to that question, “Somewhere between free and $150,000”, I get a nice nod at the free and scoff at the 150, and then a “so, what’s it going to be for us?” I’m sure I’m not alone in being annoyed with the predictable answer of “it depends” to the “how much” question that I might ask a vendor or salesperson when shopping or bidding something out. an investment in their online presence will improve yield or bring in more students) or district allocation for each student, too. Many schools will consider the website budget a function of tuition (e.g. Even that slim swathe of schools who are fully enrolled with a waitlist a mile long never rest on their laurels. In short, a good school website, especially when coupled with good internet marketing strategies, easily pays for itself. Likewise, is there a dollar value we could place for each additional inquiry year over year? Each enrolled student in the district? On more satisfied parents? Or even an additional donation to the booster or annual fund? We could actually help you figure that out, and maybe that’s a good topic for another blog. More families who made the right choice and stay with you. Fewer complaints from parents who are confused and in the dark. What does that mean: “return”? Here are a few answers: More and better inquiries and applicants. So in this blog, to the question, “How much does a website cost?”, I’m not really going to give you a clean answer, but instead encourage you to consider this project as an investment in which you are looking for a return, and the value you get is directly correlated to what you put in - primarily, money and time. This often follows statements I hear that are equally provocative: “I hear Finalsite is the most expensive out there,” or “You guys cost too much,” or “ Why can’t you lower your prices?” It’s one where I tend to start with this: “If you’re going to make a decision solely on price about your most important marketing and communications tool, Finalsite is probably not a fit.” But it’s also not the easiest question to answer. It’s not a chemical formula we have patented, locked in the basement. Some are contrite: “We know this isn’t free, but maybe you can give me an idea of theĪnd some - perhaps the rare ones - are open-ended: “we’re going to do what it takes to get this right, so let’s just get to a number where we’re not cutting corners.” Naturally, we love those! Some start with a line in the sand: “I just want you to know that if this is over twenty grand it’s not happening. Some are toward the end, in earnest: “Could you give us a ballpark?” In any number of the hundreds of conversations I’ve had with schools over the years about a website redesign, I’m always curious at what point the “bottom line” question will come up. How Much Should a School Website Redesign Cost?
0 kommentar(er)
