"I Saved Money!"... And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves
Why that $500 website actually cost you $5,000 in lost opportunities
We get it. That Fiverr gig or your Brian's "I know HTML" offer seemed like a steal. But like a $5 sushi buffet, cheap websites come with hidden costs ‐ lost clients, damaged credibility, and that sinking "I need to redo this" feeling.
1. The "Free" Website That Costs You Clients
The Illusion: "I saved $3,000 by using Squarespace!"
The Reality: Your bounce rate is 90% because:
- Mobile users get a broken mess
- Slow loading = Google demotes you
- Generic template = zero memorability
"Our client lost an estimated $18k in sales before redesigning their 'budget' site."
2. The Nephew Special (And Why It Always Backfires)
Why "Brian from IT" isn't enough:
- No strategy (just throwing features at the wall)
- Zero understanding of conversions
- Maintenance? "Uh... I'm at college now"
Actual client horror story: Nephew-built sites often need complete rewrites within 6 months ‐ costing 2x what professional work would have.
3. The Domino Effect of Cheap
| What You Saved | What You Lost |
|---|---|
| $2,000 on design | 20% of potential sales (≈$15k/year) |
| $500 on hosting | 3.2 sec load time → 40% bounce rate |
| $0 on SEO | Page 4 Google ranking (aka the abyss) |
4. When "Cheap" Becomes "Expensive"
The Redesign Tax: Businesses who start cheap typically spend 47% more fixing their site later (Source: Our client data). Why?
- Migrating from messy code
- Rebranding to undo template damage
- Wasted time retraining teams
The Better Than Brian Difference
We build sites that:
- ✅ Convert visitors into customers
- ✅ Grow with your business
- ✅ Save money long-term (no redo's needed)
TL;DR: Pay once for quality, or pay forever fixing "cheap."
🚀 Get It Done Right (The First Time)
