Opting for a subscription-based website can feel daunting. It goes against the sturdy grain of online comfort. However, you have nothing to fear. Here’s how, when used correctly, a subscription-based website can bring various benefits to your business.
When you set about actioning that notion to have a website bearing your business name, the rigid, old-world approach is to pay everything upfront and then be done with it. No payment plans. No finance instalments. Just a flat cost, and then it’s complete.
You might prefer the idea of paying a one-off fee for a website. This new-fangled concept of paying a monthly payment may not sit well with you. Perhaps paying monthly sets off alarm bells in that part of your brain which comprehends all the scary financial and accounting stuff.
Some people feel that paying everything upfront is more secure and shows filial piety to successful business acumen. However, the world has changed since the first websites were published in 1991. A monthly subscription for websites has gradually become more popular for various reasons.
Although, monthly subscriptions often bring one big question.
Won’t paying every month make it more expensive in the long run?
The answer isn’t that simple. I could answer with both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ – depending on your requirements.
The main focus on anything to do with websites revolves around your Return on Investment (ROI). So, let’s explore how a subscription-based website not only brings you into the contemporary business world, but also positively affects your Return on Investment.
Dangers Of Paying Upfront
Before we dive right in, a little side note about “pay once and forget about it” routes. We’ve heard of various disaster stories from those who have chosen to pay ludicrous sums of money upfront for their website – only for things to become problematic.
After paying all that cash in one go, their websites have been neglected. All the SEO aspects imperative to a Return on Investment have been ignored.
Their website has then failed to rank on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPS), and the ROI has become negative in every way. They may as well have shovelled their hard-earned cash into a blast furnace. It would at least have kept them warm.
It’s a common occurrence to find that the company responsible for building the website has gone, when you finally build up the steam to contact them about your website’s issues. They may have taken your money and ran, or their lack of recurring revenue may have forced them out of business.
Quite frankly, a subscription-based website is how a website development company needs to operate, as it prevents a lack of cash flow. And, as you’ll know, a lack of revenue cannot support any further trading.
Big whoop. So the company mismanaged itself. So what? Well, if you’ve given them your money already, then your web development company has just died. And that means that your website is going down the tubes, too. Don’t expect your money back, either. It’s probably all gone.
Why A Subscription-Based Website Model Is The Best Investment
Opting for a subscription-based service is more common than ever. Think about it. What else in business do you pay a one-time fee for? I would hazard a guess that there’s very little. Unless you are seriously rich, of course. But, seeing as most of us (sadly) aren’t loaded with spare millions in the bank, we don’t tend to invest mind-boggling sums all at once.
For example, did you buy your premises outright in one go? Or do you pay a lease or mortgage? How about your EMR? What about your utilities? These are all subscription-based activities – unless your name is Bernie Madoff.
Your email nurture system or CRM (such as Keap, HubSpot, and ActiveCampaign) is a subscription service and do you cringe at the thought of paying that on a monthly basis? How about your staff? Setting up their monthly payroll is the norm. You likely won’t pay them a year’s salary in one lump. Again, unless your surname is Madoff.
Paying your staff their entire year’s salary upon the point of joining your company wouldn’t make much sense. So why would you suddenly feel comforted or compelled to pay your digital staff member – your website – all in one go?
That’s enough of the questions. Let’s look at some answers.
Some things in life don’t make much sense as a subscription. Nobody has heard of renting a coffee. Don’t forget, a subscription service is different to paying off a particular amount in instalments.
Subscriptions work for things that you don’t need to own outright, or for aspects that you can change when required. Paying up front for something can often set your plans in stone. On the flip side, there are various advantages to paying for something – such as your website – through a subscription plan.
Affordability And Peace Of Mind
Perhaps the best aspect of a subscription-based website platform is the affordability that it allows. Instead of selling the family silver (or your kidneys), you can pay an affordable subscription amount without risks to your wellbeing.
