Cheap web design is rarely cheap when the quotation excludes content structure, SEO, accessibility, maintenance or ownership. The initial page may look acceptable, but missing foundations become redesign costs later. Compare proposals by scope, accountability and total operating cost rather than the launch price alone.
Key Takeaways:
- Compare written scope and exclusions, not only the headline price.
- Confirm ownership of the domain, hosting, content, licences and source files.
- Budget for maintenance, security and measurable improvement after launch.
CHEAP WEB DESIGN
Everyone wants a good quality of work with good price, and if you check on keywords research, the search of “Cheap Web Design Malaysia” is 3500+++ monthly compare to “Professional Web Design Malaysia” less than 10.
A website is not just built to pass up
To build a proper website, it requires a lot of effort and time to make it right.
In the example of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), here are some steps that many people didn’t bother with. Many web designers charge extra for these steps. Some even charge more than the website project.
- Install SEO Plugin
- Create a sitemap
- Create and add a robots.txt file to your site
- Integrated with Google Analytics
- Submit to Google Search Console
- Submit to Bing Search Console
On Page SEO Checklist
- Use short, descriptive URLs
- Write a compelling title tag and description
- Use proper heading on page (and include chosen keyword)
- Link to relevant internal and external resources
- optimise your images with descriptive “alt” tags
- Schema markup to enhance SERP visibility (where relevant)
Content Checklist
- Content checking with TextMetrix to use it augmented assisted writing based on scientifically proven algorithms
- Focus on readability
- Use short sentences and paragraphs
Technical SEO Checklist
- Identity (and fix) any crawl errors
- Make sure your site loads FAST
- Fix outbound broken links
- HTTPs (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)
- Make sure your site is mobile‐friendly (70% of web traffic is coming from mobile)
- Fix duplicate content issues
- Does the website loads under 5 sec?
All these are works behind the scenes and need lots of effort to get it right.
Sadly, cheap web designers hardly focus on this.
Above is an example of web agencies that do not understand the important of technical SEO. It takes 27sec to load the website, way lower than the standard of 3 sec.
How Cheap Web Design works?
ThemeForest
Let me introduce ThemeForest to you. It is a WordPress’s theme market place for everyone, all you need is to pay from USD39 to purchase a theme and replace the content based on the demo. Everything can be done in less than 24hrs.
For most people, that is no brainer deals. This is so CHEAP & FAST.
The most common problem of ThemeForest’s multipurpose theme is bloat, hard to maintain in the long run and it affects your SEO.
In the end, you need to rebuild completely for security & SEO.
Nulled Theme / Plugin
Another way is to use nulled theme/plugin. Nulled theme/plugin is a “FREE” version of paid theme/plugin comes with the malicious backdoor.
Some web designers don’t know & don’t understand the risks and the client wouldn’t about it.
Based on my experience of cleaning the hacked website, 90% is due to nulled theme/plugin.
You may check up the story about Nulled Theme/plugin by WebARX
Free Theme / Plugin
There are tons of FREE theme / Plugin in WordPress repository to everyone to use. Big thanks to the developer!
Problem is, there is theme/plugin no longer developed, or haven’t update for years. WordPress itself is very safe due to continently update on the security patch, but if you have a plugin that didn’t update will bring your website security risk.
Here is the list of My Favourite WordPress Plugin, Theme & Tools
Losing Domain
In some case, the agency hijacks the domain and refused to hand over to the client if they found out client no longer need their services.
Website Management
Website is like your house. You need to proper manage for security, offsite backup, SEO, etc.
Website Ownership Malaysia: Access and Handover Guide
Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash
Conclusion
A low-cost web design proposal should solve a defined business and user problem. Put scope, ownership and acceptance criteria in writing, then judge the result through real processes and evidence rather than visual preference alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should an organisation evaluate a low-cost web design proposal?
Start with the business problem, relevant evidence and the provider's operating process. A polished portfolio does not prove that governance, SEO, accessibility or long-term ownership will be handled well.
What should the written scope include?
Define content, templates, integrations, accessibility, performance, SEO, testing, ownership, handover and what is explicitly excluded.
Who should own the website accounts and assets?
The organisation should retain documented control of its domain, hosting, analytics, content, licences and source assets.
