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publication date: Jan 3, 2009
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author/source: Miles Galliford
 The 3 Options For Building Your Content Website: Customized Development v Software v Managed Service If you are planning to build a content website you have four options. Each has their advantages and disadvantages which I will go into in detail below. The most important point to remember is that once the website is built you must feel confident running it. Every minute spent dealing with website problems is a minute not spent creating content and building traffic. You have four website build options are:
Up until five years ago hiring a developer was your only real option, fortunately today there are many more choices. Option #1 - Hire a Developer or Development Company to Build a Customized WebsiteCustomized development means the whole website is hand-coded to ensure that everything is exactly as you want it. Getting a 100% customized site is rare these days and only tends to be done for sites with very specialist requirements. Pros:
Cons:
Most customized builds overrun on time and costs. Do not be surprised if it takes twice as long as you planned and cost twice as much as you budgeted. Build this potential scenario into your business plan before you start. If you go this route make sure you create a detailed specification brief and agree it with the developer before you start. Expect to pay extra for anything not in the brief and be aware that seemingly small additions to a finished platform can become big projects. Most development companies will be happy to provide a fixed quote and timetable. Some will try to give you a per hour cost with an estimate of the number of hours the project will take. ALWAYS go with a fixed quote. Finding a DeveloperIf you choose to build your own site, you can find a developer using one of the many freelancer websites:
All developers on these sites are rated by their previous customers. Choose a company or individual who has excellent feedback and then quiz them about their previous experience of building sites similar to what you are looking for. Most of the people you will find are based in Eastern Europe, India or Asia. They offer good value for money, but you must know exactly what you want them to do before getting started. Also remember that a bespoke solution needs maintaining. Include maintenance, monitoring and upgrades costs in your business plan as monthly fees. Hosting is now very cheap, but upgrades will need to be done by your developer at their usual day rate. Warning: Avoid using your development company to host your website and never get them to register your domain name. If you fall out with them …which happens a lot… they will have complete control of your website. Option #1 - Hire a Developer or Development Company but Use Open Source Software and ComponentsUsually a better (and cheaper option) is to get your website built around free open source software. There are thousands of open source projects going on around the world. The better ones are supported by hundreds of developers who provide their time and code for free. You can use the software they create without charge providing you abide by the restrictions of the open source license. The main restriction is you cannot resell the software. For building a Funnel of Trust website there are open source components that do many of the things you want: Content Management
Database
Ecommerce
Option #3 - Buy a Dedicated Software PackageThere are software packages that enable you to build a complete website with most the features you need for achieving your Funnel of Trust goals (content management, flexible design, basic store, payment processing, etc.). You buy the software and license which usually gives you the right to build one site and run it for an unlimited time. The software is usually sold either on a disc or as a download over the web. You will build your site on your computer and when it is ready you upload it to the server at your hosting company. Pros:
Cons:
I would only recommend the software route to people who have basic developer and HTML skills, and who have some previous experience of running a websites. You need to know what features are critical for your success before buying software. For example, adding paid membership management to a third party software solution is very difficult…maybe impossible. If you plan on having paid membership you need to get a software package which already has it integrated. Option #3 - Use a Managed Service or Web ServiceOver the last five years there has been a quiet revolution going on. Many services you could previously only buy as software are being offered as ready-to-go internet services. These services have lots of names including:
Essentially they are all the same thing; complete services which you access via your browser over the internet. If you use a webmail service such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo Mail you are already a web services user (maybe without even realising it!) Many big software companies, particularly Microsoft have tried to slow down progress, because it puts there core software business at risk. Today the trickle has turned into a raging river. There are cost effective (or even free) web services for every possible business requirement; word processing, invoicing, website building, payment processing, email, contact management, etc. Microsoft et al are desperately trying to catch up. There are several specialist managed services for creating and running different types of website, for example
I run my life using web services! My calendar, photos, communication with colleagues, document storage, websites and much more are all done on the web. I can logon to any of these services from any internet-connected computer, anywhere in the world. I could be working in New Zealand, Iceland or the Bahamas and no-one would know! Pros
Cons
How to Choose a Managed ServiceHere are the things you should do when making the important decision about which managed service you should use to run your website:
Free or Paid Web ServiceIf you find both free and paid web services that meet your needs, don’t automatically go for the free service. No business will survive unless it is making money. If a service is free you need to satisfy yourself that the company behind it will still be around in a year’s time. If it’s run by Microsoft or Google, you should be OK. If it’s a small company with no obvious source of income or investment, be careful. Your website is your business so you need to be sure it has a safe and stable home. Summary Of Website Build ChoicesChoosing how you build your website is an important decision. The easiest route by some way is using a managed service, but you have to be sure that it does everything you need it to and is run by a solid company. Getting a bespoke design is the most flexible option, but also the most costly and time consuming. If you choose to go down this path I strongly suggest you use open source software as your building blocks. Finally buying a software package is a bit of a compromise with a foot in both camps. If you find a solution that has everything you need, then it’s a perfectly reasonable choice. blog comments powered by Disqus TalkContent is Powered by  SubHub provides an all-in-one solution to enable you to design, build and manage your own money-making membership website. If you'd like to test out the full functionality of the SubHub membership website platform, why not sign up for our FREE seven-day trial? www.subhub.com |
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