As I promised in last month’s article, "I Want A Website. Now What Do I Do?" I’m going to talk about the cost of creating a website.

Depending on what you want a website to do, how you want it to look and how complicated it will be, the price can range from free, to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Let’s start off with the free stuff. There are several ways to get a free website.

• Take it yourself.
• Sign up with a web hosting company that offers software that lets you create your own site.
• Use one of those "free hosting" sites. I talked about the problems with these sites in my article, "How To Select A Good Website Hosting Company."
• Have a friend who knows how to make websites do one for you.
• Find a college student who has to create a website for a school project make your site.
• And the old standby, barter. I’ve been offered many items in exchange for a website, like a handmade quilt, a painting and a river raft trip down the Grand Canyon. Just to let you know, I turned them all down. It’s just too hard trying to figure out how many quilts or paintings equal a month’s rent or a car payment.

Depending on your needs, these options for a free site may work for you, but remember the saying, "You get what you pay for." This is especially true in website design. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. Only you can decide if they will be appropriate for you.

If you realize you will need to pay some money for a site, but want to keep it to a minimum, you have several options.

• You can learn HTML, and hand code a site, or buy website design software, like Adobe GoLive or Dreamweaver. For GoLive, which is what I use, a student can buy a copy at the bookstore or places like http://www.GradWare.com for about $80. The rest of us will pay about $400. You may also want to do some of the website design with Adobe Photoshop.
• You can pay a student to make it for you. Hopefully, by paying them you’ll minimize the chances of them leaving town in the middle of creating your site. I get several clients a year because of this happening.
• If you’re lucky enough to have an employee who knows how to make websites, then have them do it "on the clock."
• Templates are another option. You buy a template, then add your copy for each page and you have a website. Templates can be free, or cost up to $100. They average between $25 and $60. Be sure to read the usage agreement before you pay for a template. You will need to know some HTML to use templates though.

The final step, of course, is to hire me, or someone else like me, who of course won’t be as good. Hiring a website designer may cost more, but if you do, there are a lot of headaches you won’t have to deal with.

Website designers offer a range of options, including:

• Templates - The cheapest way to go because you do most of the work.
• Business Card Sites - These are one-page websites that usually list a business’ name, address, contact information and a paragraph explaining what they do.
• Custom Sites - These are the most expensive because the website designer will design and assemble everything. My fees are $60 an hour.

The fees website designers charge varies, based on skill, geographic location and several other factors. Most website designers will charge between $30 and $100 an hour.

When trying to figure out the total cost of a site there are other expenses you need to think about, too.

• Internet Service Provider (ISP) - This is how you connect to the Internet. This will usually cost about $10 a month for dialup, $35 a month for cable/DSL and $50 a month for satellite/dish.
• Domain Name Registration - You have to call your website something, like CreativeCauldron.com. This will range between $5-$10 a year.
• Web Hosting - You need to put your website on a server so people can access your site. A web hosting company is where you do this. The cost is based on many factors, including the size of your site and the features you need. The prices usually start at about $7 a month and go up from there. Most people, myself included, only need this basic level, or one level up.
• Software - As I mentioned above, you may need to purchase website design software.

Some people want a database site. This lets you up automatically collect data on forms visitors fill out, and it can make updating your site easier by filling in forms that only you can assess. Then this new data is automatically added to your site. If you need a database on your site, be warned that they are expensive to create. It’s not uncommon for a database designer to charge $200 an hour. It can easily double, or triple, the cost of a website.

So, let’s put this all together. Here are some rough prices for a basic custom website, created with HTML, no database and with very little graphic design work being done. That means that there isn’t any animation or flash, no photographs or artwork purchased and nothing real fancy on the site.

• 3-Page - $450
• 3-Page With One Year of Hosting and Domain Registration - $700
• 5-Page - $700
• 5-Page With One Year of Hosting and Domain Registration - $960

For an individual, this may be more than you wanted to spend. The free or less expensive options would probably be a better way to go.

For a business, this is a good investment. It’s a one-time expense that will promote your products and services for many years.

So, pry open your wallets, pull out your cash and plastic, and give me a call today. No really, call me know. I’m waaaaitinnnngggg………

Copyright 2007 Jeff Colburn

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