RE: Estimating web site design and creation

["Donald H. White" <dwhite -at- jrtcllc -dot- com>]

Estimating a Web site, whether for external or internal use, is,
unfortunately, not a very scientific operation.

Developing site templates is relatively easy. Adobe GoLive, DreamWeaver, or
MS FrontPage (boo!) can help you do that. Also, there are open source
content management packages (such as Joomla http://www.joomla.org/) that
really speed the process and result in a nice-looking, very functional site.
Whether the templates you purchase from 3rd party vendors comply with W3C
standards for HTML/XHTML and CSS largely depends upon your manipulation and
refinement of them.

However, the problem lies with content and content providers. Discussions
must occur to identify the content that will be offered and those who will
deliver at least the initial drafts of the content for specific pages. Their
delivery to you drives the actual time line. Otherwise, you have to do the
research, write drafts, and obtain approvals before the site can be
launched.

A recent Web development project of mine resulted in approximately 300 hours
of my time, including the time I spent to train users to update their own
content on pages specific to their missions.

Good luck!

Donald H. White
Sr. Technical Writer/Editor
James River Technical Communications LLC
804.795.2914
dwhite -at- jrtcllc -dot- com
www.jrtcllc.com



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