As others here may well also testify, hearing the phrase "to keep the costs right down" sends shivers down the spine of anyone involved in the business.
Not because everyone is interested in whacking up their prices as far as they possibly can. But because it is usually an indication of future failure or impotence for the website.
A good website not only needs the financial costs of domain, design, marketing and hosting. It also needs the commitment of continuing to care about it, of providing fresh and valuable content for it, of believing that it is a worthwhile generator of business, and, to be honest, that is often something that is pretty rare.
The problem of starting out with the view of "keeping the costs right down" often implies that the website is seen as a tiresome thing that everyone has to have (such as an accountant or a specific type of business licence) rather than something that is worth investing time and energy into.
To be honest, I see small businesses which run perfectly well without having a website.
I see businesses who have seen their environment transformed by having a website.
And I see many businesses who just bought (and often overpaid for) a website that just sits there without any updates or interest from viewer or owner.
So I would suggest before even thinking about a website and getting it done as cheaply as possible, they should try to think about why a website is wanted, what it can or could contribute to their business and then see what options are available to them and how they might fit into what they are prepared to input in terms of cash and time.
