How to build a website that smashes the competition for under $1000

NeTT 5 August 2010Last Updated: 8 October 2021

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CONTENT PROVIDED BY NETREGISTRY

Idling in traffic on Tuesday, I was listening to the ABC’s AM show where Tony Eastley was discussing the Julia Gillard makeover and the related surge in voter confidence.

It would seem the smart new haircut and business suits were winning the votes. Abbot’s affair with speedos has been a wardrobe disaster. The ABC conclusion was clear – Julia’s improved appearance created a spike in conversion.

Nowhere is this spike effect more true than on the Internet, where often you shop blind. You browse a dozen websites looking for a supplier of Acme products and sure enough, you base the bulk of your decision of whom to do business with on the visual attractiveness of their website. And yet the Internet is filled with wardrobe disasters.

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In a world where people vote with their computer mouse, the only way to capture the market is to show the voters the best website in your industry sector!

Six months ago Dipesh Parmar of the Steam Cafe in Brisbane was kindling the idea of launching his own business website promoting his restaurant. “I knew I had to have a great website. Restaurants are in one of those industries where you know your customers are keen to check out your website and, if it doesn’t look fantastic, you’re not in the running”.

“I didn’t have much money and for what I wanted to spend, a friend directed me to consider buying a website off the shelf.”

The sale of off-the-shelf websites is an enormous industry, where professional web designers can showcase their designs and buyers can literally buy them off the shelf! The risk of you not liking the outcome of your web design process is nil because you choose your website before you purchase it. And there are thousands of designs to choose from, sorted into industry categories.

The web designers themselves get a good deal because their acquisition costs are zero. They don’t have to turn up to multiple meetings to get a sale, they just design.

The designs themselves vary in cost, but most websites cost in the US$60-100 range from companies like Template Monster. However don’t underestimate the effort required to actually construct a website from an off-the-shelf design, especially the database-driven websites. If you want someone to do it for you, some local web design companies will offer the full build of a website, including uploading your content for fees typically below $1,000 for a standard ‘brochure online’ type of website.

“I couldn’t be happier”, says Dipesh. “A week wouldn’t go by without someone commenting on how nice my website appears”. The voters have voted.

You can visit the off-the-shelf website of the Steam Cafe at www.steamcafe.com.au.