How to Build a Website on a Budget

Starting a private practice is hard. Doing it on a budget? It feels even harder.

You see all these gorgeous websites, gorgeous branding, but when you see how much this actually costs…

You probably start second-guessing in your choices to start a business.

The good news is you don’t need all these fancy things to build a website for your private practice. You need the basics. And the basics can still look good.

I’m going to show you how to build a website on a budget without it looking cheap

What do you actually need to build a website on a budget?

When starting a private practice, your website will act more as a landing page. It likely won’t be the place where your first clients find you.

Showing up in Google takes time. Part of it involves optimizing for keywords (for non-competitive keywords, it takes 3 to 6 months to rank for these searches). It’s also about building your trust and authority on Google, which will ultimately help you rank more often and higher.

This will happen when you start doing guest blog posts, guest podcasting, and when people start linking back to your website. This will increase as you put more content out that is high-quality and relevant to your niche. And this doesn’t happen overnight , you slowly build it over time. A realistic timeline for new businesses is 6 to 12 months.

Networking will likely be what helps get your business off the ground: referrals, connections, and word of mouth. You want a website that gives people the information they need, is easy to use, and directs them to where they can book with you.

You also need a website that can grow with you.

What does a private practice website need to start?

Your initial website needs at least these things:

• A brief description of your services
• A brief description of you and your approach
• Your pricing
• A clear call to action for how to book with you
• FAQs

That’s it. You can put this on a single website page. You can put this on multiple pages. The key is for it to be easy to navigate, fast, and clear.

Build this on a platform that will grow with your business. WordPress has the biggest learning curve compared to platforms like Squarespace or Showit. However, WordPress will give you the most flexibility as you grow, as well as the most control over design and SEO. If this is important to you, I definitely recommend WordPress!

Either way, there will be a learning curve. Pick a platform that will grow with you to minimize how much you need to learn a new platform down the road.

Pricing to expect when building a website

At a minimum you’ll need to purchase a domain name and a hosting/website builder platform.

Domain names range from $10 to $20 per year. Most platforms will give it to you free for your first year.

My recommendation: Hostinger’s Premium plan paired with WordPress is a great starting point with the option to upgrade to the Business plan if needed. This ranges from $2.99 to $3.99 per month for the first one to three years before increasing to $11.99 per month. This also includes weekly backups. Depending on your tolerance for risk, that should be enough to start out with.

As your website grows in size, it can be helpful to upgrade to the next plan to improve speed.

Should I build it myself or hire a website designer?

Let’s go over the pros and cons of building it yourself versus hiring a website designer.

1. Build it yourself

This will be more time-consuming, with a higher risk of a slow or clunky website. To avoid that, I suggest purchasing a template. Find a website template on Etsy or through a quick Google search: something simple that aligns with what you want on your site, and just plug and play.

When searching for website templates, specifically look for WordPress templates. A plugin I like to use within WordPress is called Kadence, and there are a lot of templates built on that platform as well. These range from $50 to $300.

2. Hire a professional

Hiring a professional ranges anywhere from $500 to $15,000+.

When starting out, it could be helpful to hire a website designer to build a one-page website that is easy to grow. You can probably get this for under $1,000, and potentially get a discount for future expansions if you use the same designer.

One important thing to know: website designers, brand specialists, and copywriters are not all the same. Hiring a website designer does not automatically mean they will handle your branding or copywriting. I include basic branding (logo, colors, fonts), offer copywriting add-ons for an extra fee, and provide a copywriting worksheet for clients to fill out.

Should I invest if I have the money?

Is it worth spending money on a website, branding, and copywriting when you’re just starting your practice? It depends.

When you’re starting out, you may have a general idea of your direction. But it will likely shift as your business grows.

• If you’re just dipping your toes into private practice and aren’t really sure what direction you want to go, investing less is probably a smart choice.
• If you have a pretty clear sense of your brand and what it stands for — maybe you’ve been doing some work on the side and have done some market research — investing a bit more can pay off.
• If you expect to update things within the year, keep it to a couple hundred dollars.
• If you’re confident that your branding and direction will hold for the next 2 to 3 years, you could comfortably invest more.

There are lots of options

There are so many options that will allow you to build a solid website on a reasonable budget. Having a clear sense of your business timeline, your budget, and how likely you are to make major changes in the next few years will help you make this decision with confidence.

As a weight-inclusive dietitian and business owner myself, I’ve been in your shoes. Navigating all of this while also trying to jungle another job, seeing clients, and showing up for yourself is HARD.