There are a number of factors that go into costing a website. Here are a few you may NOT be thinking about:
- The projected outcomes for the website affect costs. If your goals entail huge expectations about infiltrating social media, long-term campaigns, massive content, video uploads, an interactive flash-based, gaming interface, 3D, etc., then the costs will escalate as the scope grows.
- Speaking of scope, scope creep is a common cause of budgetary inflation. When we sign a contract, the estimate is based on the stipulated specifications. The most effective way for us to work, is to finish the project as given. The most effective way to derail the project is to change your mind two or three times once the project is off the ground, by changing the colours, adding new navigation areas, deciding that the site should be dynamic (database driven) or flash based instead of static, or telling us about this great site you’ve seen that you would like to copy.
- Costs also need to cover copyrighted images and other content that you elect to use. If you don’t own any graphics and the only text you have to go online is what is written in last year’s print brochure, be sure to include a budget item for content development.
- The schedule can be a factor. If you call us Friday afternoon asking what could we have online by Monday, keep in mind that you are asking us to cancel our plans for the weekend and weekends are double-time. We also may not be able to bring in extra help or outsource any part of the work on short notice, so there is a physical limit to what can be achieved.
- Your target audience affects the cost because there are over 50 different browsers on the market, many sizes of monitor, different ways of connecting to the internet including cable, DSL and wireless, mobile phones, notebooks and black boxes that allow people to surf the internet on their TV. Each combination reads the website differently, and the more combinations we design for, the higher the cost. Many companies are satisfied if the site looks great on IE6, 7 and 8, and Firefox, but up to 10% of your target audience may be on some other device – connection – browser setup.
- Your team can have an impact on the cost. We prefer to work with teams where one person has the authority to approve the different stages of development. Even in these situations, your team will want to meet to discuss the project. If the team as a whole is not in agreement on the initial specifications, if there are internal politics going on, if there are hidden stakeholders who need to approve decisions, and if key team members are unavailable at key moments, the site will repeatedly drift into a state of limbo and the schedule will go off the rails.
We cannot stress enough, the importance of
- strategic planning at the beginning
- agreement on the specifications at an early stage
- agreement to stick with the specs until the first version of the site is released
- clear lines of authority, and
- licensed content that has been pre-approved