Thinking of building a website? Want to know your options?  This article is an opinion. It is a basic explanation of the main types of website options available in the market place. There are plenty of variations to these three options, but these are the most common choices one might find. This is not a post about design principles, calls-to-actions, measuring results, or calculating ROI. 

Option 1: The free version. 
Basically, you can sign up for a free website (or a near free website) at about a million places. These websites are template based and are not  unique to the millions of other template based websites.

Pros: This is a fabulous way for a business to prove out a concept or a need for a website. A lot of non tech start-ups begin here.  Obviously, you get what you pay for and this is the cheapest way to get a presence on the internet. You can always upgrade later.

Cons: Your site will look like a million other sites out there. You should be able to include your logo and you will have a limited ability to change content and customize imagery on your site.  The bottom line: there is nothing special about this type of site, but at least people can look up information about you and your company.

Where to go:  Search for "free website" in Google. There are thousands of options. 

Pricing: $0 - $20/month

Option 2: The custom static site  
Basically, this site will give your company a uniquely visually stimulating representation on the web.  This site is basically a collection of HTML web pages with pretty graphics on it.

Pros: If your business needs that professional look and feel and you must be able to present a specific image to your clients and potential clients, then this is the site for you.  No one else will have quite the same look and feel. Development time is usually fast. You can always upgrade later.

Cons: The biggest problem with these types of sites is that you will usually have to rebuild each page when a change is needed. That means paying a programmer $100-$200/hr for simple changes. After a few years the costs can add up. Another drawback is lack of functionality. Typically these sites work great for 'information only' websites. If you need to build any functionality or use e-commerce, this type of site will not support it. The only way to get special functionality to work is to link offsite to other systems and you have no control over those other systems.

Where to go:  A wide range of options including: professional design shops, a great graphics person, your niece or nephew, a high school student, etc..

Pricing: $3,000 - $30,000+ and $100-$200/hr in support.

Option 3: The Content Management System (CMS) website
This site will give your company a uniquely visually stimulating representation on the web PLUS the ability to update information at any time of your chosing without having to pay a programmer PLUS allows for any amount of special functionality to be built within the platform.  This is the type of site successful businesses and corporations use.

Pros: This site gives your company a professional look and feel that no one else uses.  Need Survey's? No problem. Need a shopping cart/e-commerce? No problem. Need integration to an accounting system? No problem. Need integration into your corporate intranet and Active Directory? No problem. This type of site can do anything that is needed. It is 100% custom to your business. It is also the type of site that should have the lowest total cost of ownership and puts the most control into your hands.

Cons: The cost. This type of site has the highest initial purchase price even though it should have to lowest total cost of ownership. The development time is usually a lot longer than any other option. The quality of the site depends on the graphics team AND the development team. Make sure you have a great team on both fronts.

Where to go:   www.DallasPartners.com or any top-tier web development studio. Make sure you get references. These projects are not cheap but like any of these options, quality does not equal price and references are the best way to get a feel for how well a company executes.

Pricing: $16,000 - $175,000+  initial cost depending on what is included in the project.