Or what I’d do if I didn’t have Netstudio and wanted to build my first site or eshop for less than €1,500
The problem with website development
Since 2005, when I started building websites, even from the very first days, I met people—usually freelancers or small business owners—who tried to build a website or eshop and got burned.
I clearly remember one case, from my very first meetings, where someone told me they waited three years to get the website they had paid for. Someone else explained how disappointed they were with their site developer, because they either couldn’t reach them or, when they did, communication was tough. When they asked for additions or improvements, these either took ages or were done poorly, so they ended up rebuilding with another web designer.
At first, these stories surprised me. Soon, I realized these cases were the rule, not the exception. Nineteen years have passed since then, and not a week goes by without hearing at least two new stories like this.
I read somewhere a few years ago that 70% of web designer and developer clients are dissatisfied. In another study, I saw that 50% of paid web design projects are delivered late and with defects, 25% are never delivered at all, and only in 25% of cases do things go smoothly. I wrote a related article on our blog in 2018, which you can see here: https://www.netstudio.gr/blog/70-percent-of-web-projects-fail.
The solution that’s not for everyone
The solution, which isn’t possible for everyone, is to choose a reputable company with positive client feedback, experience, and a complete team. This is the safe option, but it’s also expensive. A company with these qualities charges a lot. You get what you pay for. Established companies in the field charge over €5,000 for a presentation site, and if it’s custom design, that goes over €12,000. For an eshop, companies like ours charge from €15,000 and up, and if the project is demanding, it can go over €50,000 or even €100,000. These amounts sound astronomical to someone just starting out, especially when a quick Google search brings up website development from €250 and eshop development from as little as €700.
The risk
With low budgets, the risk of ending up with someone who leaves your project unfinished, does a poor job, or disappears after delivery is much higher.
Think about it: the person you pick to build your site or eshop is basically someone you’re “married” to for at least three years. The real risk isn’t just losing money, but losing time, getting frustrated, and missing out on opportunities.
This guide gives you the info you need, along with some tips I’d follow myself if I didn’t have Netstudio and wanted to build a site or eshop on a budget.
Understanding the Greek web development market
First, it’s important to understand a few things about the web development market in Greece. Some numbers help:
- As of March 2024, there are more than 1,000 web development companies active in Greece. (Yes, I’ve counted them1.)
- None of these companies has more than a 3% market share. The web development market is completely fragmented.
- Out of these 1,000 companies, about 800 are one- or two-person businesses.
- About 150 companies have 3 to 10 people.
- About 50 companies have 10 to 30 people.
- Roughly 30 have over 30 people, and about 15 of those have over 50 staff, with 2-3 having more than 100.
- This landscape keeps changing, with a trend toward companies getting bigger as demand grows.
- Generally, demand for web development services is higher than supply. That’s why thousands of freelancers, students, and even high schoolers try to get a piece of the market—some registered, some not—offering website and eshop services. Among them are people who’ve never done it before (but claim to be experienced and capable on their sites), and some who really are experienced (usually employees at web companies) who take on side projects for extra income.
- From my experience, most companies and freelancers can pull off a basic presentation website. When it comes to eshops, less than 10% can deliver successfully. Only a handful (less than 5%) can handle custom development like ERP integrations, courier links, automations, and so on. Because demand is higher than supply, even fewer can offer decent support after delivery.
Tips
Here are some things to watch for if you want a decent result on a low budget.
First, you should know there are two types of work web developers do. One is development (writing code for custom solutions), and the other is site building, where they use ready-made tools and plugins to build sites and eshops. The skills, time, and costs for each are very different.
Big companies charge more, not because they’re greedy (if you look at the balance sheets of most large companies, you’ll see they have low profit margins and some even run at a loss), but because the real cost of web development is high. Programmer salaries are high because developers are hard to find. Any developer can go abroad or work remotely for foreign companies for double or triple the pay.
Companies or freelancers who offer low prices do it by selling ready-made packages with very little customization and almost no development. That’s why they can’t meet every client request. The most common phrase people hear after buying a cheap site or eshop is “that can’t be done.”
With all that in mind, here’s how you can get a low-budget website or eshop.
1. Don’t ask for too much. Compromise (keep it simple)
Don’t ask for things beyond the developer’s capabilities. Low-cost developers are usually site builders who can quickly and cheaply deliver the package they offer, but they’ll get expensive, slow, or might not deliver at all if you ask for every feature you’ve seen on other sites or eshops that’s outside their skill set.
One way to check their abilities is to look at their portfolio. It takes time to check features and functions, but it’s worth it if it helps you avoid headaches later.
Settling for less, especially at the start, isn’t a bad thing. Early on, it’s better to get your site live quickly than to try to add every feature and gadget, which only adds time and cost. Every extra feature means more cost and complexity, and a higher chance you won’t get the result you want. That’s one of the main reasons projects fail—not just small ones, but big ones too.
2. Do your research (call their clients)
You don’t need me to tell you to get written quotes. You’d do that anyway. But that alone won’t protect you. Everyone who got burned by cheap developers did that too. What they didn’t do—and what I strongly recommend—is call the developer’s clients and ask about their experience.
This step alone will help you weed out the “cowboys” in the market. And trust me, there are plenty.
3. Get involved in the project yourself
We, and most big companies, provide a Project Manager who guides you and helps you gather everything needed to get your site or eshop live.
With low-budget sites, the developer can’t offer consulting. So you’ll need to get involved yourself. Read up and learn how a site should be set up. You can start with the video “The 4 most important things in website development.” Watch it here: https://www.netstudio.gr/blog/4-critical-points. Don’t be surprised if even “experienced” developers don’t know these basics.
4. Avoid closed or rare technologies
Most big companies in Greece, including us, have built their own site and eshop platforms. For the low-cost end of the market, I suggest you avoid closed or rare technologies. You might want to switch developers if you’re not getting enough support.
Open and popular technologies where you can easily find another provider include WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify, PrestaShop, Drupal, Joomla, OpenCart.
Avoid technologies and frameworks like Python, Django, .NET, Typo3, Ruby & Ruby On Rails, Node.js, Laravel, where it’ll be much harder to find another provider if things don’t work out with the first one.
5. Ask for all the access codes from the start
A common complaint from people who got burned by cheap developers is access to their site, server, domain, and content. These terms might sound unfamiliar now, but pay attention to the following:
- The domain should be registered in your name and with your email. Not the developer’s name. Not their email.
- Ask for full admin access to the site.
- Ask for server access. You’ll probably only need it if you ever move your site to another hosting provider, but it’s good to have it from the start.
- Ask them to show you how to back up your site, and don’t forget to save backups (on your own storage) regularly.
- Ask for the costs of services you won’t add to your site right away. For example, how much will it cost in the future to connect with your business software or a new payment method? Can they do it? And since most will just say “yes,” ask if they’ve actually done it before and for which clients.
- Ask where your emails will be stored. On the same server as your site, or on a separate service like Google Workspace?
Conclusion
The list above doesn’t cover every possible thing that can go wrong, but it does cover about 80% of them. I tried to keep the most important points, so they’re easy to understand and check, especially if you’re just starting out and not familiar with a lot of the terms and concepts in the field.
I hope these tips help you get your site and eshop up and running with as little hassle as possible.
I’d love to hear about your experience, and what you think should be added to this guide to help others.
You can send me your experiences and thoughts at yannis@netstudio.gr, or call me at 2108004447, extension 1.
Good luck!
1 The list was started by the Hellenic Association of Internet Companies (SEDE) and is available, along with my own additions, to its members.
