You may have a website that served you well a few years ago. But now, it may look a little out of date. It doesn’t have the sophisticated appearance of current websites and doesn’t function as well, either. You need to uplevel your online presence. You’re wanting to make your branding more appealing, incorporate an effective lead generation strategy — and more. In the early stages of design, you’ve probably noticed that much has changed in recent years — including the price. Even allowing for inflation, web design is a good bit more expensive than before. Why? The main reasons have to do with the time it takes to make key improvements happen. Here are several of those reasons.

1. More Functionality

If you’ve changed business practices or if your business has grown, your web design will require more functionality to meet these needs. Lead generation or sales might be a bigger priority. Furthermore, detailed analytics enable you to see how visitors actually interact with your site. That can be a big surprise; for example, the pages that you really want visitors to see might the least-viewed. This can come as a shock, but it’s crucial to act on the quantifiable information that analytics provide. Also, in the last few years, new types of functionality have made websites present and act in beautiful, compelling ways. This takes time and expense to achieve.

2. More Responsiveness

Responsive design has to do with consistent look and functionality across different types of devices, but it goes beyond the surface. Desktop and mobile users may prioritize different types of content. Also, mobile and desktop users need to be able to achieve their goals no matter what device or orientation they use; you have to deliver content with equal effectiveness. Having a responsive site (or not) will also affect your search algorithm in Google. Making a website fully responsive to your business needs requires effort — and money.

3. Better SEO

Effective SEO (search engine optimization) is more vital than ever. In an increasingly crowded digital landscape, it’s essential that your website rank well in search engines. All web designers and developers need to have some expertise in SEO. Fast loading time is one of the biggest factors affecting SEO. Image optimization, proper use of header, alt, and title tags, and numerous other elements need to work seamlessly together.

Building an effective website is an important investment. Take these factors into account as you make your decisions.