Website Design Budgets
10/25/2006Estimating 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 dont 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.
