The High Cost of Web Sites

[EmptyNest]

I thought I posted this previously..but it hasn't shown up... I got interrupted so I am not sure I hit the save button....ANYWAY.... I have to vent here

Our association is looking to have a new web site developed. We have sent out RFP's to the "usual" sources as well as our current company and several others around our state. Well...got back proposals today and the lowest price is $19K and the highest..which really isn't even a final price is over $55K!!!! how in heaven's name can a non profit association afford to have a really nice looking website that does the job at these kinds of prices?????
5 years ago we paid $20K....with all the new advancements and technology etc etc...I would have thought we could get away with about the same amount. Of course we will NOT pay $50K for a site...but it just threw me for a loop that prices would be so high.
I also know now why there are so many crappy looking websites out there ....who's nephew did it for them, or they are doing it themselves. A friend recently has his site redone to the tune of $9,000!!! Who can afford that???? Somewhere along the line this has really gotten out of hand.
Ok my venting is done!!!

 

[swirt]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built.

 

[EmptyNest]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Yes custom coding and content management system is required. I understand that.
The thing that made me the most upset is that our CURRENT company is one of the highest priced. They already have our system set up. Yes, a few tweaks are needed to the database and a few things would be updated and an interactive FLASH map tied to the search feature...so I thought they would have given us a better quote than they did. But maybe they too see all the problems we've had and want to start from scratch.
But...if someone can do what we want for under $20K...then why would we pay over $50K????? I think not

 

[swirt]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Yes custom coding and content management system is required. I understand that.
The thing that made me the most upset is that our CURRENT company is one of the highest priced. They already have our system set up. Yes, a few tweaks are needed to the database and a few things would be updated and an interactive FLASH map tied to the search feature...so I thought they would have given us a better quote than they did. But maybe they too see all the problems we've had and want to start from scratch.
But...if someone can do what we want for under $20K...then why would we pay over $50K????? I think not
.

The other thing that I know I take into consideration is the number of client voices I have to work with. For a "normal" b&b site there is one set of voices (the two innkeepers) and typically only one of them communicates with me. That is the easiest. Developing a site for an organization often has lots of people giving "direction" on teh site and contradicting each other. It makes the process more confusing and means I spend a lot more time on communication. It is possible that your current company is charging a PITA rate if they know the organization is difficult to work with. There are some client groups I know will be a pain so I estimate extra hours in to account for the pain. If they pass on it because it is too expensive, that's ok too. That may be the case in what you are describing.

 

[EmptyNest]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Yes custom coding and content management system is required. I understand that.
The thing that made me the most upset is that our CURRENT company is one of the highest priced. They already have our system set up. Yes, a few tweaks are needed to the database and a few things would be updated and an interactive FLASH map tied to the search feature...so I thought they would have given us a better quote than they did. But maybe they too see all the problems we've had and want to start from scratch.
But...if someone can do what we want for under $20K...then why would we pay over $50K????? I think not
.

The other thing that I know I take into consideration is the number of client voices I have to work with. For a "normal" b&b site there is one set of voices (the two innkeepers) and typically only one of them communicates with me. That is the easiest. Developing a site for an organization often has lots of people giving "direction" on teh site and contradicting each other. It makes the process more confusing and means I spend a lot more time on communication. It is possible that your current company is charging a PITA rate if they know the organization is difficult to work with. There are some client groups I know will be a pain so I estimate extra hours in to account for the pain. If they pass on it because it is too expensive, that's ok too. That may be the case in what you are describing.
.

I am the ONLY person that works with our current hosting company!!! No one else has any contact or say with them but me the webmaster for the association.
I do all the updates except for some re programming in the database. Any changes to the site are made by me, photos, updates, newsletters, store set up etc etc
I am the PERFECT CLIENT!!! I am not a PITA

BECAUSE they charge $100 an hr min. So I do it all. We just pay for the absolute necessities and hosting.

 

[Morticia]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Yes custom coding and content management system is required. I understand that.
The thing that made me the most upset is that our CURRENT company is one of the highest priced. They already have our system set up. Yes, a few tweaks are needed to the database and a few things would be updated and an interactive FLASH map tied to the search feature...so I thought they would have given us a better quote than they did. But maybe they too see all the problems we've had and want to start from scratch.
But...if someone can do what we want for under $20K...then why would we pay over $50K????? I think not
.

