Yes. Yes you do have to spend something - but only spend if the value is good too.

Most businesses nowadays realise that having a website is important - and needs investment to be beneficial. The question still comes up - does it cost to have a website? And the answer is always ‘yes’. Building it and keeping it going costs. You also need it hosted safely - it's your business and you wouldn't leave the office/shop unlocked so make sure it is safe.

There are offers around for websites which purport to be free, or at least no extra cost 'add-ons' to other services, but there is always a cost - it just depends what you are prepared to spend.

So the first question is - do you want to spend time, or money? 

If you love spending your spare time designing and optimising your site, researching the best ways to convert visitors, how to integrate with advertising for a seamless user experience, making sure you use the right platform - then time might be a good thing to invest. You will have to work a lot harder than an experienced web developer or designer to get the same result. They are building on a mountain of knowledge and experience to benefit you, but it is fun to do if you like that sort of thing.

And it is important to have that website. The website your business has is the keystone to your digital marketing strategy. It needs to be great at guiding visitors to convert into clients (or customers) This is hard to do - no way to sugar coat that. If you remove your own site from the equation you are reliant on others all the time - you might get great traction via Facebook - but you have no control over it. The same applies with any of the big platforms - use them to the best of your ability but don’t tie your entire business to them.

We Are Doodlebug always requires a client to have a digital presence controlled by the client. Our paid campaigns link back to landing pages, social accounts guide users to the website and the sites are designed to get the outcome you know is the best route to becoming a paying client. The site works for you. 

We include design, build, maintenance and marketing consultancy. Sites are super quick, work on mobile and use artificial intelligence to make sure you deliver a bespoke experience to your visitors. A 19% improved conversion rate is not to be sniffed at and the £700 starting price for 10 pages is great value.

This brings me to the key point of the article. We will always deliver value. No - you can’t have an ecommerce site for £200. We can’t make it good value for that. But neither are you likely to need tens of thousands for a shop to be added. 

We start with a diagnostic audit to identify the best place to invest your money. If your website is absolutely banging and works well at converting, we don’t want to touch it until it isn't. We focus instead on driving more and more traffic to that site so it gets a chance to be the best it can. 

Always start with an audit - make sure you are spending wisely. Only spend if you can see how it will help you make a return.

So yes - a website costs. But the real question to ask is ‘What are you getting back for that cost?’, and will the improvements in your revenue cover the outlay for the site - if we don't think it will, we won’t sell you one.



Initially for November 2020 - as posted earlier this week, we will build now, and you can pay later (in 2021). There is no additional charge - it is a way of supporting businesses to develop the ability to seamlessly transition from face to face to online. Call or DM to see what we can do