At the Unison Hawke's Bay Business Expo last month, I was approached by a number of business owners that simply don't know where to start when setting up a website. The common questions they had were: "What do I need?" and "How much will it cost?".
The following is a
breakdown of the average setup investment of a basic business website and what you need to get online:
The website design and build. You will need to commission a professional web developer to build you website and, depending on the type of functionality your website will need to effectively promote your business online, this will cost anywhere from $2,000 + GST upwards. Be wary of cheaper solutions, as these often have hidden costs associated.
A domain name. This is your web address (e.g. www.xplore.net) and what people type into their web browser in order to find your business online. The cost of a domain varies based on how long you secure the address for (e.g. if you pay in advance for a number of years, the overall cost is generally cheaper, but usually costs $50 + GST per year.
An email address. To build creditability for your business, it's time to let go of your free Hotmail, Gmail or generic Xtra/Clear/Paradise email accounts and get an email address that uses your new domain name (e.g. support@xplore.net). This will not only make your business look more professional, it will also help to promote your website and brand recognition - anyone who gets an email from you instantly knows your website address. Each email address will cost you approximately $2.50 + GST per month.
Website hosting. Website hosting is much like renting a house. When you rent a house, you pay the landlord a monthly fee to use their property and the amenities this property provides. When you pay for web hosting, you are renting space on a server that will house your website and keep it online. You could always buy the server yourself, but this would have high upfront setup costs and (like when you buy a house) if anything goes wrong with the server, it's up to you to fix it. The cost to host a website varies, based on the size (the file size, rather than the number of pages you have) of your website and who you choose to host with, but will generally cost between $25-60 + GST, per month.
Licensing/update fees. If you have a Content Managed website (a website that includes software that allows you to make your own website content updates), there are likely to be annual software license and/or update fees.
These fees are to ensure your software is the most recent version and costs anywhere from $300 + GST upwards per year.
Be cautious not to be wooed by developers who do not charge update fees, as it is likely these developers have no intention of updating your Content Management System, meaning it will date and require replacement or costly upgrades later down the track.
If you are serious about developing a website, considering investing in a content managed website, as this will allow you to easily update your website yourself, so you can keep evolving your online presence and eliminate developer update fees when you want to change something. With developers charging $80-160 per hour to update your website, being able to do this yourself is a major saving.
When setting up a new website, you need to find a balance between getting the most cost effective solution and getting a solution that will actually do something for your business. Be cautious not to "jump into bed" with a developer who offers services that are much cheaper than the costs outlined above, as you may find you have a poor bedfellow.
Wendy is a web strategist and managing director of Xplore - your web agency (