Here’s the Pricing Trap:

NOTE: I get a bit plucky here, this should be taken as a grain of salt. There’s truth in it, but it’s a bit editorial… based on reality, but maybe a bit stronger than some can take it. Can you handle the truth?

1. People who aren’t marketers don’t know how to evaluate websites, don’t really know how to shop for a website. Entrepreneurs who have not owned a successful website that produces revenue want to spend as little as possible, viewing it as a necessary evil or a brochure they need to have. So they shop purely on price.
2. Because they shop on price, they get someone who can make a website, but isn’t terribly good at all the non-technical tasks (copywriting for example, marketing, search engine optimization, A/B split testing, landing pages… the list goes on). Good people don’t need to work super cheap, because they’re busy. Find the cheapest web designers, and you’ll find, exactly precisely, the people who cannot charge more because they cannot differentiate themselves on quality. They will in turn, make you a website which will leave you competing only on price, because it’s the only arrow they have in their quiver.
3. Said client then gets what they think is a website. It is, technically, a website that _looks_ like a website, smells like a website, and comes up in a browser like a website. But it’s not a marketing asset, in fact, it’s more like a marketing “bucket with holes in it”, leaking out their tiny hard-earned traffic. So, they think they bought a website. But low and behold, the market yawns, the search engines bury them on page 17 of the results, they get no traffic, make no sales, and finally reinforce their belief that a website won’t make them any money.
4. Go back to step 1. Next time they start a business they again want to shop on price, which, since they’re sort of failing online, is likely to occur sooner than later. Sorry if this stings, BUT if it does, ask yourself, are you confident your website reflects your company as you see it or want it to be?
   1. If yes, then I’m wrong, delusional, and you can safely dismiss my “propaganda” as simply an attempt to overcharge you, which you successfully dodged. Great! You’ve kept your money safely in your wallet. But you still have your current results.
   2. If no, then congratulations on prioritizing your company and your income over your pride. This doesn’t mean you have to choose us. Maybe you think I’m a jerk for pointing out the truth and you don’t want to work with us… that’s ok. I tell the truth, and call it as I see it, admit when I’m wrong, and believe talented and ethical people deserve success, however, you could cure cancer but if you don’t market the solution, the world won’t find you. It’s not enough to have a good product or good service. Anyway, take a real assessment of your brand / company, and note what’s missing – then find someone (hopefully us, but no matter what, take action, even if not with us) to execute.
   3. If you’re maybe / not sure, then ask an expert. Ask someone whose results you want to clone. Ask us, I’ll tell you the truth – about 25% of my incoming sales call I un-sell, to my own detriment, because the client has the wrong solution in mind or a mistaken premise. I’d rather earn a client’s respect for years than make a one-time sale of ice to an eskimo.

As I mentioned, take this as a grain of salt.

That said, it is truth. Having built over 100 websites for clients, and with over 1,000 clients of our various other dot-com products, I’ve noticed some patterns.

Google.com is technically “just a website”.

What separates Google.com from the hundreds of nobody-remembers search engines started back in 1993? Quality in their case, quality of results, which meant quality of code, which means they didn’t take the cheap and easy road, they did what’s right by the clients.

Now they have a market cap over 240 Billion.

This article is in response to “web design prices” and “web designer prices“.