We all know the importance of having a website. But what about the financial benefits?
One way to think about this is to compare the return on investment (ROI) of UENI with that of DIY website builders like Wix or GoDaddy. Let’s consider both the direct costs and the time costs associated with using each service. Here’s the breakdown:
Assumptions
- Hourly Earnings of Business Owner: $30/hour
- Skill Level: The business owner has basic or no prior experience in web design, which might increase the time required to build a website using a DIY platform.
- Learning and Building Time: Let’s assume it takes about 20 hours to learn and build a basic website using a DIY platform. For UENI, the business owner needs to invest 2 hours to fill out the onboarding questionnaire and attend the launch & training calls.
- Maintenance Time: On-going website maintenance and updates could take 2 hours per month to do the most basic housekeeping: software updates, security checks, backup management, and performance monitoring.
Cost Analysis
DIY Website Builder Costs (e.g., Wix or GoDaddy)
- Monthly Fee: $25 for a basic plan
- Time to Build Website (20 hours): 20 hours x $30/hour = $600
- Annual Cost for the First Year:
- Setup (Time Cost): $600
- Subscription: $25/month x 12 = $300
- Professional email add-on: $6/month x 12 = $72
- Monthly Maintenance (2 hours/month): 2 hours x $30/hour x 12 months = $720
- Real-time SMS alerts: $10/month x 12 = $120
- Total First Year Cost: $1,812
- Ongoing Annual Costs (Starting Year 2):
- Subscription: $300
- Professional email add-on: $6/month x 12 = $72
- Monthly Maintenance (2 hours/month): 2 hours x $30/hour x 12 months = $720
- Real-time SMS alerts: $10/month x 12 = $120
- Total Annual Cost from Year 2: $1,212
UENI Costs
- One-Time Setup Fee: $149
- Monthly Fee: $12.99
- Annual Cost for the First Year:
- Setup Fee: $149
- Time invested: 2 hours x $30/hour = $60
- Subscription: $12.99/month x 12 = $155.88
- Total First Year Cost: $364.88
- Ongoing Annual Costs (Starting Year 2):
- Subscription: $12.99/month x 12 = $155.88
- Total Annual Cost from Year 2: $155.88
ROI Consideration
- Time Savings: with UENI, the business owner saves significant time upfront and ongoing–time that can be redirected towards billable hours working or to improve the business.
- Cost Savings: In year 1, you save over $1400. From Year 2 onwards, you save over $1,000 yearly. The most significant cost savings are the time you will spend on a DIY website that could be more productively spent elsewhere.
You can see the detailed cost comparison in this table here.
| Feature | UENI Launch Plan | DIY website builder (Wix, GoDaddy) | Professional Web Design Service (basic) |
| Website Design & Launch | Included in setup fee + $60 (2 hours of your time @ $30/hour) | $600 (20 hours of your time @ $30/hour) | Typically $1,000 to $10,000 (one-time) |
| Custom Domain | Included. | Free first year, then ~$15-20/year. | $10-$50/year |
| Email Accounts | Included. | $6/month ($72/year). | $1-$5/user/month |
| Hosting | Included. | Included. | $5-$100/month |
| SSL Security | Included. | Included. | $50-$200/year |
| E-commerce Capabilities | Included. | Subscription plan: $25/month ($300/year) | $500-$5,000+ (setup plus ongoing fees) |
| Booking Functionality | Included. | Typically included. | |
| Maintenance & Updates | Included. | DIY or pay for managed services (estimate 2 hours/ month @ $30/hour) = $60/month | $100-$500/month |
| Real-Time SMS Alerts | Included. | Additional cost (estimate $10/month). | Additional cost (estimate $10/month). |
| Total Estimated Year 1 Cost | $149 setup fee + $60 + $155.88 ($12.99/month) = $364.88 | $600 + $72 + $300 + $720 + $120 = $1,812 | Design ($1,000) + Domain ($20) + Email ($60) + Hosting ($120) + SSL ($100) + E-commerce ($500) + Maintenance ($1,200) + SMS ($120) = $3,120 |
| Savings with UENI Year 1 | $1,447 | $2,755 | |
| Ongoing Savings / Year | $1,056 | $1,964 |
And there are other costs of a DIY website that are harder to quantify but still need to be considered.
- You might not launch your website with the DIY builder. Imagine spending 20+ hours only to build something that you don’t like, or that doesn’t work very well. With UENI, happiness is guaranteed, or your money back.
- The opportunity cost of fixing a DIY website. If you are troubleshooting a DIY website, you are not earning. If you don’t have a functional website running, you are not offering your services and products to customers online. Having a website working for you means you can sell products, collect leads, and accept bookings 24/7.
- The frustration from trying and not succeeding with a DIY website builder. This feeling can impact the quality of your work and hurt your overall well-being.
