2) Maintenance/Updates/Content
What is this?
It's perhaps the single most important factor in determining how successful your website will become. Business dynamics dictate that a business must often change in some form or fashion in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. So chances are that 3 or 4 months from now, your business is going to be at least slightly different than it is today, especially if your company is a startup business. It's imperative that you update your site's content to reflect your current business model. A failure to do so, may actually hurt your business in the long run. If your prospective customers think that you're 3 months behind the rest of the competition, they'll probably look elsewhere for service.
Cost:
Most design firms charge by the hour for site updates and/or maintenance. Prices can range anywhere from $20 up to $75 for an hour's worth of work. Over the long run, this will probably be (and quite honestly SHOULD be) the most costly part of operating your web site. Consider this-- If your designer charges $25/hour to edit your site, and you update your site at least once a month for an entire year, you will have spent $300 ( 12 * $25 ) in maintenance fees.
Pitfalls:
Failure to update/maintain your site on a regular basis. - Not many of us would spend thousands of dollars on a new vehicle, and then neglect to do the routine maintenance. Yet, more often than not, that's exactly what many people do after purchasing or building a web site. Just like the oil in your vehicle, the information on your site will get old. A small "oil change" every now and then will help ensure that your site continues to perform at its best.
No budget for maintenance costs- Don’t forget that a website is an ongoing project. Failure to budget funds to keep your site's content up-to-date and accurate is a sure way to start your online presence in a downward spiral. As you can see from the numbers above, maintenance costs can quickly add up, if you don’t have a plan to manage them. A budget is also a good way to remind yourself to spend the money to keep your site up-to-date.
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What is this?
It's perhaps the single most important factor in determining how successful your website will become. Business dynamics dictate that a business must often change in some form or fashion in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. So chances are that 3 or 4 months from now, your business is going to be at least slightly different than it is today, especially if your company is a startup business. It's imperative that you update your site's content to reflect your current business model. A failure to do so, may actually hurt your business in the long run. If your prospective customers think that you're 3 months behind the rest of the competition, they'll probably look elsewhere for service.
Cost:
Most design firms charge by the hour for site updates and/or maintenance. Prices can range anywhere from $20 up to $75 for an hour's worth of work. Over the long run, this will probably be (and quite honestly SHOULD be) the most costly part of operating your web site. Consider this-- If your designer charges $25/hour to edit your site, and you update your site at least once a month for an entire year, you will have spent $300 ( 12 * $25 ) in maintenance fees.
Pitfalls:
Failure to update/maintain your site on a regular basis. - Not many of us would spend thousands of dollars on a new vehicle, and then neglect to do the routine maintenance. Yet, more often than not, that's exactly what many people do after purchasing or building a web site. Just like the oil in your vehicle, the information on your site will get old. A small "oil change" every now and then will help ensure that your site continues to perform at its best.
No budget for maintenance costs- Don’t forget that a website is an ongoing project. Failure to budget funds to keep your site's content up-to-date and accurate is a sure way to start your online presence in a downward spiral. As you can see from the numbers above, maintenance costs can quickly add up, if you don’t have a plan to manage them. A budget is also a good way to remind yourself to spend the money to keep your site up-to-date.
PREVIOUS / NEXT