Going for a monthly cost allows for a predictable monthly spend. This permits easier budgeting and forecasting, and avoids unexpected costs. You won’t have a sudden influx of eye-watering bills as the rate will be fixed.
A monthly subscription should also bring peace of mind that one of your most valuable assets – your digital representation – is being maintained and remains unlikely to ever let you down. A bit like having someone perform weekly maintenance on your car.
For further peace of mind, a subscription-based website platform can accommodate the application of security updates. A vast number of websites are improperly maintained and can become a security risk. Leaving your website vulnerable to hackers is a stigma nobody wants associated with their business!
Keeping Up To Date
You won’t have to worry about having to manually keep up to date. One of the benefits of a subscription with us is that you’ll profit from new features as they are developed by our team. And we will add them as we go – meaning that your subscription covers these updates without the headache of additional payments and aggravation.
The same story applies to lead tracking. Our subscription-based website package includes lead tracking – so you can tell where your potential clients are coming from. You’d be surprised how much this helps!
Not only that, but you’re more-than-likely to have an account manager for your website when going for a monthly subscription. You certainly do with us! At Direct Response PT, we always supply you with an account manager for your website, with whom you will have monthly review meetings where accountability is shared.
Your account manager will ensure that our knowledge is shared with you, and we all learn from one another for complete transparency. After all, we aren’t here to generalize. What works for some clients and their website may not necessarily work for your business. We can push your clinic forward by offering clarity between us – free from the degenerative grumblings of client-provider distrust.
Basically, boiled down, a subscription-based website brings a VIP service without the extravagant cost of most VIP services. What’s not to like? You can put the money saved towards something important in your business, or – dare we say it – a well-earned break?
The Importance Of Monthly Reviews
Having a monthly review with your very own dedicated account manager is invaluable for various reasons. We know from experience that most business owners never find the time to keep their website up to date, either in terms of security, or content. Meeting with your account manager on a monthly basis can help with all that.
The subscription package facilitates monthly chats on how your site is performing; where we discuss whether your traffic and leads are satisfactory and, if not, then why not.
A monthly review also helps compare your site’s performance with your rivals or benchmark and lay the foundations for possible new content and features.
Benefits For Your Website Provider
As we touched upon earlier, there can be severe implications for a company who take all their fees upfront.
Going for the monthly subscription-based website set-up (such as we do) is not about charging a monthly fee in the process of lining our pockets with your money. It allows companies, such as ours, to attain predictable income and strengthen and scale to provide an ever-increasing service. A subscription-based website service enables the provider to de-risk the business and ensure that there is no ‘single point of failure’ in terms of finance.
New clients occasionally ask: “What happens to my website if something happens to you?”
The answer, in the past, was not an easy one to digest. If Direct Response PT had not adopted a subscription-based approach, then there simply wouldn’t have been the financial bandwidth to strengthen and expand our services.
By adopting this method of expansion, we now have a team of seven people, plus myself. The business no longer relies solely on me. We’ve got Calum and Max doing the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) aspects as a team, Mark and Tony doing the coding, Fran working on various copyrighting aspects, Sue dealing with HR, and Ricky as an account/project manager.
I could not have built the Direct Response PT team without predictable income from the subs model. It allowed me to research and develop our services, which has resulted in the team that currently works on behalf of your business and our new features – such as lead tracking and valuable new services for clients revolving around SEO professional content.
Your Return On Investment
So there we have it. By opting for a monthly subscription-based website, you allow the website professionals to keep working on your behalf. It’s a clean-cut business model that provides transparency and growth for both parties. And the more that we grow, the more services we can provide to help your business grow!
As a return on your investment, you’ll get far more for your money by paying monthly. It brings security, updates, and communication in a way that “pay once and forget about it” plans simply cannot match.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, though. If you want to discuss this topic with us further, why not get in touch with us? You can find our contact details through our contact page.
Flemming Arnott
