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Just like your print advertisements, a web site has several different components that determine pricing. Some of them have exact equivalents to the print world - image design, logo creation, text composition, and layout. Other components have only rough equivalents - postage vs. monthly hosting fees, printing and production costs vs. programming, and indexing vs. category assignment for a database table. Finally, there are things that have no counterpart in the print world - processing of interactive forms, presentation of audio and video, and the ability to update information instantly. Each one of these characteristics must be considered when pricing your web site. So, how much is it going to cost, already? In short, there is no one price for a custom web site just as there is no one price for custom print work. But if we may, let us take a moment (okay, a long moment) to detail the processes involved with each aspect of the eventual price of your web site. The following issues will have an impact on the ultimate price of your web site (to jump to a specific section, simply click on the appropriate topic) |
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Web Site Design Graphic Elements Logo Therefore, your logo must not only represent the image of the company, but it must also look good in electronic form, in high-priced glossy magazines, on fine stationary, and in the Yellow Pages. Needless to say, that is a difficult, time consuming and potentially expensive process. Fortunately, most companies already have their logos designed by the time they entertain the idea of a web presence. As such, your existing logo can be easily and inexpensively adapted to the World Wide Web. Upshot: logo creation from scratch is more expensive than adapting your existing logo. Photographic Images The web is much the same; images need to be processed to an appropriate form that maximizes their effectiveness. Apart from the actual presentation of your image are two other equally important issues; image size and transmission speed. Size in the world of computers is measured in bytes. You really don't need to have a full grasp of what that represents, but let it suffice to say that it takes about one second to download 10 kilobytes of information when you are using a 57.6 baud modem. So let's say that you have an image on your web site that measures four by four inches. If you were to put that 1700 DPI image directly on your web page, it would contain 361 kilobytes of data and take over 30 seconds to download completely. Totally unacceptable in today’s technology; your potential customer would be long gone. Studies show that the normal ‘web surfer’ will wait less than 10 seconds for a graphic before switching to something else. Now, let’s take that same image, processed to 72 DPI. It would take only about one half second to download. You would still have your potential customer's attention. Some images are very easy to downsize; others are very difficult. The requirements for image processing depend on the image's initial level of fine detail and your decisions concerning compromises between image size, speed and detail. Upshot: Original photography specifically commissioned for the site and the attending image processing is more expensive than presenting us with your images processed according to defined technical specs. Illustrations Dithering occurs when the browser cannot faithfully display a given color, so it changes some of the pixels (or dots) to slightly different colors. Now, if you were dithering on a TV set (which is exactly what happens) and view it from a distance, those little dots blend together and seem to make a single intermediate color. With the web, however, the viewer is sitting right on top of the screen. Those little, cheating dithered dots begin to look like giant freckles. We certainly have nothing against freckles, but freckles look a lot cuter on your favorite person than they do on your meticulously designed illustration. Lines are another thing that a web illustrator needs to consider. That same 72 DPI limitation, if not followed to the letter, can result in jaggies. Those are unsightly "steps" on lines and letter edges that make your illustration look like its been drafted on a piece of paper that was subsequently crumpled up and flattened out again. The technical term is “icky”. The common term is also “icky”; “icky” is not something you want from either perspective. One fix for the jaggies condition is called anti-aliasing. Basically, this blends the edges of your illustrations so that they appear more defined. Even the best designers cannot totally eliminate all forms of dithering or jaggies (or a host of other nasty things that can go wrong), but a professional in the arena of web design can minimize the effects of technical restrictions under which they must work. And remember, an illustration is not just a drawn picture; it can also be a clickable icon, spot color, and edge designs. One other consideration is images that move. You've all seen them. Animated GIFs (GIFs are a file type used on the web) are nothing more than the old flipbooks we grew up with. One takes a number of images all slightly different and presents those images in quick succession. The slight change in each image gives the appearance of movement. But rather than having to create a single image, the designer must now created a series of images. Long sequence animated GIFs can get expensive. Upshot: Original illustrations specifically commissioned for the site and the attending image processing is more expensive than presenting us with your images processed according to defined technical specs. Backgrounds A professional designer will choose the background very carefully. The color must be just right - not too light and not too dark. Neither can the color clash with other illustrations or photographs on the page. The density (or brightness level) of the background cannot be too intense so that the words on the page are unreadable. The background cannot be so busy that it becomes the center of attention. Each background is specifically designed to integrate with the content and intention of your web site and your web site only. It may be stark white (very simple) or it may be a recreation of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (very difficult.) One way or another, it must be done properly. Upshot: The creation of original art and attending processing is more expensive than the use of a simple, single, balanced color. Spot Color Colors must be used judiciously, with the entire design of the site kept in balance and control. Color could appear in text, images, buttons, line separators, or other design elements that enhance or accentuate the important elements of the site. The web site designer must consider the number of colors to use, how those colors are integrated throughout all elements of a site, and how each colors coordinates with every other color in the site. Upshot: Most spot color is very inexpensive to add if it can be taken from existing logos, photographs, etc. Any expense in terms of such color occurs in conjunction with the original logo, photograph or illustration creation. Web Site Presentation The art of layout involves placing graphic and textual elements in the appropriate location. The end result will lead a reader easily through the important aspects of your site. Control There are also the problems that are completely beyond the control of the layout artist. For instance, the size and positioning of text on a page may change because of browser size, screen resolutions, etc. If the web page is designed on a machine using 1024X768 resolution and it’s opened on a 640X480 system; the text, images and layout of the page could easily change. That is because the presentation of many elements is dictated by your browser - not the designer. Upshot: Layout can be expensive the more you need graphics integrated with the text. For a linear presentation of text, the cost is not expensive. Constraints It is the job of the layout artist