Depending on what you want a website to do,
how you want it to look and how complicated it
will be, the price can range from free, to
hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Let's start off with the free stuff. There are
several ways to get a free website.
* Take it yourself.
* Sign up with a web hosting company that
offers software that lets you create your
own site.
* Use one of those "free hosting" sites. I
talked about the problems with these sites
in my article, "How To Select A Good
Website Hosting Company."
* Have a friend who knows how to make
websites do one for you.
* Find a college student who has to create a
website for a school project make your site.
* And the old standby, barter. I've been
offered many items in exchange for a
website, like a handmade quilt, a painting
and a river raft trip down the Grand
Canyon. Just to let you know, I turned them
all down. It's just too hard trying to figure
out how many quilts or paintings equal a
month's rent or a car payment.

Depending on your needs, these options for a
free site may work for you, but remember the
saying, "You get what you pay for." This is
especially true in website design. Each of
these options has advantages and
disadvantages. Only you can decide if they will
be appropriate for you.

If you realize you will need to pay some money
for a site, but want to keep it to a minimum, you
have several options.
* You can learn HTML, and hand code a site,
or buy website design software, like Adobe
GoLive or Dreamweaver. For GoLive, which
is what I use, a student can buy a copy at
the bookstore or places like
http://www.GradWare.com for about $80. The
rest of us will pay about $400. You may
also want to do some of the website design
with Adobe Photoshop.
* You can pay a student to make it for you.
Hopefully, by paying them you'll minimize
the chances of them leaving town in the
middle of creating your site. I get several
clients a year because of this happening.
* If you're lucky enough to have an employee
who knows how to make websites, then
have them do it "on the clock."
* Templates are another option. You buy a
template, then add your copy for each page
and you have a website. Templates can be
free, or cost up to $100. They average
between $25 and $60. Be sure to read the
usage agreement before you pay for a
template. You will need to know some
HTML to use templates though.

The final step, of course, is to hire me, or
someone else like me, who of course won't be
as good. Hiring a website designer may cost
more, but if you do, there are a lot of
headaches you won't have to deal with.

Website designers, me included, offer a range
of options. I offer:
* Templates - The cheapest way to go
because you do most of the work. I charge
$50 for these.
* Business Card Sites - These are one-page
websites that usually list a business' name,
address, contact information and a
paragraph explaining what they do. I charge
$100 for these.
* Predesigned Sites - Mine go up to seven
pages and are like templates, but I do most
of the work. You pick a template, give me
your copy and graphics and I put it all
together. I charge $300 for a three-page
site and $25 for each additional page, up to
seven pages.
* Custom Sites - These are the most expensive
because the website designer will design
and assemble everything. My fees are $60
an hour.

The fees website designers charge varies,
based on skill, geographic location and several
other factors. Most website designers will
charge between $30 and $100 an hour.

When trying to figure out the total cost of a site
there are other expenses you need to think
about, too.
* Internet Service Provider (ISP) - This is how
you connect to the Internet. This will usually
cost about $10 a month for dialup, $35 a
month for cable/DSL and $50 a month for
satellite/dish.
* Domain Name Registration - You have to call
your website something, like
CreativeCauldron.com. This will range
between $5-$20 a year.
* Web Hosting - You need to put your
website on a server so people can access
your site. A web hosting company is where
you do this. The cost is based on many
factors, including the size of your site and
the features you need. The prices usually
start at about $7 a month and go up from
there. Most people, myself included, only
need this basic level, or one level up.
* Software - As I mentioned above, you may
need to purchase website design software.

Some people want a database site. This lets
you up automatically collect data on forms
visitors fill out, and it can make updating your
site easier by filling in forms that only you can
assess. Then this new data is automatically
added to your site. If you need a database on
your site, be warned that they are expensive to
create. It's not uncommon for a database
designer to charge $200 an hour. It can easily
double, or triple, the cost of a website.

So, let's put this all together. Here are some
rough prices for a basic custom website,
created with HTML, no database and with very
little graphic design work being done. That
means that there isn't any animation or flash,
no photographs or artwork purchased and
nothing real fancy on the site.
* 3-Page - $450
* 3-Page With One Year of Hosting and
Domain Registration - $700
* 5-Page - $700
* 5-Page With One Year of Hosting and
Domain Registration - $960

For an individual, this may be more than you
wanted to spend. The free or less expensive
options would probably be a better way to go.
For a business, this is a good investment. It's a
one-time expense that will promote your
products and services for many years.

So, pry open your wallets, pull out your cash
and plastic, and give me a call today. No really,
call me know. I'm waaaaitinnnngggg.........