How much will
it cost my company to set up an e-business web site?
This is an open
ended question and depends, obviously, on the size, nature and sophistication of
the enterprise, inventory, marketing requirements, and many other factors.
Here are some cost entities:
-
Hardware and
software to connect to the Internet
-
Web site
construction
-
Staff to
maintain the Web site
-
Web hosting and
Internet service provider charges
-
Online
communications costs, e.g., phone lines, ISDN lines, cable
-
Support staff
for online order taking and customer care
-
Marketing of
Web site
-
Credit card
processing
A 'brochure' web site can be built
for a few thousand dollars to allow contact and orders by email. This is the
minimalist position. At the other end of the scale, Internet startups which rely
on attracting millions of web site visitors each month to enable them to sell
advertising and other products and services, invest millions of dollars in the
enterprise.
How much you spend will depend on
the results of a well considered business plan and the estimated return on
investment; but be careful, the ROI may have to be calculated over the longer
term.
