The hundreds of millions of people in the world who have seen “The Dark Knight” this summer will know where the title of this article came from. I am going to apply this lovely quote to web design:

“If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”

There is truth in a madman’s words. There are two tiers of web developers: The professionals who know what they’re doing and charge accordingly, and the amateurs that don’t know much but will work nearly free. There are more amateurs out there than professionals, and unfortunately, business owners are more than happy to save a few bucks by using an unskilled web developer.

These amateurs are everywhere. They aren’t very good, but they’ll work nearly free. I could go to craigslist right now and find at least ten local developers who would build a site for me under $250. Would it be a quality website? Very likely not.

You get what you pay for. Many business owners do not know much about internet marketing. How can they tell the difference between a good website and a bad website, when they often look almost the same? The biggest advantages of a website created by a professional are search engine optimization, semantic coding and cross-browser functionality. A professional website allows customers to find your business easier and ensures that nobody will have problems viewing it no matter what device or browser they have chosen to use.

A $200 website is a $200 website in the end. McDonald’s is great if you want to spend a couple bucks, but you’ll probably go to a real restaurant and spend more if you’re hungry for a good burger. The same rule applies to web development. If you want a website that will help your company grow, be prepared to spend a fair amount of money. The returns from a professional website will far outweigh the initial cost.