An article by Darrell Wilkins on 14 Mar 2022
Summary: Most B2B FinTechs should invest between £25k and £2.5m on their websites each year. If you’re not sure what to budget, ask yourself: Is your website as valuable to your firm as your marketing director? If so, spend the same on both.
Many FinTech marketers aren’t sure how much to spend on their websites — both on an initial build and on an ongoing basis for optimisation.
The short answer is most B2B firms should invest between £25k to £2.5m on their websites each year. But that’s a huge price range. And the long answer isn’t that simple.
Below we provide a breakdown of what you will get at several price points. More importantly, learn why the value your website provides your company — not the price tag — should determine your budget.
Why Website Budget Matters
Your FinTech has something to lose whether you spend too little or too much on your website. That’s why finding the right balance and budget is crucial to the success of your site.
Underspending can lead to a false economy. You pay less for your website upfront, but it’s cumbersome and expensive to update or improve because of the way it was built. Underspending can also mean you’re leaving money on the table; your less-than-stellar website isn’t converting visitors to customers.
Conversely, overspending on your website is simply a waste of resources that could have been allocated elsewhere.
You’ve probably been burned on a website project before. Select the right budget and you’ll avoid repeating your over- or under- spending mistakes.
Approach Your Website Project from a Value Perspective
Despite its importance, many firms never arrive at the right budget. That’s because they approach their website projects with a “How much will this cost?” mindset. Instead, you should ask yourself how much value your website will create for your business. From there, you can determine the financial investment necessary to gain that value.
When considering the value of your website, remember that your site is not just about marketing. It’s also about:
- Your partners. Many FinTechs rely on relationships with other organisations. For instance, you might have a card issuing partner if you’re a banking startup. A standout “Partnerships” section on your website is a powerful promotional tool for both you and the partner business.
- Your investors and/or financers. Anyone visiting your website wants to be impressed — but especially people who might give you money.
- Your customer service team. A comprehensive customer support section on your website will cut down on the number of person-to-person interactions your customer service team needs to field. That will save you a ton of time and money.
- Your recruitment efforts. A quality “Jobs” section on your website can pay for your entire build. Recruiters charge approximately 20% of a hired recruit’s salary. That’s £60k or more for a developer. So, every recruit who applies through your site rather than through a recruiter will save you £12,000. Ten jobs a year is a £120k savings.
There are usually other teams with separate budgets that are responsible for partners, recruitment or customer service. Getting them to work together can unlock additional funds to create features that benefit everyone.
Even if your website were “just” about marketing and getting new business, its value would still be unmatched. Say you have clients who spend millions of pounds over the course of their relationships with your firm. You only need to gain one new client from your website build to see a positive ROI — even if you spend a million pounds on that build! In reality, a good website will deliver far more value than that. And you probably won’t spend a million pounds (more below, but you can get a truly great website for £500k).
Spread Your Website Budget over Multiple Years
Your website can become more expensive than it needs to be if you spend too much money on the initial build. Yes, the initial build is a big outlay. But most of the work on your website should be done over an 18 to 24-month period, post-launch.
With that in mind, don’t front load your website feature list. Many companies make their initial builds far too big and end up with wasted features their customers never wanted. To conserve funds, grow your website over time based on research, feedback, and identified needs.
As YAGNI originator Ron Jeffries says, “Always implement things when you actually need them, never when you just foresee that you may need them.”
We recommend budgeting over three years. Spend 50% of your funds on the initial build and 50% on continuous website improvement. That way, your site is able to grow and adapt alongside your company and the ever-changing FinTech landscape — without going over budget.
Breaking Down Price Points for Website Budgets
Now that you have an idea of how you should approach budgeting for your FinTech’s site, let’s look at what the actual numbers get you. Note that each of these figures is a per year cost. Planning to invest annually reinforces the importance of continuous improvement and optimisation.
At £2,500/year you can expect…
- Off-the-shelf basics
- Zero build or post-build support
- Poor outcomes across the board
At £25k/year you can expect…
- Customised templates (your own version of someone else’s site)
- No industry- or domain-specific advice or guidance
- Delivery by generalist developers — not industry specialists
- Average outcomes (at best)
At £100-£250k/year you can expect…
- A team of experts to guide you at all stages
- Specific, customised advice
- A high-quality, bespoke website tailored to your needs
- Domain expertise
- Excellent outcomes
At £2.5m/year you can expect…
- The very best of everything
- World class outcomes
If you’re still not sure how much to spend on your website or if any of these price points seem astronomical, ask yourself a simple question. Is your website as valuable to your company as your c-suite marketing director? If so, spend about the same on your site as you would on them each year. You’d never expect to get a quality CMO candidate for £25k per year. Why expect a high performance website for that price?
No Matter Your Budget, Invest in Expertise
The most expensive part of a website is building the wrong thing. Followed closely by changing your mind. That’s why, no matter which price point feels right for you, spend enough to hire a consultancy led development partner..
The point of investing in consultants is so you don’t build the wrong thing. Effective consultants will advise you on what your website needs to reach your business goals — before, during, and after it’s built.
If you’re looking for someone to blindly implement your wishes, go with a run of the mill agency. Or even an off-the-shelf website builder. But if you’re looking for guidance on creating a truly effective website for your FinTech, find the right consultancy. You will save money in the medium to long-term and get far better results.