New Jersey Enterpreneur - Small Business, Entrepreneurs and Venture Capital

In part 1 of this three part series, I spoke about the costs associated with design and content. Now I want to talk about the costs to program or code your website.

Gone are the days when each web page is individually coded in HTML.

On most web sites, sometimes with the exception of the home page, you'll notice that every page contains the same information in the header, the footer and the navbar (the list of links to the other pages in the web site). Only the main content of each page is different. Programmers and HTML coders often isolate the common areas of each web page of a web site into a program or script known as a "template." The template also contains the "style sheet." The style sheet contains information on such things as the layout of the pages, and the colors and fonts used. However, the actual content of each page is saved in separate documents, even in separate folders on the web server.

When a visitor clicks on a link at your web site, the template script seeks out the content for that link, and combines the template data with the content to build a web page that is displayed to the visitor.

If a new page needs to be added to the web site, the new content is added to the content folder, and the programmer updates the navbar section of the template to include a link to the new web page. When a visitor clicks on any page of the web site, every page includes this new link (including the new page) automatically. Imagine this scenario -- if the business address or phone numbers change in the footer, the programmer needs to change only the template, and every page of the web site will reflect the changes.

Web sites -- even small web sites -- have less maintenance costs when the web site is built using a template-based design.

The scenario above briefly describes server-based templates. The web programmer typically works on scripts and content files on his/her own PC. The template scripts are often written in a programming language like PHP or dotNet. Once the files are tested, the programmer transfers the files to the web server. If a new page was added, only one page and the modified template need to be transferred to the server. Another technique is to use the features of a program like DreamWeaver to create templates. In this case, the template script and the content are modified on the developer's PC as expected. But when the updates are ready to be transferred to the web server, the DreamWeaver program must be used to merge the template with the content to create the pages that the web site visitor will see. All these pages will need to be transferred to the web server by the web programmer. So if one new page was added, the DreamWeaver program  must be used to re-build all the web pages, so that every page contains the link to the new page. Then all the re-built pages need to be transferred to the web server.

In either case, the templated web site is more efficient and cost-effective than individually coded HTML web pages. The advantage of the server-based template is that any web programmer who can access the web server with the appropriate userid and password can update the template. In the case of DreamWeaver, only the web programmer who has the template on his/her PC can update the template.

A typical catalog / shopping cart web site is template-driven. Information about the products is usually stored in a database, while the layout and design is handled by a template. Pre-packaged software systems are available for installation and customization on your web server that allow a web programmer to customize the template, while allowing the merchant to maintain the data about the products. The concept of separating the template -- with its design and layout -- from the content, makes it possible for the merchant to manage their own content without worry of "breaking" the layout of the web site.

Other web sites use this Content Management System concept to allow the web site owner the ability to maintain any content of their web sites, even if they are not catalog / shopping cart web sites. Blogs are prevalent examples of Content Management Systems used to create web sites.

The costs between building a web site as separate, hand-coded pages, and building a template-driven web site are negligible. In both cases, the web programmer needs to build one page to the satisfaction of the web site owner, and then use that as a model for the remaining pages. The advantage of a template-base design is that future changes can be made to the look of the entire web site by changing only one document. Hand-code individual pages, need to modified page by page.

Pre-packaged software that is customized by web programmers requires skill in the programming language and database system used by the software. Most packages require moderate skill in the programming language. Graphics need to be created and incorporated into the custom design by a graphics artist skilled in web design (or by an equally-skilled web programmer). If the software requires little customization, costs will be lower. But special features may require the skills of more advanced web programmers, increasing costs.

Always ask to see examples of websites that the programmer has recently completed. Ask them what customizations were made to either the design or the functionality. Expect to pay more for experienced programmers who can complete the job efficiently. New programmers may be cheaper, but will usually take more time and make may not have all the programming skills.

In next month's article, we explore the costs in hosting and supporting your website.

If you found this article interesting, you may interested in reading How Much Does a Web Site Cost Part III