Don’t you find it impossible to determine if something was a success or failure if you have no expectations going into it? Sure, it’s easy to determine if the emotional experience was pleasant or uncomfortable, but I’m talking about something beyond the emotional level. How do you know if something was successful or not? I think it has to do with what your expectations were going into the process.

After 13 years in web development, I still see client expectations vary greatly when it comes to outsourcing website design, development and hosting. It makes we wonder what kind of experiences they’ve had in the past that have influenced their expectations today.

It’s 2007 and here are 3 things you should expect if you are building or upgrading a 1-25 page website:

1) Professional, Clean Design

It doesn’t matter if you are doing it yourself or hiring a freelancer or engaging the trendiest ad agency. You should expect to see a few rounds of composites (aka: “comps”) of the design. This can be thought of as screenshots of the website. No functionality is in place, just a preview of what the site will look like once programmed. Comps give you chance to pick which look-and-feel you like the best and facilitates communication for the next round of revisions.

Cost: Good design is something that can be offshored for $500-$1,500

2) Hosting with Functionality Tools

Next thing to expect is choosing a company to provide monthly hosting of your website. In other words, an entity who manages and procures the computers and infrastructure that serves www.yourcompany.com. In addition, the monthly hosting should include tools/applications designed for a non-technical person. I’m talking tools beyond email. Simple, easy to use tools to make content changes (aka content management system or cms), manage calendars or events, process contact forms, sell or display products, blog, manage mailing lists, provide a support knowledge base, etc.

The types of functionality tools you need will be particular to your industry.

With the plethora of open source applications available, you should expect a hosting company to provide these tools as part of their monthly hosting charge to you. The hosting company should be knowledgeable in the tools they provide.

Cost: With quality hosting infrastructure and open source tool knowledge, you should expect to pay $75 to $250/month.

3) Fantabulous Support

You should expect responsive, competent, non-technobable support from the company you choose to design and host your website. This is the area where companies can really distance themselves from competition. Expect the company you choose to be aware that another company will be thrilled to provide good service to you.

See point 2 for cost. The cost of fantabulous support should be included in monthly hosting fee.

Conclusion

Expect 1) Great Design 2) Solid Hosting with functionality tools the layman can use and 3) Fantabulous support.

If your expectations are not being currently met or you are interested in learning more about these 3 points, contact this company.