Approximately 48 percent of internet users say that website design is the most important factor to consider when judging a business’s credibility.

Do you need help launching a website for your business? Do you want to make sure it looks good, but don’t have a lot to spend on the design process?

If you said “yes” to either of these questions, you’ve come to the right place. Listed below are 10 easy-to-follow steps that will help you create a website while on a tight budget.

1. Start with Clear Goals

It doesn’t matter if you want to create an eCommerce site to help with online sales or a blog that helps you provide more value to your customers. Whatever your reasons are for building a website for your business, you need to make sure your goals are clearly defined before you get started.

When you take the time to brainstorm and write down your goals, it’s easier to establish what your website does and doesn’t need. This, in turn, helps you to create and stick to a realistic budget.

For example, let’s say your goals don’t include creating an online sales platform for your business. If this is the case, there’s no need to spend a lot of money on eCommerce features that your audience isn’t going to use.

2. Choose the Right Platform

If you’re going to build your website yourself, you’ll need to do some research to find the best design platform.

These days, there are lots of cost-effective website design platforms that allow you to create a good-looking, user-friendly website with just a few clicks. The downside to these is that they can be somewhat limited when it comes to templates and design options, but they are relatively affordable for most business owners.

When you’re looking for a website design platform, remember to look beyond the monthly or yearly price tag. Pay attention to what you get in exchange for each price, too. Otherwise, you may end up spending more money on upgrades and add-ons than you would if you’d chosen the slightly higher-priced plan in the beginning.

3. Look for Free Fonts and Templates

There are plenty of free fonts and templates you can use to customize your website and create a design that lines up with your brand.

If you decide to use a website building platform, you’ll have access to a variety of templates that will help you personalize it and find a layout that looks good and is easy for your customers to understand and navigate.

If you don’t mind spending a little bit of money, you can also buy themes online through sites like Etsy. This can be a good middle ground for those who have limited budgets but still value customization.

As for fonts, you can find lots of free options through the Google Fonts catalog. Through this catalog, you can narrow down your search based on a variety of criteria and find a font that is on brand and easy to read.

4. Eliminate Unnecessary Features

When creating a website with a tight budget, take care to eliminate features that aren’t needed. In general, the simpler your website is, the more affordable it will be.

This is why setting and agreeing upon goals early on is important. When you figure out what you want out of a website, it’s easier to decide which features are needed and which ones can be avoided.

Keep in mind, you can always update your website and add more features in the future.

If you’re looking to just create a basic website so that you can start building your online presence, it might be worth it for you to forego some fancy elements for the time being. Then, when you have more money to work with later, you can go back and talk to a designer or developer about adding in some of the features you sacrificed in the beginning.

5. Focus on Clean Design

On a similar note, if you want to save money and still make sure your website is appealing to your audience, focus on clean design elements.

Whether you’re building a website yourself or working with a professional, a clean, minimalistic design can often help you to save money since you don’t have to invest in as many features, fonts, images, and other design elements. It will also make your website look more credible and will make it easier to navigate.

What does clean design entail? The following are a few elements that most often fall under this umbrella:

• Lots of white space
• No unnecessary photos, videos, or icons
• Limited fonts (1-2 is plenty)
• Easy-to-read typography
• White, light, or neutral colors
• Contrast between backgrounds and text

6. Prioritize User Experience

When creating a budget for your business’s website, be sure to prioritize user experience.

The term “user experience” refers to the ways that a user interacts with and experiences a website. This includes their perception of how efficient and useful it is, as well as how easy it is to navigate.

Making the user experience a priority right from the start reduces the amount of money you’ll have to spend down the line on improvements and updates.

Prioritizing user experience can also help you to make more money (and see a return on your investment sooner) since people will be more inclined to continue coming back to your website and more interested in buying what you’re selling.

7. Be Your Own Content Creator

Could you pay someone to write all your website copy for you? Yes.

Is this the most cost-effective option? Probably not.

It will require a greater time investment on your part but creating your own content will help you to save money upfront. If you handle content creation on your own, you’ll also have more money left over to spend on other things (such as improving the website’s user experience).

When you create content yourself, you can also get your website up and running faster. You won’t have to wait for a copywriter to return and edit multiple drafts. Instead, you’ll be able to launch the website and start making money sooner.

8. Be Your Own Content Manager

Perhaps you don’t feel comfortable making updates and adjustments to the website by yourself. If you decide to work with a professional for this part of the job, perhaps you can make up for the expense by managing your content on your own.

Even if you can’t handle updating the actual site, you can likely handle the process of making updates to your landing pages, adding new items to your online store, and refreshing blog posts.

Doing these tasks on your own will help you stretch your budget a little further. It will help you to further familiarize yourself with your website, too, which will come in handy in the future.

9. Establish a Maintenance Schedule

It’s cheaper to maintain a website than it is to make major updates or changes because your website is outdated or has poor security.

When you’re finished creating your website (if not sooner), sit down and create a maintenance schedule. This schedule might include testing pages to ensure they load properly, updating the core website software and plugins, and checking and eliminating spam comments and accounts.

Be sure to set reminders for each item on your maintenance schedule, too. That way, you won’t forget to keep up with them.

10. Consider Hiring a Professional

Last, but not least, don’t be afraid to hire a professional to help you create your business’s website. At first, you might assume that a professional website developer or designer is out of your budget. However, you shouldn’t be so quick to write them off.

There are lots of website developers and designers who are looking to gain experience and build their portfolios. In exchange for a chance to refine their skills, they often charge lower rates than their competitors.

Many developers and designers offer financing options, too. This makes it easier for you to get the website you’ve always wanted without having to fork over a ton of money all at once.

Keep in mind, too, that investing in professional website creation now can help you save money in the long run.

A professional is more likely to do a good job the first time around. This means you don’t have to spend more money later to fix your website after you’ve made a bunch of mistakes trying to handle it yourself.

Professionals understand the importance of website maintenance, too. They’ll make sure your website always stays up-to-date and functional.

Invest in Budget-Friendly Web Design Today

You don’t have to sacrifice your website’s design and functionality just because you have a tight budget. When you work with the right design team, you can get a good-looking, high-performing website in no time.

If you’re looking for assistance with web design in Dubai or eCommerce web design in Dubai, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today to get started.