The Cost
of Web Sites
Staying in
the Game
According to technology research firm IDC,
nearly 60% of all U.S. companies have set up Web sites. More than 87% of Fortune 1000
executives say companies must have a Web site to stay in the game. Indeed, Web sites have
become major budget items.
$2,500
-- a small Web site
Layout, design and write about 20 pages
Domain registration
Web-based publishing forms
E-mail/Fax software
Training/Instruction (light phone support)
Internet Service (dial-up for five users) set up on the client's internal server or with a
local Internet Service Provider
$83,000 -- a medium Web site
Layout, design and write about 100 pages
Virtual server
Web-based publishing forms
Training
Internet service (dial-up for about 25 users) setup on the client's internal server or
with a local Internet Service Provider
Some custom programming
Search engine (off the shelf is fine)
Password-protected directories
Database services
$275,000 -- a large Web site
Server hosting and maintenance
Web-based Publishing forms
Training
Custom programming
Search engine
Password-protected directories
Database software and implementation
Chat software and implementation
Dynamic page generation
Digitization and integration of sound/video
Secure transaction capability
Look and Feel (design/site mapping)
Consulting for the media buy/ad banner design 6 ad banners
Save Money and Do It
Yourself ??
Basic business rule -
"Stick with what you know!" You have to ask yourself: "Am I in the business
of professional web site design and development?" If not, then don't experiment on
yourself.
Unless your company already employs an art director, copy writer and editor, graphic
designer (fluent in the latest graphics software), marketing communications manager, and
information system administrator, you will be much better off outsourcing your web
development needs. A professionally created web presence should end up paying for itself
through new business and saved resources within a short period of time.
T h e C a m b r i d g e N e w s l
e t t e r
November 4, 1997
Note: This course web is hosted on Advanced Information Technologies' servers in North
Carolina. They are in Internet Presence Provider, not an Internet Service Provider that
does Web sites on the side. For enough space to host several webs the size of this course
web, we pay $80.00 per month. Are we getting our money's worth? How much would a class of
15 students pay for this material in a textbook? How much would it cost to photocopy?
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You'll notice on
the AIT website that server space can be resold. So do the math yourself. This MBA 604
course web will soon be up to seventy or eighty pages. It took me a couple of weeks to
develop it from scratch. How much is that worth?
So let's say that you are your organization's
chief financial officer. Sally, the ambitious marketing department employee, takes it upon
herself to learn all this wizbang computer stuff. Over and above her regular job and at
her own expense for software and hardware, she makes a virtual office on the Web and
reports increased customer satisfaction.
Then Sally comes to you and asks for extra $$
for her services since she has begun to move the organization into the next century. Pick
your $$ number from the list above. Hey, she'd be willing to take a small raise and start
training her colleagues as well.
How would you reply? Would you reward Sally's
initiative at market prices? Or since no one else understands what she's doing, would you
expect her to donate her new-found expertise next year, too?
How is initiative rewarded in the organization
where you work? |
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