Establishing a budget for your web site will allow you to plan how your site will get developed. In order to budget you must project a value for your site. This can be done by estimating the value of achieving each web site objective in terms of increased income or saved operating costs. Once you have a total estimate you can determine how much a site is worth based on the return on investment you are seeking. This worth should form the basis of how much you have to spend on your site, either in employee time and training or with outside consultants.

Budgeting considerations

• How much is the site worth (demand side budgeting)
• How much will it cost to achieve your objectives (supply side budgeting)
• How available are funds to be used
• How much would alternative investments return

If your available budget does not match the required quality needed to achieve your objectives, then you should refine your mission and objectives.