A small business should not have to spend a fortune just to get a decent website. At the same time, choosing the cheapest developer without checking what is included can create problems later. From my point of view, affordable website development is about getting the right site for the money, not simply finding the lowest price.

A local restaurant may only need its menu, location, opening hours, photographs and contact details online. A consultant might need a few pages explaining their services and a way for potential clients to make enquiries. A retailer will probably need more because customers may need to browse products and pay online.

So I don't think every business needs the same website or the same budget.

The first thing I look at is the actual requirement. How many pages are needed? What information needs to be displayed? Does the business need online payments, booking, forms or other features?

There is also no need to make a small company website complicated just to make it look expensive.

Good photographs, readable text, sensible navigation and a design that fits the company's identity can be enough to make a site look well put together. A business does not need animation on every section or dozens of pages that nobody visits.

Design choices can still affect the cost, particularly when a company wants something created around its own brand rather than a standard layout. This article on custom-designed websites looks at that issue, while the comparison between custom and template websites explains the difference more clearly.

Another thing I would check is what the developer's price actually covers.

Is the website mobile-friendly? Are contact forms included? Will social media links be added? Is basic SEO part of the package? Does the quoted amount include revisions? Are hosting and the domain separate?

Those details can change the final cost considerably.

A low quotation may look attractive until extra charges start appearing. On the other hand, paying a large amount for features the business will never use is not good value either.

That is why I prefer to compare the work against the price rather than compare numbers alone.

For businesses that already have their content prepared, speed can also reduce some of the waiting involved in getting online.

Auxi Sherpa has a 72-hour completion goal for suitable website projects. The timeframe begins after the project is confirmed and the required information, content and assets have been received.

That does not mean every website can be built within three days. A simple company website is very different from a complicated platform requiring custom systems.

The current Auxi Sherpa website packages start at $90, followed by $130 and $180 options. Larger website-and-dashboard packages are available at $300, $500 and $1,000, depending on the required functionality.

For a Nigerian business, those dollar prices need to be considered using the applicable exchange rate. What matters to me is matching the package to the actual job instead of assuming that a higher price automatically means a better website.

A new business may have a limited budget but still need a proper online presence. There is nothing wrong with starting with the essentials and adding more later.

A company can begin with its main services, contact information, location and important business details. As the company grows, more pages, products or functions can be added when they become necessary.

That approach can prevent a small business from spending heavily before it has even started using the site.

Affordable does not have to mean poorly made.

It means spending carefully, knowing what is included and avoiding features that do not serve a real purpose.

For a clearly defined project with the required materials ready, the 72-hour completion goal gives businesses another option when they want to get online without a long development process.

I would rather pay for a website that does its job properly than pay more simply because the quotation sounds impressive.