Website Design and Maintenance Costs

1) Basic beginning site:

• 1-2 pages
• 1 graphic (predesigned)
• text

This is a "billboard" site for a small business. It's basically an advertisement, using existing graphics and maybe a few web-specific abilities (e-mail button, links, etc.).

• general range: $200-$600
• low end: $99
• high end: $550-$900

2) Intermediate site:

• 2-4 pages
• 2-3 graphics per page (predesigned and/or custom designed)
• 1 standard form

This site starts to expand in content and design. Fees go up not only because of amount of words (both programming and content), but also because a larger site has more specific design needs. Also, these sites start to bring in other aspects of web design, such as submittable forms. At this point, the custom-designed sites start to kick in, and cost proportionately higher because of design fees.

• general range: $600-$1,200
• low end: $500
• high end: $2,500

3) Advanced site:

• over 4 pages
• graphics as needed (designed on demand)
• links to other sites
• specialized forms
• online ordering capabilities
• online databasing
• multimedia
• interactivity

This is a huge category, thus the huge range of prices. In this category, we assume that all graphics are custom-designed, that there is a large amount of content, and that there is a need for interactive content, online ordering, or other advanced features.

• general range: $2,500-$10,000+
• low end: $1,250
• high end: $40,000-millions

4) Extras that bring the costs up in each category:

• Custom design elements
• Non-HTML programming (e.g. CGI)
• Multimedia
• High-profile design companies

5) What you are paying for:

Why do websites cost so much? Not all websites do. Just like clothing, websites can be bought as mass-produced templates. But if you want your business to be represented well on the Web, this sort of cookie-cutter site is not for you.

Good websites are expensive because good designers take a lot of time to build each site from the ground up. Starting with an overall organization for your site, a website designer needs to

• write HTML code for each page
• design the layout of each page
• design the unique graphics for each page
• make sure the whole system is linked together and working

And depending on your situation, a website designer might also spend hours on other issues:

• create unique script programming for your site
• work on making existing scripts work for your needs
• deal with uploading and webhosting issues
• teach clients about the Web and technical issues
• market your site using search engines, listing services, announcement lists, and more

Internet Service Provider costs:

Like website designers, service providers provide a range of services at a huge variation in costs. Here is a breakdown of some typical costs associated with Internet services.

1) Basic dial-up account

This is a "self-service" account that can be used for individuals and businesses to access the Internet. You get one to two e-mail addresses and some space on a web server (typically 2-10 MB).

Average price per month: $10-30 and higher for high speed access

2) Website hosting only.

Many web service businesses are starting to offer services more specifically oriented toward business use. A typical Web service contract would provide space on a web server (usually more space and bandwidth than a basic dial-up account) as well as other server options such as CGI scripts to allow your website to perform more high-level tasks and secure commerce to allow secure Internet transactions. Web service providers also often offer options for business owners who aren't interested in maintaining their site or don't have access to the Internet.

Average price per month: $30-70
Higher-end sites:$150-600

3) High level dial-up and web service:

Some ISPs offer higher level services to businesses that want to offer larger amounts of services to their customers. From offering multiple e-mail aliases on your domain name, to installing direct Internet connections at your office, these services are for businesses that plan to conduct a large amount of their business over the Internet. The price of these services is dependent on the needs of the business.

4) Other ISP options:

A domain name for your business always costs $35/year. Learn more about domain names at Internic, http://rs.internic.net/.

E-mail aliasing. It doesn't matter where you physically are located. You can have your e-mail forwarded from any computer to your local e-mail account.