Web Development Information

The Cost Of A Web Site


Just starting out, you can start with a simple informational site, which is all most need initially, and build up to a fuller site (e-commerce and/or interactive) when you can afford it.

Your goal should be to get an online presence. Remember, most surfers are looking for information. Dancing cartoons, streaming video and other interactive features are, in the great majority of cases, unnecessary.

Naming Your Site: Selecting and Registering a Domain Name

The first step in getting a web site is to select and register your domain name. Even if you can't afford a web site right now, it is a good idea to register your name. This can be done for under $10.00 a year (eg, namecheap.com).

Choosing a Web Designer / Web Design Company

Choosing a web designer will depend greatly onthe type of site you are having built. Prices are all over the place. Many designers/firms have a dollar minimum that you must spend in order to work with them.

Ball park figure: If you are having a simple informational site built, I suggest spending no more than $500. Learn how to update it yourself to save ongoing maintenance charges.

An even cheaper option is to do it yourself. There is plenty of easy-to-learn software (eg, FrontPage) that make it easy to build a site. Also, many companies (Yahoo, Microsoft BCentral, AOL, etc.) have templates that make it simple to drag and drop text and create a site. Rates begin at around $19.95/month.

Web Hosting Costs

Fees range from free to hundreds of dollars per month. As a guideline, the average cost for hosting a personal web site is $10-$25/month. Business sites with higher traffic are in the $45-$75/month range.

There are excellent deals to be found on web hosting (eg, peoplehost.com), so shop around. Usually, if you prepay for a year or more, you will be given a discount. I recommend this because once you get a site, it is highly unlikely that you will ever discontinue it, unless you change careers altogether.

About Free Web Hosting Companies

I do not advise the use of free web hosting companies. This is your professional online presence and you get what you pay for. More often than not, free host companies have limitations such as space, email specifications, domain name use, et cetera, that won't allow you to operate as a professional site.

How Much Should You Pay A Content Developer

This depends so heavily on the type of content your site requires that it's almost impossible to answer. Freelance writer and editor rates range from a low of $25 an hour up to $250 an hour, or more. Most are in the $50 to $100 per hour range. Shop around.

As an editorial professional, I'm assuming that you will provide your own content. However if you have neither the time, desire, or skill, you will definitely want to spend the money for a professional.

Finally Tally

If you choose to go with a web designer and are simply having a 2-3 page informational site built, pay no more than $500. This is assuming that you write your own content and do not have custom work done, such as logo/graphic design.

Cheapest Option: Do it yourself. A template site, or buying a software (eg, FrontPage) and doing it yourself, with hosting fees should top out at about $300/year.

The beauty of buying software and doing it yourself is that after you purchase the software, you only have to incur the hosting and domain name fees on a yearly basis. These can be under $50/year - making your site really economical as time passes.

See you online!

Parts of this article were excerpted from How to Get Your Small Biz on the Web Quickly & Affordably, available for immediate download.

About The Author

May be reprinted with inclusion of the following: Yuwanda Black is an entrepreneur, author, speaker and syndicated small business columnist whose focus is controlling your destiny through small business ownership. Her most recent e-books, How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer and Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too! are available for immediate download at http://www.InkwellEditorial.com/bizguides.html Visit her on the web at http://www.EntrepreDoer.biz for a complete list of how-to, small business books and articles.

columnist@EntrepreDoer.biz


MORE RESOURCES:

PHP & ASP.NET Programmer in India
NewDesignWorld (press release), UK - 7 hours ago
We have been in the Offshore Web Development since last four years. Hire Php programmer to develop projects in PHP we are dedicated programmer and we are ...
php programmer india - php freelancer india NewDesignWorld (press release)
all 4 news articles


Introduction to WEB4J: Web development for minimalists
Java World - Oct 9, 2008
By John O'Hanley, JavaWorld.com, 10/09/08 As Java Web application frameworks have become more powerful and flexible, they've also become more complex. ...


Altitude Marketing Bolsters Web Development Team
PR-USA.net (press release), Bulgaria - Oct 6, 2008
In May 2008, Altitude acquired Element Media, an innovative web development and Internet marketing firm and Kestrel Communications, a national public ...


RWW Live: Mobile Web Development
ReadWriteWeb, CA - Oct 6, 2008
The topic is Mobile Web Development and we have guests from Google and Microsoft joining us. You can tune into the show, and interact with us via the chat, ...


Exciting tutorials on Web Development technologies to kick off ...
Siliconindia.com, India - Oct 2, 2008
The SmartTechie is organizing Web Development Technology Conference on October 4th in Bangalore. Drawing well-renowned thought-leaders, contributors, ...


Director Web Development
CMSWire, CA - Oct 4, 2008
IDG Communications' Online Publishing Group is hiring a Director of Web Development. This position is a key member of the OPG's development organization and ...


Web Development Finally Meets Web Presence Management
PowerHomeBiz.com (press release) - Oct 3, 2008
Located in Montrose, CA BDG Software, Inc. is a web development company that also specializes in effective SEO and Internet PR/Marketing to deliver a full ...


Tempe Web Development Firm Gives Back to the Community
PR-CANADA.net (press release), Montenegro - Oct 2, 2008
Mountain Internet, a Tempe, Arizona web development company with a 13 year history, is taking requests from local non-profit organizations who desire ...


Prevent copy delays from holding up Web development projects
TechRepublic, KY - Sep 30, 2008
A number of aspects make text a particularly dicey part of the Web development equation. If a company is going through a rebranding or ...


Web Development Group corePHP Scores Industry Award for MonkeyDish.com
Emediawire (press release), WA - Sep 29, 2008
The company offers web development knowledge, feature-rich templates, re-written (accessible) components and hosting packages. ...

Web-Development - Google News

home | site map
© 2006