ATILUS - Web Design | Internet Marketing

What does a website cost?

UPDATED ON 03/17/2010 (PRICES LOWERED BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE MARKET, ADVANCEMENTS IN PROCESS, AND TECHNOLOGY)

First of all, let’s get this out of the way… you need a website. Period.

And not just any ol’ website, but a great website with a clear, crisp easy to navigate design, with superb usability and functionality. Furthermore, YOU need to be able to easily update that website.  It doesn’t matter if you are a national corporate brand, a smaller brick and mortar with ‘plenty of business’, a brick and mortar with only local business, or an ice cream shop that only sells to people between 5’10 and 5’11 wearing baseball hats before 3 pm… you still need a website! Your business can be broad or niche, it can be large or small, and despite what you may believe… you need a website!

Now, what does a website cost?

Like the businesses they represent, websites are not all created equal and serve various purposes, therefore they can vary greatly in cost as the level of design and functionality increases and becomes more complex to suit your company’s needs.

Basic Website - $1000

$2000 A basic designed website, acts primarily as an online brochure, establishing a necessary presence online to answer your customers’ questions “do you exist?”, “are you professional?” and “what do you do?” A basic website can be done for a mere market average of $2000. This website will not allow you to interact with your audience (social networking, blog), transact business directly through your site (ecommerce), or enable you to manipulate and update the pages and content within your site without hiring a web programmer/designer to do it for you (Content Management System does enable this for more $$$). A basic website site will serve to help brand and market your company, showcase your products and services and inspire sales as a lead generating tool.  Unfortunately, the design of your website will be templated at such low costs. This means that your site probably mirrors that of other sites on the web.  With our firm, these sites will be CSS and XHTML Coded to allow your site to look the same on nearly every computer/device and will be Search Engine Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search engine ranking success. But not all firms code the same and have SEO as a top priority. Also, web analytics are provided with every site we build to track and ensure your web success.

Custom Website - $1500-$3500

$1500-$3500 Custom designed websites, with all the aesthetic beauty that you can possibly envision, cost a market average of $2500. These sites are still not quite as functional as other sites, but are extraordinarily pretty and all design elements are created and designed specifically for your site and tailored to your market needs. These sites will still not enable audience interactivity, ecommerce, or content management. The sites cost is due in part to the number of hours it takes to create your company’s custom design.  The site will serve the same necessary purposes that a basic designed website will but will be far more aesthetically pleasing and custom to your businesses desires.  Again, with our firm, these sites will be CSS and XHTML Coded to allow your site to look the same on nearly every computer and will also be Search Engine Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search engine ranking success. Web analytics are provided with every site we build to track and ensure your web success.

Content Management System (update it yourself) - $3000- $8,500

$3000- $8,500 Depending on the level of aesthetic design that is requested Content Management System (CMS) websites will run at a market average of $5,750. These websites are created with both functionality and design in mind, as you will receive both custom art design and mid level functionality including the ability to manage and update all content, images, and text contained within the pages of your site (infinite number of pages possible). With a CMS capable website, your site will have endless possibilities as a pluggable, flexible web application capable of adding additional features as you desire.  These websites are built with the idea that you will have a significant number of changes, additions or updates to be made to your site in the near future. Instead of being charged hourly rates to make such changes, a CMS system enables you to do a majority of the basic additions without prior coding or web designing knowledge.  Social interactivity with your site visitors is possible with a site of this caliber, as a BLOG will be present within your site enabling you to place posts of content that you believe is relevant and desired by your audience. Your audience can choose to respond to your blog posts and each others comments allowing for 2 dimensional interaction between you, your audience, and within your audience.  Some ecommerce and real state listing sites can be created within this price range depending upon level of functionality and design.  Also, sites of this caliber have varying prices with regard to design elements. These sites do have custom design work, but more expensive elements like Flash Art creation will affect pricing.  Again, with our firm, these sites will be CSS and XHTML Coded to allow your site to look the same on nearly every computer and will also be Search Engine Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search engine ranking success. But not all firms code the same and have SEO as a top priority. Also, web analytics are provided with every site we build to track and ensure your web success.

Anything Additional/Custom - $12,000- $100,000

$12,000- $100,000+< If you are looking for advance functionality including social networking, blogging, ecommerce, or any other web application topped off with the markets leading design elements, you should expect to pay a market average of $25,000! Like I said before, some ecommerce and web applicable sites can be created for less, while most successful ventures are created for much more.  Sites that have fallen in this price range include Facebook.com, Orkut.com, BestBuy.com, and WGCU.org to name only a few.  A site within this price range will be built and hand coded from scratch. That means your site is unlike any other and requires the attention and expertise of an experienced web application developer(s) and web site designer(s). A site that falls into this category requires months of market analysis, software research, consulting, database design and implementation, software development and integration, site quality assurance and testing. This is the mother load and it is priced accordingly.  I know what you are thinking, ‘who knew it was so expensive?’ And the only answer I can give is that web design and creation is like any other craft or trade and requires a high level of knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, with the rapid rate that technology and the internet is constantly changing, the gap is beginning to seriously widen between web amateurs and professionals. Can you still get a website for $500? Sure you can, but it will not display and operate like a professionally designed website will and it will be as ineffective and unsuccessful as the individual who designed it.

Need more?  Read this.

Massachusetts Online Credit Union

Atilus is proud to announce the launch of the Quabbin Online Credit Union website. Out latest client has successfully launched their new website and we would like to congratulate them. This is a landmark occassion as Quabbin is the only online-only credit union in the country. Through their innovative use of technology they hope to slash conventional banking/credit union costs, all while providing customers the best rates and giving back to the Massachusetts community. Although Atilus was not instrumental in the development of the website, we have helped them launch a strategic marketing campaign including pay per click marketing.

