Content is king; especially on the web. Without meaningful content your site fails at its primary objective; to give your users information. With this in mind, I’m still shocked to see some companies that break this cardinal rule by “price hiding.”

The art of price hiding usually consists of replacing the actual price of an item with something that reads “Call for Price” or a web form that contacts their sales department. I’ve seen this pervasively on software companies’ websites and I’ve even seen this at a local gym.

I’m not sure how these shenanigans are justified when putting together a web presence. Look, if you’re too embarassed to put your pricing up on your website and you’re relying on the jockeying of your sales department to get your product sold, then something is terribly wrong.

Anyone that is serious, really serious about your product or service can easily handle the price. Those that aren’t will run for the hills screaming and that’s fine because they weren’t going to buy or use your service anyway.

I’ve demoed more software than I care to admit to. I’ve had significant input (if not the sole input) to buying decisions that cost thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. If your website hides the price, I’ll assume that your company is hiding something and I’ll immediately move on.

The solution is simple, be open and honest with your potential customers. Give them as much information as possible on your website to empower them to make informed buying decisions.