WE'VE MOVED!
We are proud to announce our NEW community destination. Engage with resident experts and fellow entrepreneurs, and learn everything you need to start your business. Check out the new home of StartupNation Community at startupnation.mn.co
We are proud to announce our NEW community destination. Engage with resident experts and fellow entrepreneurs, and learn everything you need to start your business. Check out the new home of StartupNation Community at startupnation.mn.co
Objectively Finding Website Costs
advancepayday
subscriber Posts: 2
How would one objectively find the value for a website? For instance if i`m looking to hire a web designer / graphic designer / programmer how would I know what the actual value of the requested services should be? I`ve seen sites that cost 1K and looked like they were worth $200 and I`ve seen sites that look like their worth $2-5k and cost $15k. Obviously it depends on interactivity and amount of programming and in theory these are set by the market but having looked at a couple of websites where I know what was actually paid I don`t always see a correlation. Thanks for your input!
Sign In or Register to comment.
Comments
Like any other business decision, the buyer needs to evaluate what it is worth (timen and money) to them to pay another person/entity to design a website. That "worth" also varies with teach company too because of their respective costs and time available.
Of course the trick is how to find the person to do the work that will create a website that meets and exceeds all your goals and objectives. Again, like you do for other purchasing decisions you need to gather a list of potential designers (from searches, forums, and friends), get quotes, have a conversation about their process, look at their portfolio of work AND get references you can contact.
My approach is to have a conversation with the potential client to learn about their needs, their company (how they do things - that may be transferable to the web), and their goals. I`ll also learn how much or little material, images, and or content exists and how much I may need to create. Then I`ll provide a quote with options if there are different ways to accomplish the result (like various ecommerce options).
My goal is for my clients` websites to be successful and I provide free support for a period of time after the site is up and running to make modifications. If they are then I am.
~Rolandvwebworld2007-2-21 0:3:16
Finding out the actual value of a site is sometimes not truly seen until
after the site has launched and you can calculate your ROI (Return On
Investment). That doesn`t help much because you may have already
entered into a project and paid the costs and now maybe risking the loss
of money and low ROI if the right project specs haven`t been met or the
wrong direction was taken altogether.
I always recommend my clients to talk to and view at least 2 other
companies to do comparisons on the following factors:
- Established work
- Capabilities that meet your specific needs
- Case study successes with proven results
- Cost analysis of services & options
- Project proposal of development, design and solutions towards your
ROI. (Marketing Approach, SEO, PPC Campaigns, etc.)
- Overall professionalism of the company or independent contractor.
Researching who will be working on your site and what they can
ACTUALLY do are so important and truly is like interviewing a potential
company employee. Past track records tell a lot about what they can
provide to you. The company or designer you choose should be able to
show you past work, explain in basic terms their solutions and how it
would apply to your project.
As for your pricing examples of sites that cost a lot, but look or work like
they deserve far less really comes down to your research and the
companies that you are considering for your project. Some designers/
developers/companies charge a premium price even though they can`t
provide that type of service. Feel it out and look for a history of their
work. It never lies and will give you the overall impression of what they
can offer to you. Also, be realistic to your requests and know that heavy
programming for dynamc content does cost, especially if you are
requiring a custom need. However, there is reasonable pricing and the
company or contractor you hire should be able to breakdown all of their
costs with systematic services and explanations. If you`re getting a
"ballpark figure" or a "guess-timate" when signing a contract or putting a
down payment, you may be in for a bumpy ride.
Hope this helps and feel free to contact us with any further questions or
comments. Thanks!
