Would you like to start your own website with savings but don’t know how it works? Perhaps you are also worried that you have to have a lot of IT skills or that running a website means setting up a company and thus incurring tax obligations? Then, you’re not alone.
But we can put your mind at ease – setting up a website is child’s play these days – you don’t have to program anything by hand and you can really design everything your heart desires. In addition, thanks to the many providers and hosts (the website operator who gives you all the tools), you have a gigantic selection of designs, plug-ins and marketing tools. All for a very low price – in contrast to 20 years ago, when it took IT experts and thousands of euros to get a website up and running.
Fixed costs for your own homepage
If you want to create a website yourself, there are still a few cost factors that you will have to face:
Hosting: The hosting ensures that the website is accessible on the web 24 hours a day. The selected hoster has both the website and matching e-mail accounts. You only have to calculate around ten euros for a good hoster. If you have a website with a high flow of visitors, it should be a stronger hoster for around 25 euros per month.
Domain: The domain costs are incurred annually, with a hosting package usually including at least one domain. If you have to purchase a domain individually, it usually costs around ten to 15 euros per year.
Technical support: Depending on your level of knowledge, you can do a lot yourself when it comes to your website. If you are technically knowledgeable, you will save yourself the technical maintenance. These costs around 20 euros per month, depending on the service provider.
SSL: If you have a good website, you should also think about an SSL certificate. If this is not included in the hosting package for free, an additional few hundred euros per year can be incurred.
The variable costs
If you want to use additional services, there are costs for search engine optimization, marketing, texts, social media support, legal advice, tax advice, programming or design. These additional costs can be written off for tax purposes depending on the situation. For example, if you have a website created by an external service provider, this can be written off as expenses over two to three years. When it comes to business homepages, there is no question that marketing is a very central issue.
On the one hand, if you want to advertise and sell products or services via the website, but also, on the other hand, to draw the attention of potential customers to your website and generate clicks. Marketing is therefore a little more expensive, but there are also many ways which bargain hunters will please. Before we move on to the various savings tips for setting up a website, we would first like to introduce you to different homepage variants.
Blog: You use a blog to publish texts, opinions, articles or even photo portfolios and to achieve interaction with others. Perhaps you enjoy cooking, always trying out the tastiest recipes and would like to share the latest recipe with the world, for example – you can share your experiences on a blog. Just write a little text, add a few photos or videos and you’re done! Since the blog is usually purely private, you can even run it completely free of charge.
Private website: On a private website you post information about any topic you want. For example, if you are a real interior design expert ManoMano Codes, you can explain the different types and furnishing styles in different categories on your website and provide links to renowned magazines or designers. Since this is not for commercial purposes and you do not want to earn any money via the website, it can also be created free of charge, just like the blog. However, if you want to make money by, for example, giving wallpaper tips with affiliate links, then you also have to pay attention to taxes and business registration.
Business website: Making money is at the heart of any business website. Attract customers, inform customers, and convince customers to buy, regardless savings of whether it is a product or a service – your goal is to generate sales. This could be the online presence of your flower shop, for example. Show off the adorable violets in full bloom, give tips on care and convey that you have enough in store. Show yourself from the good side and convince the customer that you are more than the usual flower shop – the customer will find a true flower lover and expert in you. In this way, you attract buyers to the store via the website and achieve the desired sale. However, it is important to achieve a large reach with the website – that is, online marketing is necessary. How you can save.
Online store: According to the coupon site like Wadav.com, the key difference, however, is that you offer the products (but also services) directly in the online shop and the customer can purchase them with a click – then you usually send the product to the buyer. You can also connect the online shop directly to your business website – in this way, the buyer will find information that will convince him and can make the purchase without hesitation. Online payment methods, free shipping and a large variety of products in stock are unbeatable aspects for the client. So it depends again on the optimal online presence. How you can achieve this cost-effectively, now comes – don’t miss out savings tip.
1. Use free graphics
Find free pictures on the internet. Many websites such as gettyimage.com, shutterstock.com or istockphoto.com offer you numerous images, graphics, illustrations and emoji’s free of charge, which you can legally use on your website. Just create a link to the owner of the photo and you’re done. You don’t have to hire an expensive graphic designer.
2. Use a website builder
Instead of having to have them programmed, you use templates or themes for WordPress that have a completely finished design and have been designed by professional web designers. So you can be sure of the quality of these. The host of the kit gives you many savings design options that work perfectly for a wide variety of purposes savings. You can customize the colors, shapes and structure of the website with just a few clicks.
3. Your private social media account serves as a marketing tool
Use your own social media presence to promote your website. This can be done free of charge via your private profile or via a business profile with paid advertising in, for example, Facebook or Instagram.
Post photos or videos on your profile or stories. Interact with other members, write interesting descriptions about your products or let so-called influencers report on your services in their profiles. If you want Facebook or Instagram to do the work for you, you can run paid advertising. It is enough if you spend three to five euros a day to place advertisements and thus attract interested parties to your website. Please note, however, that you use private information and images sparingly in social networks. Especially if you also use the channels for business.
4. Do research on social networks
Photos and videos are becoming increasingly important in online marketing. In addition, each of us now spends a certain amount of time on social media platforms every day. Advertising and online appearances have to become more and more concise, as we all consume a gigantic amount of data in a matter of seconds. Do the right research by getting to know your target audience better. This may be on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or other platforms. You can use pictures, comments, groups and other options to find out what your target savings group specifically wants.
5. Keep it simple
Less is more. This also applies to your online presence. Too much data or sub-categories on your homepage make it difficult for visitors to orientate themselves. The simpler you make the website and your goal, the lower the costs will usually be. For anyone who pursues non-commercial purposes with their website, it is advisable to use the website builder and to use their private social media profile to advertise the website. There are absolutely no costs. If you are pursuing commercial-professional goals, many hosts offer you templates for marketing funnels, online shops and digital payment methods. These are available for a small surcharge and are ideally matched to the basic structure of the website from the modular system.
6. Have your website programmed
If there is no other option than to design your online presence completely individually, you can of course do this and have an expert and web designer programmed it. Without question, this special programming is a little more expensive – it depends on your budget and your wishes. However savings, the hosts of the website construction kit also offer individual programming services. Since these hosts are large companies with many programmers, the cost of such a service is much lower than if you hire the private IT company in the neighborhood.