How do you figure the cost of a great website?

When developing the architecture and design of a great website, we take all the following into account:

Type of website

• What type of website do you want?
• What are its goals for success?
• What are the required features?
• Information Distribution, Subscription or Membership Base, e-Commerce, all of the above?

Design Elements / Look and Feel

• Do you have an existing corporate logo and/or marketing materials we can work from?
• Are there websites that you admire (or don’t like)?
• Colors that you want or don’t want?
• What are your competitors doing (right or wrong) – can we learn by example?

Content/Size/Scope of website

How many sections do you want/need? Some common sections that almost all websites have (or should!) include:

• About Us (Company, Founders, Partners)
• What’s New? Company news, industry news, op-ed observations
• Products/Services (what we do, what we sell)
• Case Studies/ Success Stories/ Portfolio
• Client List/Testimonials
• Links of Interest
• Relevant Tips (online newsletter, free info)
• Contact Us (incl. driving directions, email/feedback form)
• Career Opportunities
• In The News (good public relations)

Each section could be one page, or multiple pages, depending on the depth of content provided. On the web, people want information—the more the better, as long as it is relevant to what they are trying to do. Don’t fill up your site with fluff pieces; do put great content that answers questions and builds expertise and credibility. This also makes the search engines very happy, which leads to better rankings and more traffic.

Technological Sophistication

We provide a base content management system so you can update all your website pages as you wish, add news items, delete content – it’s all under your control.

Beyond the basics, you may need other features, which we’d have to price out for you:

• fill-in forms (contact us, registrations, reservations, etc)
• slide shows and galleries for product photos
• file uploads and download tracking (PDF distribution)
• members-only area
• e-commerce (sell products or services or digital goods online)
• social networking (Facebook page/integration, Twitter account/integration, other sharing sites like Flickr, Digg, Delicious?)

Domain Name Registration, Hosting and Maintenance

• What is the future name of your website (domain)?
• Is it available?
• Do you have it already (registered)?
• Where will your website ‘live’ on the Web (also known as hosting)?
• Who will be responsible for maintaining the website content? We can do it, or you can do it yourself.

So, tell us, what would you like to accomplish with your website?