The other thing that I know I take into consideration is the number of client voices I have to work with. For a "normal" b&b site there is one set of voices (the two innkeepers) and typically only one of them communicates with me. That is the easiest. Developing a site for an organization often has lots of people giving "direction" on teh site and contradicting each other. It makes the process more confusing and means I spend a lot more time on communication. It is possible that your current company is charging a PITA rate if they know the organization is difficult to work with. There are some client groups I know will be a pain so I estimate extra hours in to account for the pain. If they pass on it because it is too expensive, that's ok too. That may be the case in what you are describing.
.

I am the ONLY person that works with our current hosting company!!! No one else has any contact or say with them but me the webmaster for the association.
I do all the updates except for some re programming in the database. Any changes to the site are made by me, photos, updates, newsletters, store set up etc etc
I am the PERFECT CLIENT!!! I am not a PITA

BECAUSE they charge $100 an hr min. So I do it all. We just pay for the absolute necessities and hosting.
.

That could be your answer right there...they have added in all the revenue they WON'T be making because you take care of everything.

 

[EmptyNest]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Yes custom coding and content management system is required. I understand that.
The thing that made me the most upset is that our CURRENT company is one of the highest priced. They already have our system set up. Yes, a few tweaks are needed to the database and a few things would be updated and an interactive FLASH map tied to the search feature...so I thought they would have given us a better quote than they did. But maybe they too see all the problems we've had and want to start from scratch.
But...if someone can do what we want for under $20K...then why would we pay over $50K????? I think not
.

The other thing that I know I take into consideration is the number of client voices I have to work with. For a "normal" b&b site there is one set of voices (the two innkeepers) and typically only one of them communicates with me. That is the easiest. Developing a site for an organization often has lots of people giving "direction" on teh site and contradicting each other. It makes the process more confusing and means I spend a lot more time on communication. It is possible that your current company is charging a PITA rate if they know the organization is difficult to work with. There are some client groups I know will be a pain so I estimate extra hours in to account for the pain. If they pass on it because it is too expensive, that's ok too. That may be the case in what you are describing.
.

I am the ONLY person that works with our current hosting company!!! No one else has any contact or say with them but me the webmaster for the association.
I do all the updates except for some re programming in the database. Any changes to the site are made by me, photos, updates, newsletters, store set up etc etc
I am the PERFECT CLIENT!!! I am not a PITA

BECAUSE they charge $100 an hr min. So I do it all. We just pay for the absolute necessities and hosting.
.

That could be your answer right there...they have added in all the revenue they WON'T be making because you take care of everything.
.

Well, that won't be working when the new site is finally done. I have already told them I am done being webmaster when the new site is completed. Enough is enough already.

 

[riverbendnewbie]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Since you seem to be a computer wizard why am I still having difficulty posting pics? I am doing what they say but I am still getting upload failed.

 

[Morticia]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Since you seem to be a computer wizard why am I still having difficulty posting pics? I am doing what they say but I am still getting upload failed.
.

Maybe the pic size is too large? I tried uploading a 1 meg file yesterday and it didn't finish. Try condensing the file first and then uploading.

 

[swirt]

Those prices do seem high, though it is hard to say for sure without knowing the requirements given for the bid. If there is custom coding (programming not html) involved to get custom features then it may explain some of the cost. A custom content managment system can take a bit of programming time.
I know the local bb-org here paid A few thousand for a site a while back which they thought was a good deal (it wasn't it was a horrendous site with no decent SEO features) but it had no content managment system built into it so every time a member needed details changed or a new member needed to be added or old member removed, they had to shell out money to have the design company to make the change. As a result the site ended up costing them a lot more over the course of a few years. They have since had the site re-built..

Since you seem to be a computer wizard why am I still having difficulty posting pics? I am doing what they say but I am still getting upload failed.
.

Sorry, you have to follow up on the follow-ups. https://www.innspiring.com/node/1072#comment-10807
Like I asked before, how big is the file (memory wise) that you are trying to post? I have increased the allowed file size from 1MB to 2MB I have also increased the storage quota from 2MB per user to 3MB per user.
If you try to upload a file that is 3MB, it will not upload and tell you that it is too big. If you try to upload a file that is 1.5MB it will allow it but it will shrink the physical size of the file to 640x480 which reduce the file size as well.