Reducing Web Development Costs The best website for you isn't the perfect, or even ideal website. The perfect website is one that is ever changing, always growing and constantly being measured, assessed and revised. In fact its never perfect at all, because there is always something that can be done better, but you can bet that someone, somewhere its massive support structure is working on it. Your website is a compromise. A balance of invested resources and desired return on investment. As such, your website needs to spend its capital efficiently. The quest for an optimal site is really just one of carefully allocating resources. When capital is an issue, you may be able to spend time. When time is in short supply, smartly selected tools save time and money while simultaneously delivering required functions. Getting the Best Deal from Square One Be honest and up front about your budgetary concerns. Ask for ways to save money. Ask to pay part of your costs up front, or on scheduled installments for preferred rates. Inquire about benefits for extended projects that don't have urgent or fixed deadlines Lay out a plan for a long-term relationship, we may give discounted rates to companies that want to grow with us and partner over the long haul. Smart Project Management Plan, plan, plan. Finalize your inspiration, ideas, message and more before starting a development project. Do your homework. Study what works for others and emulate it. We don't advocate stealing ideas, but you don't have to re-invent the wheel either. Be prepared to work hard and invest your time and energy. Keep your own notes, and keep tabs on how far the project has come and its overall progress Design - A little goes a long way. Do research and present us with a large library of websites, or other branding material that you like and that are suitable as inspiration for your project. Keep your template simple, but use carefully selected elements on top of your template to keep things interesting and attractive. Have a library of specific elements to incorporate. The menu style of site y, the color palette of site x, and the heading font of site z. Earmark specific design elements for future upgrades. A super modern, social, interactive footer for example can always be added on when more funds are available. Purchase a template or theme, and hire us to customize and personalize it (Be sure to get it approved first!). Take advantage of stock photos and designs such as those sold at iStockPhoto.com Saving on Website Content Prepare your content before starting your development (and keep it well organized!) Start with a content foundation on a few pages, with plans to grow using blogs, newsletters or just adding pages. Request training early on in the development process so you can assist with adding content. Keep your messages clear, clean and simple. Address formatting and layout creativity when you have more time/resources. Special Features and Functions Use existing modules or plugins instead of expensive custom solutions whenever possible. For Wordpress check out the plugin directory. for DNN / DotNetNuke check out the DNN store. Classify your functions according to importance, identify the parts of each that are absolutely required, pretty important and optional extras. Pay close attention to the way other sites' features are set up, and use them as a reference or model when describing what you need. Using these techniques, you can not only get set up for a relatively modest investment, but you can get the most bang for your buck even if your are making a significant investment into a very large web development project.