There are several costs involved with putting up a website, but none of these costs are prohibitively expensive. Below you will find a listing of common costs, an explanation of what is involved with each, and your options.
Website Design
Introduction
A website design can be as expensive and complex, or as cheap and simple, as you desire. It is totally up to you. Some companies spend millions designing their sites, while many small companies spend next to nothing. Thankfully, the amount of money you spend on design is NOT the most important factor.
Who or how you design your site is far more important than how much you spend. No matter how much money you have, a bad site is still a bad site, and your audience won’t sit around and waste their time.
Designing Your Own Site
If you have a knack for graphic design or layout and know your way around your computer, you can design your own site. Today’s software programs can make designing a simple text-and-graphics website as easy as typing in your word processor and inserting pictures. You can buy a commercial website tool at your local computer store, and you may already have a free design tool like Netscape Composer on your computer.
Hiring a Website Designer
Most professionals are too busy running their businesses to sit down and design their own site, and prefer to hire a company like Computer Help USA to do the work for them. Be careful with who you sign on with, though!
Many companies place limitations on what they offer for the price. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Some companies have a low initial fee but may require a year-long contract. Other companies charge a “per page” fee for designing your site, but they usually limit the amount of text, graphics or links your site can have.
Computer Help USA will design your site from start to finish for a flat-rate fee of $75.00 per hour. We place NO limits on the amount of text or graphics your site can have. It is totally up to you. You can keep your costs down by providing your own copy, graphics and photos, or you can take advantage of Computer Help USA’s scripting, graphic design and photography services. We will keep you informed and involved throughout the design process.
Give us a call for a free phone consultation and price estimate.
Domain Registration
www.yourcompany.com
Registering your domain name (www.yourcompany.com) costs $70.00 for two years if registered through Network Solutions. Reserving your domain name (for future use) costs $119.00 for two years. Computer Help USA can register your name for you.
You must register your domain name if you want a unique name for your company. Your other option is a free website.
Free Websites
Most Internet Service Providers (AOL, Earthlink, etc.) offer free websites with their service. If you have an AOL account, you have free website space. Other companies like Geocities offer free websites to anyone who wants one as well. Free websites eliminate both the cost of domain registration and web hosting (see below).
These free websites have TWO major catches, though:
- First, your domain name is pre-assigned. With AOL, it is usually your AOL username, which is certainly NOT easy for your audience to remember.
- Second, many free websites require their users to display advertisements or adhere to a strict design policy.
Computer Help USA does not recommend free websites to its clients unless they are on a very tight budget. It makes your site much harder to find and does not offer a unique domain name.
Web Hosting
Once your site is designed, you have to place it somewhere on the Internet so people can view it. That place is called a web server, a specialized computer set up to operate 24 hours a day. A good web server has a high-speed connection to the Internet and must be reliable. There are many companies out there that offer web hosting services. Their monthly costs and features offered vary widely.
Computer Help USA will host your completed website. We have several web hosting packages for your selection.
Online Store Options
Building an online storefront does not have to be expensive. In fact, many of our customers are surprised at just how cheap it can be. Computer Help USA uses the Ultrashop shopping cart, which allows you, the store owner, to quickly and easily update all product information in your store. Adding pictures, descriptions or shipping options is as easy as filling in the blanks! Computer Help USA can get you set up for as little as $350.00* to start, which includes:
- Ultrashop shopping cart software
- Domain name registration (www.yourcompany.com)
- Web hosting setup and configuration fees
- Web hosting with secure server access
- One hour of free training if Computer Help USA designs your site
*Prices are subject to change. Call Computer Help USA for more information.