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There are three primary costs related to an internet site:
1. Developing Costs:
First, read this section. Then use this link for a worksheet for estimating developing costs for a website.
Each site should be designed to reflect the needs of the owner. Common sense indicates that your site should be directed to those who will get the benefit from viewing your site, and respond in the manner you desire. Perhaps you want to provide information about your services, company, or product. You might want to sell on the internet. Using the internet is like using any other medium - decide what you want to use it for and then develop it, see if it works for you, and change it as necessary.
With that in mind, I have written some guidelines for internet site marketeers (sellers of websites) that can give you some tips. It is pretty lengthy, but you might want to look it over to help make your design. Also, for churches wanting a presence on the internet, there is a special question and answer section covering tips for them.
2. Hosting Costs.
Now that you have the site designed, or at least planned, you need a place for it to be placed. Be sure to put it on a server that has a high degree of availability - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I use a hosting partner that hosts more sites than anyone else in the U.S, and has some of the best technical qualifications to maintain their, mine and your reputation. The servers are Silicon Graphic (the same brand of machines that Netscape uses for their 100 million hits per day sites) and they have three T3 connections to separate Internet 'backbones'; MCI, UUNet, and Sprint. A T3 has a nominal capacity of 45 Mbs per second. There is a 60,000 watt standby generator for emergency power, which can run many hours if needed. I invite your comparison to other hosts. The cost? Extremely competitive - see the monthly costs and features for your choice of plans.
3. Maintenance Costs
A good site needs to be reviewed monthly. Few things change so fast as the Internet, and the links and connections you may have. Technology is always improving, and an acceptable site yesterday may not be what you need today. Of course, your business is changing, too. I recommend you plan to either have a low fixed-rate maintenance contract, or a monthly update and review which will be billed at the hourly rate. Changes are less costly than a brand-new site, simply because they usually take less time. Be sure to include this cost in your budget.
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