R. Rodriguez
[email protected]
nhgnikole - Why in your opinion is this the case? If you take the example of a person asking contractors to bid on the building of a house/structure as long as the requirements are the same you should get quotes that have a reasonable range. (You wouldn`t see a quote for $150K and one for $500K). So why is this any different? And what is actually setting the value as it doesn`t appear to be as much based on product as the company`s (creating the website) image, efoozle - I understand if the specs you sent are different between the two companies/contractors and I even understand having a premium based on being a company with staff for each function but why would one quote be so much less if the requirements are the same. I understand a margin of 1-2K but $8800?So lets take a specific example. We are basically looking to redo our corporate image so we will be having advancepayday.biz revamped with the new corporate image / name.- 10-12 Page Site- Copy Provided- Small flash animation(s) for scrolling images / possible header- We currently have 3 interactive sections of the site: - Corporate Site (no redesign needed - to be honest we don`t really care what it looks like as long as it functions) - which is a joomla installation. - Online employment application - basically code stays as is but will need to be integrated to current site. - Google Maps - just integrated to new site. - Online application - Right now the site has an "online application" for payday advances but all it really does is email a staff member who then forwards it to the appropriate store.- We would like the new version to be standards compliant but this isn`t a "requirement".- Any and all SEO related tags / structure should be implemented.We have someone in house that can update / manage the site. He just doesn`t happen to be very talented in the graphic design department. So what would a website like this cost? Thanks again.
Not sure I`m really clear on the question. You mean support during the
design process? We already have hosting company we work with and
someone who can maintain the finished product. *When looking for a developer you have determine if you will need them again. If you get an expensive and established company you can go to the when you need help or updates. If you do offshore dev for $15 hr then you will most likely never talk to the same person again. ( Just my experience from trying it a few times )What kind of quality do you want?- Not sure what you are really asking but professional. Its a financial services company so the more professional the better. *The larger a persons porfolio the better judge of quality you can be. You can`t judge quality if the developer doesn`t show you anything they have done in the past. If they do show you their porfolio and you don`t like anything then you won`t like what they are going to give you. Do you have scope of work that cover all aspects of the site?- Can you give me an example of what you mean? * Judging from your post the answer is no. A comprehensive scope of work gives you something to fall back on. Most people who have been in the business a while will draw up a scope of work and a price and then you will both agree and sign it. This way when the buyer changes their mind the developer can say no, here is exactly what we agreed to. The information you posted is very vague and something that most people would not sign unless they were paid enough to cover the misc items not discussed. Here are some things to think about.- 10-12 Page Site 1. Is this content already created? 2. Am I migrating it or you?- Copy Provided - Small flash animation(s) for scrolling images / possible header 1. How many? How small? Where? What will they look like?- We currently have 3 interactive sections of the site:
- Corporate Site (no redesign needed - to be honest we don`t really
care what it looks like as long as it functions) - which is a joomla
installation. 1. No redesign? Do I need to intgrate it? 2. If this site gets hacked because your Joomla is outdated are you going to point the finger at me? ( Liability ) - Online employment application - basically code stays as is but will need to be integrated to current site. 1. Basically? Is it being changed? - Google Maps - just integrated to new site. 2. Copy current to new. Got it.
- Online application - Right now the site has an "online application"
for payday advances but all it really does is email a staff member who
then forwards it to the appropriate store. 1. This should be done in a more secure fashion. - We would like the new version to be standards compliant but this isn`t a "requirement". 1. Do we have to do the security audit? 2. Will you sign off that we are not accountable?- Any and all SEO related tags / structure should be implemented. 1. Are we talking about meta tags? 2. What keywords should get people to your site?How much of the current site do you actually want to keep?Do you want to stick with Joomla?Is this a complete redesign or really just and upgrade/update?Just some more things to think about. Of course this is all easier over the phone and happen fairly fast.
Sorry if some of my posts appear blunt. I have been in a rush through the last 2 posts and didn`t have time to re-read.
The fact that you have seen $1500 sites that where compliant is not really a huge deal. The less the site does the easier it is to be compliant. Also, who tested the compliance? I have been in security for a while and have seen people do unethical things to pass compliance. It`s one of those things that is only a big deal if you get caught.
efoozle2007-2-21 8:28:53
The more you know about your target goal or industry the better the chances are of having a successful outcome.