Copyright Date Credibility

With the end of the year approaching, I wanted to share what I thought was a tip that every web designer or programmer knew, until I see: © 2009. All Right Reserved. in the footer of many sites. That is almost three years old!

This is a personal pet peeve and it is a bright red flag for us to see on any potential partner or candidate web site.  There are a number of reasons this seemingly small issue is so fretting to me:

1. With a copyright date over a year old, you can be sure they have not done an audit or review of their website since that date.  In addition, no one in the organization noticed that their web site was past.  Not very detailed oriented...
2. It is so easy to prevent.  So, so easy.  Here are two quick code snibbets to solve your problem.
1. Javascript:
   &copy; <script type="text/javascript">
   var d = new Date();
   document.write(d.getFullYear());
   </script>
2. PHP:  <?php echo date('Y') ?>
3. Looks like this and stays updated:
1. ©
2. Visit on NYE and watch the year change...or don't.
4. Lots of other easy applications using this date functionality - all these values update automatically
1. "We've been working together for X years."
2. "I have X years experience updating web site copyright date content."
3. "For X years, we've been in business together."

Other programming languages and frameworks have simple date display functions.  Please add any to the comments that have been helpful.

Now, go update those date fields.  Look credible.  Maintain accuracy.  Sleep well on New Years Day.

How much? Sensible web services pricing.

How much is this going to cost?!?

I have found this list below helpful to start in estimate the cost of most general web services projects.

Small Business / Personal Web Site

5 to 20 pages; custom design; contact form; no database

$2K to $6K

Content Management / Blog / Web Services

Setup and Management of WordPress, Drupal, CMS; Template Design; Widgets;

$5K to $18K

Corporate Web Site (company with around 100 employees)

25 to 75 pages; design; content management; contact; admin login

$10K to $25K

Database / eCommerce Site

100+ pages; login for administrators; eCommerce; more complex tools

$10K to $30K

Application Development

Architecture of custom application; System Development; Mobile; API

$15K to $50K

Consulting / Strategy

Design and implement digital strategy.

$5K to $35K

Price Range.

The level of technical complexity is generally in direct relationship to the project price. That is also the case with the blog or content management setup. The more features, the higher the price, in most cases.

This should give you an idea of what you should expect to pay, based on your requirements.  All project pricing and scope will vary per project. Be wary of the far ends of the bell curve - too cheap and too expensive.  They usually are for a reason.

Maintenance.

I highly recommend working with a company that provides maintenance. You want to make sure that the developers of your products will be there to support them when changes need to be made. The cost of these maintenance plans can range, depending on the volume of hours. Isilus provides roll over hours and requires no long term contracts for their web services maintenance plans.

Third Party Costs.

Keep a budget for third party costs.  These costs can include domain names, hosting costs, SSL, software licenses, image licenses, scope creep and more.  They do add up and should be included in the original project estimate.

Larger Projects.

Always start with a Phase I.   Start with a smaller, rapid turn around project to see how the whole project process goes, for both sides.  Make sure this Phase I deploys before signing ahead.  This Phased approach gives the trust time to build and then the relationship moves forward together.

Getting Started.

Contact Isilus and let us know some details about your project and we can generate a project scope and estimate.