to take into consideration all those parameters so that no matter what happens on the users end, the page will look good. That means that the layout artist must know when to restrain text and images by constraining their positions on the page, or when to let them float as the window size changes. It means knowing how to use tables appropriately and when not to use tables. It means having the eye to properly place those elements and the knowledge to anticipate anything that a potential viewer can do to alter the intended presentation. Upshot: The physical constraints presented by the technology of the web may require redesign of images previously processed by others to allow for proper placement. That can get expensive. Place and play is not. Audio and Video To convert the sound or movie into something that is presentable requires a whole bunch of expensive equipment whose cost must be recouped. Unless a web design house does a lot of conversion, an individual job can get very expensive. And then there is the technical ability of the individual doing the conversion. For sound, if it is too clear, then there is too much data and the sound file will take forever to download. If the sound is not too clear, then it is a smaller file that downloads quickly, but you can probably get better quality sound out of your radio in that 1968 Dodge Dart that you've been meaning to restore for two decades now. The same holds true for video, except that the file sizes for anything that you would ever want to professionally present go through the roof. Then there is the problem of how do you get those sights and sounds to the end user? You have two choices. The first involves feeding the entire file to the end user prior to their listening or watching it. Less expensive, but it takes a long time to get that file to the user's computer. Or you can use streaming technology that downloads the files as your end user is listening or watching your presentation. That can get pretty expensive. Upshot: unless there is an absolutely legitimate reason to have audio or video on your web site, you had better think twice. One very good reason to use audio/video technology is if you are a recording artist who wants exposure. One bad reason is if the CEO of your company wants to say hello to your customers. 3-D Technology Upshot: unless you can really justify its use, it is best to hold off until the technology improves. Smell-O-Vision Catalog Presentation One of the most critical aspects of your web site is the ability of an end user to easily find what they are looking for and to be able to easily navigate through the site, always knowing their location relative to everything else. Providing the proper navigation tools is not an easy task. And it is one aspect of your web site that constantly changes as your site develops. The best web site designers fully plan to the fullest extent before the first page is created. Once an intelligent navigation scheme is decided upon, the pages then tend to fall into place with a minimum of alteration. What you want to avoid is a site that is not well planned out in the beginning. What is even worse is to have a site designed that allows little leeway to alter if you decide to expand or add sections to the site. Upshot: the ability to easily navigate your site is critical to how your potential customers use your site. Spending a bit more up front to do a complete analysis of the intended site will save you lots of cash in the long run. And if it is not done properly from the beginning, you may end up needing to completely re-do your site for what should have been a minor addition. That is expensive. Static Pages As described above, there are a host of charges that can go into the creation of those individual pages. But you must also consider navigation costs. Each page must be logically located next to all the others and a user must be able to get from one page (or section) to another with ease. The best rule of thumb is that the bigger the site, the more difficult it is to maintain a reasonable navigation scheme. A site with a home page, four secondary pages (those pages that link directly to the home page) and six tertiary pages linked to each of the secondary pages will be far less expensive than one with twenty secondary pages, and a web of tertiary pages, many of which are interlinked themselves. Upshot: the more complicated the site becomes, the more it will cost to allow the user the means to navigate through it. Simple is inexpensive. Database Service Database Creation The first expense involves getting the data into a form that the software can access. A database functions by creating a table where each of the column headings is a different parameter describing the individual item and each row represents a single item. Someone must get whatever data you have to present into that form. Upshot: if you have a paper catalog without any of the information contained therein in electronic form, the creation of a database will be expensive...maybe. You, the client, are welcome to reduce your costs significantly by creating the initial database table yourself. It is not particularly difficult, just very time consuming. If you have all your data already in some sort of database table, the process can be relatively inexpensive. If you have the data in electronic form, but not already in a table format, the price will be somewhere in between. Large database tables cost more to create than small database tables. Database Programming Each database has several types of pages that must be designed. They are:
Those pages are then "activated" by giving them user functionality via programming, linking them to the database itself. Upshot: the cost to program a database is static regardless of how many items one wishes to present. The cost to create the wrap pages depends solely on the complexity of the graphics involved. Text Creation Needless to say, the creation of text is a laborious process, involving meticulous detail to not only sentence construction, but to the proper conveyance of the message you want to send. The problem is that only you know the precise message; such is the weakness of ghost writing. Not to say that ghost writing can not be successful, but consider what it takes for someone to come in and convey your thoughts. Let's look at the example of an autobiography. As most of you fully understand, the chances that any individual who desires to write their autobiography actually having the skills to write the text are rather slim. Often a ghost writer is brought in to compose the actual text. That ghost writer needs to spend months or years with the subject and become immersed in the life of the one written about. Time is expensive. A similar process takes place on the level of technical writing - the art of "ghosting" the text of your product for appropriate presentation. The writer must become familiar with your product, your industry, and your people. That is again a time-consuming process. Upshot: The more text the client can write, the less expensive the project becomes. Web Hosting Costs There are five charges involved in hosting a web site. They are web site setup fees, recurrent monthly hosting fees, database and special services charges, web site maintenance, and domain registration fees. For more detailed information of specific pricing, please see Hosting Page. Web Site Setup Monthly Hosting Fee Database and Special Services Charges Certain services incur special charges according to their actual use over and above the monthly hosting fee. They include real-time audio and video delivery, the distribution of software, listserv announce lists, and the "naked shopping cart" (that is when a shopping cart is used on a static web catalog so that a customer can order multiple items without the use of a database and search engine. Web Site Maintenance We provide a web-based, database update form so that you can use a simple fill-in-the-blank method of updating your database table whenever you like yourself. Domain Registration Fees |
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