Developing A Web Design Budget Essays Example

The cost of designing a website ranges from a few hundred to thousands of dollars, depending on a number of factors (Eccher, 2008). Failing to correctly budget for a website design leads to one of the following undesirable outcomes: Designing the website costs twice or thrice more than anticipated, leading to cutbacks or elimination of post-design marketing activities. The developed website will not be useful for lacking the required functionality. The Quality of the website will be compromised in terms of design, functionality and content, projecting a bad image of the business. Proper budgeting will help avoid such scenarios.
Several factors and items must be considered when budgeting to ensure the designed website will meet the required standards. Before drawing the web design budget, it is important to know what the objectives of the website are. The first step in budgeting for a website design is to define the site specifications (Eccher, 2008). Three important factors to consider when creating the site specifications are, design, content, and functionality. Under the design the following should be considered: The level of customization needed. Will a standard website template suit the needs of the organization? Is a customized design needed from scratch or can it be based on an existing template. What images will be used on the website? Their availability and where they will be sourced from if not available. If the photography is required, will a professional photographer be used?

The second step in developing a website budget is to seek for proposals from interested agencies or freelancers. The site specifications list developed in step one is used in soliciting for the proposals (Eccher, 2008). Specifications will guide the freelancer or agency to present a rational estimate. From the specifications, the web designer may propose amendments or additions based on their experience and functional considerations. Several proposals should be evaluated to get fair pricing. After evaluating the proposals, the third step is to align expectations and costs. It is most likely that at this point the desired website will cost more than expected. A review of available development options should be undertaken. Each development option should be weighed against their real value and their cost.
Usually design, content and functionality disconnects are brought to the fore using this three step budgeting approach. Most firms do not consider images as important until in later stages of the project. Quality images require time and money, when not budgeted for companies end using recycled stock images. Creating content is time-consuming and expensive, when assumed it causes lots of problems later in the design process. Assuming employees will come up with quality content is a cardinal mistake committed by many organizations. Required functionality has to be well thought out before the start of the project. Most firms want to add functionality in the middle of the design process and find that it will cost beyond what they can afford. Unforeseen costs can be catered for by using proposals when developing the budget, pre-planning ensures all components are included. With a good budget, it is easier to find the right agency or developer for the project. Internet Marketing is an important facet that must be budgeted.
Form and function are the main goals when designing an airline website (Mustafa Öz, 2012). The website needs to have the required functionality and a good design that the customers find easy to navigate. Features and functionality to be included on the website are:

References

Eccher, C. (2008). Professional web design. Boston, MA: Course Technology.
Mustafa Öz,. (2012). A research to evaluate the airline companies’ websites via a consumer-oriented approach. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, 6(14). doi:10.5897/ajbm11.2145