Website Design Budgets
Estimating the cost of your website project can be a daunting process. One thing is for sure; it always takes longer than you think, so make sure you budget for that dreaded scope creep. By planning for the below line items, you will at least end up with a ballpark figure and a timeline.
Web Project Line Items
• Project Management Hours
• Information Architect Hours
• Usability Expert Hours
• SEO Hours
• Website Writing Hours
• Website Design Hours
• Production Hours
• Development Hours
• QA Testing Hours
• Usability Testing
• Stipend for Usability Testers
• Usability Testing Facility
• IT Hours (Setting up and configuring servers, migration)
• Hardware Purchases
• Software Purchases
• Hosting Charges
• Stock Photography/Illustrations
• 3rd Party Charges (E-Commerce, Newsletter Tool, etc.)
• Licensing Fees (For non-open source software)
• Ongoing Maintenance of Content
This will make a good start to your list, but don’t forget to plan for scope creep, project delays and overhead costs. Whether you budget by task or team member, use a method you are comfortable with and can track accurately. The success of your project depends on it.
Ivy Hastings is a Project Manager at Fusionbox, a Denver website design and development firm. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Ivy has published many articles about Internet Marketing and Web Design and Development Best Practices. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Arts Street, a local non-profit that teaches at-risk youth the craft and business of the Arts.