Congratulations again to everyone at Quabbin. It has been a pleasure working with you so far!

http://www.quabbinocu.com

Haiti Earthquake a Call to Duty

Rele Anmwe - Call For Help - Appeler à L’aide

If you’re looking at our blog, or have read our newsletters chances are you and I have had a conversation on the phone or in person.

AND, if that is the case you probably inquired about my accent.

I am from Haiti.

I was born and raised in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, 100 miles north of the epicenter of the earthquake that hit in January. I learned of the news much like the rest of the country, online, on television, on the radio. I had many friends and family in the center of quake. And much like you, I’ve seen the pictures from volunteers, news organizations, even friends. They are devastating.

But, this event wasn’t entirely tragic.

The Quake has been a wake up call for many to volunteer and help out in whatever way they can. And not just in Haiti, but around the world. Everyone I know has helped out and done what they can, from donating money, to providing blankets, food, and supplies, for those on the ground. In general many of us seem to have a renewed sense of compassion for our fellow man.

Thank you.

For nearly a year I had been working on a project in Haiti centered around telecommunication. The quake and devastation hit, friends, and partners were lost, and we had to scrap the project. 

But, from the wake of the initial idea and the course of events over the last 2 months, the project has been renewed - with a new purpose. I have teamed up with new friends and partners to develop an automated phone line that provides free information for those in Haiti.

Only about half of the Haitian population has access to telecommunications devices (phone line, cell phone, computer or VOIP).

This was always a challenge for those wishing to communicate in Haiti, but in the days since the quake has proven even more problematic. People need to find information and resources in order to survive. They need information immediately. They need it at no cost.

With this system those on the ground can locate basic services such as food, hospitals, shelters, distribution centers, and more…

If you have any friends or loved ones in Haiti, or simply wish to spread the word about this service, please do so.

To learn more about Rele Anmwe please visit the site www.releanmwe.org

Thank You

Web Directories Your Website Should Be In

We always get this question here at Atilus, “are directories still helpful for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? And if so, which ones are the best to submit to”. The answer is always the same: “it depends. If you’re talking about low-quality directories (a.k.a. link farms), don’t waste your time with them. But there are still some very good directories out there.”

Below is a list of the few good web directories left we have compiled, but they aren’t free. And that’s the reason most webmasters stay away from them. That makes these directories a lot more exclusive and links from these sites a lot more valuable to your website.

Another reason these directories are so good is that actual humans review the submissions they get and approve/decline requests manually; based on the quality of the sites they review. Because they only add quality sites to their indexes, links from these directories are worth A LOT more than links from spam directories.  These directories are good for SEO and they can also drive very qualified traffic to your site.

Here is the list:

• Business.com ( http://www.business.com/ ) - $299/year
• Best of the Web Blogs ( http://blogs.botw.org/ ) - $75/year
• Yahoo! Directory ( http://dir.yahoo.com/ ) - $299/year
• Web Beacon ( http://www.web-beacon.com/ ) - $39.99, one-time fee
• DMOZ ( http://www.dmoz.org/ ) - This is the only free directory on the list. Submit your site to it and move on. They can take months (if ever) to approve your listing.
• Best of the Web ( http://botw.org/ ) - $149.95/year
• Gimpsy ( http://www.gimpsy.com/ ) - $49, one-time fee
• Skaffe ( http://www.skaffe.com/ ) - $44.99, one-time fee
• WOW Directory ( http://www.wowdirectory.com/ ) - $43, one-time fee
• Aviva ( http://www.avivadirectory.com/ ) - $49.95/year
• GoGuides ( http://www.goguides.org/ ) - $69.95, one-time fee
• Starting Point ( http://www.stpt.com/ ) - $99/year
• JoeAnt ( http://www.joeant.com/ ) - $39.99, one-time fee

Happy hunting…

Image Replacement Technique

Image replacement is being used all over the web today. It is used anytime designers want to place images where text would normally be, hence the name “image replacement”.  The most common uses are logos and buttons. This is a time honored tradition among developers that has evolved over time for purposes of bettering the web and how we code it.

There are many ways to do an image replacement but I would like to show you my two favorite ones to use.

The first one is the one I use on a normal basis. I have picked it up from various developers and not sure who to give credit to.

First Technique

<h1>
	<span></span>
    My Logo
</h1>

h1{
    width: 300px;
    height:30px;
    position:relative;
    overflow:hidden;
}
h1 span{
    position:absolute;
    width:100%;
    height:100%;
    background: url("images/logo.gif") no-repeat;
}

For this technique we are turning the span tag into a block element, placing a background image in it, and placing it over the text inside the h1. What is great about this technique is that it leaves the text right where it should be on the page. You can also go as far as styling the text that would be there just in case the image doesn’t show up or the user has images turned OFF.

The only drawback to this technique is the use of PNG images. Obviously if you were to use a PNG image the text underneath would show through…and this is where the other technique steps in.

Alternate/ Second Technique

This replacement technique is courtesy of Seamus Leahy and Stuart Langridge.

<h1>
    My Logo
</h1>

h1 {
    width: 300px;
    padding: 30px 0 0 0;
    height: 0px;
    background: url("images/logo.png") no-repeat;
    overflow: hidden;
}

With this technique we are pushing the text out of view by making the height: 0px and the overlay:hidden the “height” of the h1 is then replaced with padding. This leaves you with a blank box to add a background image to.

Like I said I only use the second technique when dealing with PNG images that allow the text to show through which really isn’t that often.

Both of these techniques are built around useability. The text is still on the page for screen readers and search engines which is what every good developer should be practicing.

Do you have a favorite technique to share? Let us know about it.