Today, the Internet is a full-scale virtual world- with multi-billion users, millions of services, unique virtual identity and of course, a highly prosperous economy. So, it is only plausible to say that online presence has become more of a compulsion than a matter of choice, no matter what service you provide or the what product you sell,
But since it is a major business decision with the potential to make or break the future prospects, you should trust only the top website development companies that along with their technical expertise, can also lend you the market outlook.
But here is the problem- though website development isn’t as expensive as app development, it isn’t also cheap either. Especially, if you get your website built by top web developers. And it is at this stage that most of the businesses begin to falter when their cost is judged against the quality they deliver. More often than not, you end up making the wrong choice.
So, if you wish to make an informed move, you need to first realize that there are indeed two types of costs involved: 1. The one you save in the short run; 2. The one you have to pay in the long run.
To reduce cost and time of your web development, you can resort to:
1. Open-source development
There are many open-source web development tools that you can use to cut costs, which would otherwise be spent on propriety solutions. Some of the finest applications we use today are built using open-source tools like Magento, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal.
2. Third-party tools
Most of the common features you see in websites can be implemented using third-party tools and plugins, that along with being cost-effective are quick and easy-to-deploy. Using such tools is, in fact, the most feasible solution for those looking to hit the market at the earliest and aren’t much into customization.
3. Minimum viable product
This is possibly the only option you have in order to save considerable bucks while keeping the future prospects of a quality product open. The idea is to invest your limited resources into creating a high-quality small application than a low-quality full-scale web application.
But if you take that route to have short-term benefits, these are long-term costs that you may have to bear:
Read More: How Much Does a Magento Website Development Cost?
Scalability
A web application built using a myriad of different third-party tools is known to frequently break down. Scaling such application to serve larger audience than it was initially meant to, is simply very tough. The only solution you will have is to create a new application from scratch, that eventually will result in higher costs than you saved in the first place.
Security
Thousands of websites are hacked each day. Do you think that the hacker visits each site individually to figure out its vulnerabilities and then breach the security? Absolutely not.
What they do instead is find the vulnerability in third-party tools and it is at this point that every website using that tool becomes susceptible to security attacks and they can do nothing about it unless that third-party releases a patch. So, unless you deploy custom solutions developed in-house, you will continue to run your business on the mercy of third-party.
Patenting
If you expect your business to grow on a large-scale, you would also want to secure your solution as an intellectual property. But if your solution itself is developed using different third-party tools, you have no protection against plagiarism, and anyone is free to copy your product and sell as their own.
In the end, it all comes down to individual preferences and how they wish to shape their business in the future. However, we suggest is that you should be sensitive about value-for-money because a free lunch is not something that you can rely your business upon.
Read More: How Much Does it Cost to Develop a WordPress Site?
