The Hidden Costs Of Getting A Website

Almost 50% of Scottish tourism businesses do not have a website. The belief that the costs outweigh the benefits is one of the major reasons why companies don't invest in online marketing. But the vast majority of those 50% that do have a website face one common problem.

Most people believe building the website itself is the most expensive part. Most people don't even budget for marketing the website or maintaining it on a regular basis. The few that do, set aside a small advertising budget, after all, how much can promoting a website cost? All these businesses are bound to hit the barrier of cost at the worst possible moment.

After the money for building the website is spent, companies find that they've focused too much on the tool that puts them in touch with online tourists and did not budget sufficiently for attracting them to the website in the first place. It's bad enough realising that getting a successful website off the ground is costly but it's even worse realising it when you've already invested in it.

The 'hidden' costs of having a website are responsible for the vast majority of businesses caught in limbo -- with a website that doesn't work for them but in which they've already invested substantial resources.

Today's online travel marketplace raises the stakes for all Scottish businesses. You must place less emphasis on producing the website itself and more on using it to attract and convert prospects into paying customers.

How To Deal With Hidden Costs

Once you've had a website built for your business, there's not a lot you can do to make it work without pouring additional resources into it. When starting fresh, however, consider the following list of possible expenses:

• Hosting and registration - annual expense
• Website building - one time expense
• Maintenance - occasional expense
• Website promotion and advertising - continous expense
• Measuring performance and ROI - continous expense
• Adding new content - occasional expense if using a professional copywriter
• Other expenses can include running a newsletter, adding new website features, consultancy fees, etc.

If you find that you do not have the resources for both building and marketing a website, it might be time to look at other ways to promote your business online for the time being. Knowing all possible expenses in advance helps you avoid running out of money with nothing to show for it.