What are the different costs involved in
owning and operating a web site?

1. Hosting or "Web Presents" Costs - Web sites such as yahoo, amazon.com and others are stored on a computer server, much like the server you used in your office. This server however, is only connected to the Internet. Most large companies like Exxon, Frito-Lay, and American Airlines own and operate their own Internet computer server, and locate it in their computer equipment room. Smaller companies deliver their prepared web pages to an Internet hosting company and pay them a monthly fee for the use of an Internet computer server and the connection to the Internet. An Internet hosting company, also called a 'web presents company', will charge $10 to $1,000 per month depending on the level of service and features needed. Most small businesses will need a level of service that will cost between $10 to $75 per month. For this site I use a web hosting service that costs me $10 per month.

2. Web Page Content Development – Web pages for the Internet must be designed and ‘coded’ into the HTML language format, then loaded on to the Internet hosting company’s computer server. This service is priced by the job, and/or by the hour. The more complex and larger the task, the higher the cost. Large companies like Dell Computers may pay $20,000 for three months work on 30 pages. There is usually a higher cost for the initial design and installation than there is for later updates and changes to page content. Designers working with smaller business will charge around $25/hr. Frequently, designers will charge a flat charge for the first page (I charge $200) and a small charge for additional pages ($50-60). Maintenance changes will run about half that level. Most small business sites cost between $200 to $3,000 to create. The average today is estimated to be around $2,000. My average billing for developing a new site is about $800. Other costs can come from logo design, artwork such as maps, photography, and stock photo images.

3. Internet Connection Service – For you and your computer to gain access to the Internet and receive e-mail or visit other web sites, you need an ISP (Internet Service Provider). This service, in most locations, cost about $19 - $25 per month for dial-up modem service. For Cable or DSL service the costs are about $39 - $55 per month with a $200 - $390 initial setup charge.

4. Domain Name – www.yourname.com is a domain name or URL for Universal Resource Locator. The cost to register (with InterNIC or Network Solutions) and use a domain name for two years is $70. A check with the site http://www.registrars.com/ will tell us if a desired domain name is available. Be aware that some business ads will offer ‘free domain registration’. This only means that they will submit the registration. It does not mean that they will pay the $70 registration fee. My experience is that all major web-hosting companies provide free registration. Another service they offer is ‘free parking'. This means that the web hosting company will hold your domain name for 12 months for free while the site is being constructed. It doesn't cost them anything so they shouldn't change you anything. When the site is built, the customer begins paying the hosting company the monthly hosting fees.
   
   
5. Maintenance - Updates and changes are a normal part of any web site. Sometimes the site owner can make the changes and avoid paying a web developer to do that. If the owner is not able to make content changes, then an additional cost of operating a web site is the expense of having a web developer make changes. Even if he can make changes himself, he still has the cost of web authoring software and possible training of himself or staff. I personally prefer the site owner to make content changes if they are simple and frequent. I will design the site without complex features if I know the owner is going to maintain it. That will lessen the chance of the site getting messed up easily.

NOTE: Virtual Domain Name -
www.hostname.com/~yourname/ is an example of a virtual domain name. Most Internet service providers give their customers 10 to 50 Megs of computer space for a personal web site. Most Internet service providers exclude the use of this web space for commercial or business use, but others don’t. While using this web space for your business may save you hosting and domain name costs, it is a poor marketing decision in most all situations.