If a company wants to save money, they can often support many aspects of the site design themselves. We reviewed the site, made a few suggestions to enhance the presentation, and then implemented the Web site. Because RW Lynch already had in-house graphic design skills and a fairly good feel for how to present material on the Web, this approach came out to be much less expensive than our having to design the contents from scratch. Many companies also find it cost effective to internally provide the manpower to answer inquiries that are generated from the Web site, rather than contract that function out to a third party. Web site publicity is often best performed jointly by both the company and an on-line PR firm.
Web design ranges enormously in price.
At the other, big ad agencies reportedly charge millions to design Web sites for Fortune 500 companies. One should expect to receive a fair value from their investment. One should expect to pay more from a real company with offices and a marketing and customer support staff than from someone working by themselves out of their home. The added benefit of having a publisher with a stable and reliable business is often well worth an added cost. Another factor to closely look at is how successful the company has been in generating media awareness for its clients Web sites.