Entrepreneur Web Budget - Content Management Or Other Do-It-Yourself Options?
Building a web site usually comes right after choosing a name and right before ordering business cards.
Which means businesses are still facing loads of start-up expenses and haven't even made their first dollar.
No wonder entrepreneurs try to save money on their web sites.
While new business owners will eagerly sit down with a web developer, intending to build a web site that kicks butt both in design and in usability, they usually walk away either depressed or angry when they discover how much that kick-butt site is going to cost.
"It takes a village," as they say, to build a really good web site.
Included among the professionals whose services are needed are:
And that's just to get the web site launched.
When it's time to update the calendar, add new pages or rewrite the page content for better search engine optimization, plan on shelling out more dollars-per-hour to do so.
To cut costs, many new businesses look for other options to the traditional custom web site developer.
Options they might want to consider include:
Among the compromises that might need to be made are:
When the kid next door is never around to update the site or the online web site creator can't provide the function customers are asking for, the entrepreneur often returns to the traditional web developer for help.
Unfortunately, there is often no choice but to start fresh.
Which means the entrepreneur bought some time maybe, but is facing the same estimate they walked away from in the first place.
Content Management web sites built with Open Source code are not the cheapest option, but they can equal custom-developed sites on many levels at a fraction of the cost and problems.
Among the popular Content Management systems available that you may have heard about are:
The scale tips a bit toward DotNetNuke because In addition to providing hundreds of options for web site building, on-going support is easy to access.
Based on Microsoft's DotNet technology, there are thousands of programmers and web developers world-wide who support the existing code and are busy coding new functions all the time.
If the business grows in a year and needs new functions, new modules can be added seamlessly to the old site.
The fact that DotNetNuke is also a Content Management system is just a bonus.
Clients update their own pages and they are able to keep their sites fresh without having to justify the cost of a webmaster.
Open Source means that it is free to download the code to build a DotNetNuke web site.
Anyone can do it.
But in all honesty, not everyone will be comfortable building their own site.
In addition, the do-it-yourselfer may also be uncomfortable creating graphics, writing copy and handling site optimization, but DotNetNuke is still a solid solution for the new business owner.
At a cost a little more than an online site-builder, but less than a custom web designer, entrepreneurs can hire a DotNetNuke web developer to install the Content Management system for them.
With a little training, business owners can update their own pages or have someone else in the office do it.
Free "skins" are available that will no doubt meet short term needs for the look of the site, and thanks to the exceptional DotNetNuke community, more unique skin designs can be purchased or even commissioned and swapped for the old look when the budget allows.
To keep costs down, entrepreneurs can buy an hour of consultation with a web marketing professional from time to time and use that advice to make their own changes to the web site.
As the business grows, the owner can add new functions to the site by hiring a DotNetNuke developer to install the appropriate free or low-cost modules.
On the very slim chance that no module for a specific function exists, programmers can be commissioned to create one.
With DotNetNuke, the entrepreneur can start with a basic do-it-yourself site and build it over time into a fully-functioning, graphically unique and completely optimized professional web site.
In fact there are many big-name companies that use DotNetNuke technology.
The kid next door might make a fine web site, but an entrepreneur needs to plan ahead.
Once the business gets rolling, slamming on the brakes to re-think the web site solution could cost more at that point than what was saved when starting with the cheapest option.
With an Open Source Content Management system, however, professional services can be purchased over time while providing a complete online presence from the very beginning.
Which means businesses are still facing loads of start-up expenses and haven't even made their first dollar.
No wonder entrepreneurs try to save money on their web sites.
While new business owners will eagerly sit down with a web developer, intending to build a web site that kicks butt both in design and in usability, they usually walk away either depressed or angry when they discover how much that kick-butt site is going to cost.
"It takes a village," as they say, to build a really good web site.
Included among the professionals whose services are needed are:
- A graphic designer
- A content writer
- A marketing professional
- A programmer
- A hosting provider
And that's just to get the web site launched.
When it's time to update the calendar, add new pages or rewrite the page content for better search engine optimization, plan on shelling out more dollars-per-hour to do so.
To cut costs, many new businesses look for other options to the traditional custom web site developer.
Options they might want to consider include:
- Getting the kid next door to build a site
- Using an online web site creator
- Downloading an Open Source Content Management web-builder
Among the compromises that might need to be made are:
- Original graphic design
- Professional graphic design
- Professional marketing advice
- Site management support
- Functionality
When the kid next door is never around to update the site or the online web site creator can't provide the function customers are asking for, the entrepreneur often returns to the traditional web developer for help.
Unfortunately, there is often no choice but to start fresh.
Which means the entrepreneur bought some time maybe, but is facing the same estimate they walked away from in the first place.
Content Management web sites built with Open Source code are not the cheapest option, but they can equal custom-developed sites on many levels at a fraction of the cost and problems.
Among the popular Content Management systems available that you may have heard about are:
- Joomla
- Drupal
- Typo3
- DotNetNuke
The scale tips a bit toward DotNetNuke because In addition to providing hundreds of options for web site building, on-going support is easy to access.
Based on Microsoft's DotNet technology, there are thousands of programmers and web developers world-wide who support the existing code and are busy coding new functions all the time.
If the business grows in a year and needs new functions, new modules can be added seamlessly to the old site.
The fact that DotNetNuke is also a Content Management system is just a bonus.
Clients update their own pages and they are able to keep their sites fresh without having to justify the cost of a webmaster.
Open Source means that it is free to download the code to build a DotNetNuke web site.
Anyone can do it.
But in all honesty, not everyone will be comfortable building their own site.
In addition, the do-it-yourselfer may also be uncomfortable creating graphics, writing copy and handling site optimization, but DotNetNuke is still a solid solution for the new business owner.
At a cost a little more than an online site-builder, but less than a custom web designer, entrepreneurs can hire a DotNetNuke web developer to install the Content Management system for them.
With a little training, business owners can update their own pages or have someone else in the office do it.
Free "skins" are available that will no doubt meet short term needs for the look of the site, and thanks to the exceptional DotNetNuke community, more unique skin designs can be purchased or even commissioned and swapped for the old look when the budget allows.
To keep costs down, entrepreneurs can buy an hour of consultation with a web marketing professional from time to time and use that advice to make their own changes to the web site.
As the business grows, the owner can add new functions to the site by hiring a DotNetNuke developer to install the appropriate free or low-cost modules.
On the very slim chance that no module for a specific function exists, programmers can be commissioned to create one.
With DotNetNuke, the entrepreneur can start with a basic do-it-yourself site and build it over time into a fully-functioning, graphically unique and completely optimized professional web site.
In fact there are many big-name companies that use DotNetNuke technology.
The kid next door might make a fine web site, but an entrepreneur needs to plan ahead.
Once the business gets rolling, slamming on the brakes to re-think the web site solution could cost more at that point than what was saved when starting with the cheapest option.
With an Open Source Content Management system, however, professional services can be purchased over time while providing a complete online presence from the very beginning.
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