You found a freelancer on Fiverr who'll build your website for $500. Or maybe a local "web guy" who charges $1,200. Seems like a steal compared to the $10,000 quotes you got from agencies.
But here's what actually happens.
The Cheap Website Cycle
Month 1: You get your website. It looks... okay. Not great, but functional. You're happy you saved money.
Month 3: You notice it's slower than your competitor's site. The mobile version is kind of broken. But hey, it works.
Month 6: You want to add a feature. Your developer says it'll cost almost as much as the original site. Also, they're busy and can't start for two months.
Month 9: Something breaks. Your developer stopped responding. You hire someone else to fix it. They say the code is a mess and recommend rebuilding.
Month 12: You're rebuilding with a proper developer, spending more than you would have in the first place.
Sound familiar?
What You Actually Get for Cheap
Cheap websites aren't cheap because developers are being generous. They're cheap because corners were cut. Let's talk about which corners.
Template Hacks, Not Custom Design
Your site is a $30 ThemeForest template with your logo slapped on it. Same template 10,000 other sites are using.
The template has 100 features you don't need (and that slow everything down). The features you DO need don't quite work right, but were hacked in with duct tape and prayers.
Amateur Code
The code works. Sort of. For now. But it's not maintainable, not secure, and not scalable. It's held together with plugins that conflict with each other, hardcoded values, and practices that were outdated five years ago.
When you need to change something, you'll discover that changing one thing breaks three other things. Because everything is connected in ways that don't make sense.
No Real Strategy
Nobody asked you what your business goals are. Nobody thought about your users. Nobody planned for growth.
They just made a thing that looks like a website. Whether it actually serves your business? That wasn't part of the $500.
Zero Support
Something breaks? Cool, that'll be another $200 to fix. Want to add a page? $150. Need to update content? Hope you remember how to log in, because your developer isn't answering.
Poor Performance
Your site takes 8 seconds to load because nobody optimized anything. Images are 5MB. Scripts are loading in stupid ways. Caching? What's caching?
Your mobile site is broken because nobody actually tested it. They just assumed the template was "responsive" and called it a day.
SEO Disaster
The site technically exists on the internet, but Google can't find it because nobody did basic SEO setup. No meta descriptions, no structured data, no sitemap, broken links, slow load times.
You're paying for a website that nobody will ever see.
The Real Costs
Let's add up what that $500 website actually costs you.
Lost Customers
Your site is slow, looks unprofessional, doesn't work right on mobile. Potential customers bounce within seconds.
If you're a local business and you're losing just 5 customers a month because of your website, at $200 profit per customer, that's $12,000 a year in lost revenue. Your $500 savings just cost you $12,000.
Lost Search Rankings
Your competitor's site loads faster, works better, and is properly optimized. Google ranks them higher. They get the customers. You get nothing.
How much is each spot in search results worth to your business? Probably more than you saved on your website.
Endless Fixes
Every time you need something done, it's another few hundred dollars. Add a contact form that actually works. Fix the mobile menu. Speed up the site. Update security.
After a year of small fixes, you've spent more than you would have for a proper site in the first place.
Your Time
How many hours have you spent:
- Trying to figure out how to update your site
- Dealing with things that are broken
- Going back and forth with your unresponsive developer
- Finding someone new when they disappear
- Explaining the mess to the next person
Your time has value. At $100/hour, 20 hours is $2,000. And you've probably spent more than 20 hours dealing with website problems.
The Eventual Rebuild
Eventually, you'll rebuild. Because cheap websites don't last. You'll spend what you should have spent initially, PLUS everything you already spent on the cheap site.
The cheap site was just a very expensive delay.
When Cheap Makes Sense
Look, sometimes budget is genuinely tight. There are scenarios where starting cheap makes sense:
You're just testing an idea and need something online quick. A basic site to validate your business model before investing seriously.
You're a true startup with more time than money and you can build some of it yourself.
You literally just need a one-page business card online and nothing will ever change.
But if your website is actually important to your business, if it's how customers find you or buy from you, if you need it to work properly and grow with you? Don't go cheap.
What "Not Cheap" Actually Gets You
When you work with someone who charges appropriately, you're paying for:
Strategy - They figure out what you actually need
Custom work - Built for your specific business, not a template hack
Quality code - Maintainable, secure, scalable
Performance - Fast, optimized, works everywhere
SEO - Built to be found by search engines
Support - When something needs fixing or updating
Your time back - Things just work, so you can focus on your business
How to Not Get Ripped Off
Paying more doesn't guarantee quality. Some expensive developers are just expensive, not good. Here's how to spend smart:
Look at their previous work - Does it look good? Work well? Can you see actual results?
Ask about their process - Do they ask questions about your business or just quote you blind?
Check references - Talk to their past clients. Are those clients happy? Did they get results?
Understand what you're getting - What's included? What's extra? Who owns the code? What happens after launch?
Get it in writing - Scope, timeline, costs. No surprises.
The Bottom Line
A website is an investment in your business, not an expense to minimize.
A cheap website that doesn't work is worth less than nothing. It's actively costing you customers, rankings, time, and eventually the cost to rebuild properly.
A proper website pays for itself by:
- Converting more visitors
- Ranking better in search
- Looking professional
- Just working without constant fixes
Yes, it costs more upfront. But it costs less in the long run, and actually makes you money instead of losing it.
Still trying to figure out your budget? Talk to us. We'll be straight with you about what makes sense for your situation.