So you want a professionally designed and built business website for just $500? In your company colours, with brilliant navigation, loaded with SEO goodness and featured on the first page of Google within weeks?

Would you like it to automate sales with a easy to use back-end, a selling machine that makes all your dreams come true? Oh and would you like a high level of customer service as well?

Listen up, there is no such thing as a professionally designed and built business website for $500. The sooner you realise that, the sooner your online business will grow and prosper. 

Many of ClickWebDesign's new clients require website redesigns and rebuilds after realising their cheap existing websites just aren't effective at reaching customers. As the saying goes: "pay peanuts, get monkeys".

From our experience, at the $500 range, you'll find yourself dealing with one of three types of business website designers. Let's meet the trio, and learn how to spot them.

The Offshore Website Designer

Go ahead, use a guy from a third world country who can offer you business website design for $2.50 per hour. It can work ...but you need to be able to communicate effectively between cultural and language barriers (over email), not to mention complications with time zones. Taking action over poor quality international website design is near impossible.

The Flash Website Designer

This guy (or girl) promises you the all singing all dancing website! You're usually left with a flash-based business website design that will never see any visitors from Google (Google can't read flash websites!). Forget being able to reach more customers; you'll be lucky if anyone ever finds your site, let alone wants to do business with you! Once your basic page is complete, the Flash website designer will either grumble and charge for minor updates or disappear from your radar completely.

Your Nephew's Housemate's Friend

Also known as the "I built a website once I can do one for you!" guy. Count on minimal experience, a very basic website and a poor understanding of what it really takes to create an online presence that will reach more customers and automate sales. Don't ask for too many changes from the template. You may not hear from them after their nervous breakdown!

How to pick them out!

Before you commit to a business website design, ask the following questions to avoid the characters above.

• Will your website be Flash free?
• Will your site be a custom design, not an off the shelf template?
• Will it use the Joomla or Wordpress content management system?
• Will your website be submitted to Google and a Google Analytics account created?
• Will you receive keyword research and a search engine ranking report?
• Is ongoing phone and email support included?
• Are security upgrades included to prevent hacking?
• Will your business website be hosted in Australia?
• Can you see a design portfolio of business websites?
• Can you contact some current clients?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, find someone else. Business website design for $500 could mean the end of your online business before it's even established!

Don't base your choice of website designer on price alone. It is the backbone of your online business success, your website designer needs to be a dependable business ally. Save yourself the waste, do it right the first time, and enjoy the return on your investment!