Building a website is, like many things, mostly a function of preparation. The more pre-planning work you do, the easier, faster, and cheaper the actual process becomes. If you decide you're just going to wing it, you'll probably pay a lot more for something that looks like it was pasted together. Parts may be great, but the whole will be shaky.

There are clients who come to us having done considerable research. They have done plenty of internal reflection to the point that they fully understand why they want a website and what they want it to be like. These clients often provide a very detailed request for proposal. This RFP is taken almost directly over as the specification document.

These clients are uncommon though. Most know they want a website. Different departments may have different ideas about why. They don't really know what the website can do for them and haven't really researched the standards for design and functionality in their field.

Some web design firms only like the first type of client. It is easier to satisfy someone who clearly understands what he or she wants. However, RP AXIS is excited when we get the opportunity to help a company discover what its internet strategy should be. We have a lot of experience in working with clients to understand just what their website needs are, who should be involved in the decision-making process, and how to develop the specific requirements. In fact, being involved in the pre-production phase often allows us to find smoother, better-tailored solutions.

A Little Background:

Good planning done prior to the commencement of actual design will greatly reduce the overall cost of the website. Redesign is costly, scope creep and loss of focus can derail a project entirely. Taking the time to get all the potential decision makers, in advance, to agree on the goals and process that will be used in development will give you the best chance of getting you what you want for the budget you have laid out. This preplanning is not free, of course. You should account for the time spent internally, including that by the top-level decision makers. And, you will want your design firm involved in the preplanning process to a great extent.

Creating a website involves strategic thinking, analysis of needs and audiences, awareness of where you want it to develop over time. Having the right information architecture and good design notes on how it should look before starting will save a lot of time and money later. How much you should be paying for planning varies widely depending on the size of the project, the type of firm you're dealing with, the management style of your own organization, and whether you intend to be more of a leader or an imitator in the market. Even a small site will require about 10 hours of pre-planning, though much of this may be accomplished in a well-thought out Request for Proposal.

Another element that will increase the cost in this area is the complexity of your organization. It is much more difficult to develop a site for multiple decision-makers than for one. If you have several departments, and each has a different set of expectations, then the strategy development is more complex.

This element will normally use at least ten hours. For every design and programming hour allot anywhere from a quarter hour up to an hour for management. Rates run from $20 an hour up to $30 an hour.