If you are a website developer then you may find it hard when it comes to costing new projects. Customers often want a fixed price when it comes to websites and you will be expected to provide them with a total cost. This can be tricky as you will often find they want to make changes to the design as it comes to life or build in extra functionality.
The only way you can cost a job is to meet with the client and find out as much information as possible about what they want. Check how many pages they want and what functionality will be on each page. You also need to check what changes they want to be able to make themselves. If for example they want the ability to change the header on the website through the content management system then this may need to be built in. all the little extras can very quickly add if and if you have not costed the job correctly then you may find that you are out of pocket.
It is vital that you create a proposal and detail what is included in the price you have quoted. You need to state that any additional work for will quoted for and costed separately. This then allows you to charge for added extras they may want.

If you have a website then you need to ensure that you are adding new, relevant content into your site on a regular basis. This can be done in a number of ways and does not have to be part of your main pages.
Some companies choose to add a blog to their site or maybe a news section. This can be regularly updated without changing the structure of the site but will make it easy to ensure the content is relevant to your industry. Try to make each post at least 300 words long and ensure that it reads well and if possibly there are some images. It is also important to try and add call to actions to the website so if someone lands on that page straight for a search engine results page they have an easy way to navigate to the other sections of the website that may be of interest to them.
If you find that you do not have the time to write additional content then you may want to hire the services of a content writer. You may get them to do this on a weekly basis or you may ask them to write a few of them which you can then upload as and when you wish to.

If you are a web programmer that designs website for clients then you should always consider what functionality your client will need in order to keep the website updated. Even if your client asks you to do all the updates to the site and does not require access to the back end, it is good to build this in any way in case they change their mind down the line and also to make updates quicker and easier for yourself.

Your client may require access to the back end system of the site to allow them to upload additional content, change or add products etc. Some developers will use an off the shelf content management system such as WordPress or Drupal and others use their own built system. There are pros and cons to using both and often it comes down to what functionality and flexibility you need. If you are using an off the shelf system, then these are usually developed in a fairly straight forward way, but if you have made changes to the templates or themes etc. then you may need to check everything still works as it should.

There are a number of choices you need to make when having a website built. You may need to consider if you want you try and create a website yourself or pass the project on to an experienced web design or web agency. You will also need to consider if the site is going to be hard coded or use a CMS background, and if so, what CMS you are going to use. Hard coding of websites is not often used anymore as it makes it hard to do the updates to a website that are required for your online marketing and for your visitors.

There are a range of content management systems and you can chose from using an off the shelf one, or if your marketing agency offers, a bespoke system. IF your website is going to be quite straight forward then you may prefer to use an off the shelf system such as Drupal or WordPress. If you r website is going to require quite a lot of unique functionality and the ability to be able to add more in easily, then a you may look to use their bespoke system.

Some content management systems are free to use on a monthly basis. But you will need to get it integrated in to your website.

Many companies are now advertising DIY websites, allowing people of a non technical background the opportunity to build their own website. These companies usually offer websites at a very low price and the idea is that you add and remove features that are necessary to your business site.

These website can be great for people who do not want to spend a lot of money and have the time to manage the sites themselves but they are also not always as effective as you may think.

These types of sites are often created using templates which millions of other people have access to meaning that your website may look very similar to your competitors. They usually have limited functionality, meaning if you want to add something that is a little different or bespoke to your company you may not have the ability to do so. They often do not work well in terms of SEO and often are missing some of the fundamental elements that websites should be built with.

It may be that you start off with a website like this but you will need to be aware that you may have to do a lot of the advertising yourself through social media or pay per click for example, to get traffic to your site.

All websites should be updated on a regular basis. Often a website will be updated in terms of adding news articles, blog posts or new products and services to it, but there may come a time when you need to give the whole site a bit of an overhaul.

You will need to consider advances in your industry and compare your competitor’s websites to see what they are offering. It may be that you need to add additional functionality such as online calculators, videos or social media feeds. If you have added a lot of functionality over the years then the site may start to look a little disjointed and require a bit of TLC to get it all to work together properly.

When updating a website, sometimes it is cheaper and quicker to start a new website rather than trying to amend an existing one. Speak to your current web design agency to find out which is the best option for you. Don’t forget to ensure that you have a fully function mobile version of your site and any updates are also applied to that.

As a programmer you have a certain level of responsibility to ensure that you program websites in certain way to make them safe and secure. This is not only from a functionality point of view but also from a security perspective as you need to ensure that you are trying to protect your client’s website and your hosting company’s server from getting hacked or the content on the site from being misused.

Often if a website is not programmed in the correct way and is easy for it to be compromised by a hacker, then personal data can be stolen, visitors can be redirected to another site without them knowing or consenting or the website may be taken offline. There have been incidences in the past where even big companies such as Sony and even government sites have been accessed by unauthorised personnel.

To ensure that you are up to date with all of the latest technological advances in programming it is advised that you either attend regular courses or ensure you do your own in depth research.

Make sure that all websites are registered on Webmaster tools and check of messages from Google as they will often pick up on sites where they believe they have been hacked and warn you.

If you are looking to build a directory website then you will need to consider the costs involved in not only building it but making it successful. Many people have great ideas about building a directory for people to search for suppliers or companies that can offer the services or products they need. Directory sites can make you a lot of money but you need to make a lot of decisions about how it is all going to work before you start building it. You need to consider how you are going to make any money off the site. Some people chose to let people add their business for free to the directory and then make money from allowing adverts on their site. This often encourages business owners to sign up as they will not have to pay to do so but may take a good while before you start making any money off the adverts, if at all!

When you are trying to sell advertising space on your website, potential advertisers will want to know the traffic to your site. If the site has only just gone live or not yet live then you are going to struggle to guarantee them any views and therefore the price they are willing to pay often drops.

When having a website created or even when you have an existing one, it is vital that you work closely with your web developer in order to get the best out of your site.

A web developer will program all the pages to look and function the way they should and often issues arise when the developer and the customer do not communicate properly. It may be that the customer knows exactly want they want on the site but does not convey this correctly to the developer.

When taking through a new website build or updates it is often a good idea to draw a flow chart or sitemap and diagrams of how it should look and what should happen when elements are clicked on etc. This can pick up any problems before the programming starts. If the customer has not asked for a function and later on wants to add it in then it may be that the programmer has to re do a lot of the work they have already done and therefore will need to charge for this. When working with a developer communicate with them by also listen to their suggestions as after all, they are the experts.

As a web developer, there will come a time when you come across an issue with a website. It may be on an existing site or a new one in development. Often these bugs relate to the way information or images are displayed or the functionality that should be attached to them. For example it may be that you have a list of images that should be scrolling, but instead of scrolling they are all displaying side by side. With any bug, do not assume anything. It is often better to go back to basics and check that all the basic information is correct. You may also want to replicate the error on a test site so you can work on the bug offline without affecting the usability and look of the live site.

If you are struggling with finding out where an issue is then I would recommend leaving it for a fe hours or a day (if you have the time) and coming back to it. Often when we have been working on something for a long time we are too close to the project and need to take a step back.