How to finance the creation of a website

One of the problems that lead to delays in setting up website development projects is the lack of funds to finance them.

As a starting point for this aspect, it must be taken into account that the development of a website is no different from any other project of the institution in terms of resources necessary for its realization; this implies that the necessary financing must be calculated and estimated according to the conceptual model created for the realization of the project.

Another general element that can help in evaluating the cost of developing a website is that the most expensive project is not necessarily the best, as there will always be the possibility that more stable or emerging technologies exist that offer a better cost/benefit ratio. .

In terms of financial resources, the following associated costs can be mentioned:

1. Cost of implementation: IT hardware requirements, such as software and hardware appropriate to the functionality required for the site, and the human resources capable of carrying out the project, which may involve hiring, training or outsourcing costs
2. Development costs: each phase considered in the conceptual model of the site will be associated with development costs. In this sense, the possibility of implementing the site through a scalable system should be considered, in which the development cost can be divided into phases; in this way a strong impact on the budget will be avoided
3. Maintenance and updating costs: these involve personnel costs, redesign and adaptation of procedures and updating of information. This position should consider related IT costs, such as website hosting and connectivity among others

Since all these costs involve the allocation of organizational resources which, by definition, are scarce, it is advisable when evaluating the development of a website to define the respective opportunity costs at the same time. To address this issue, internal funds should not be seen as the only possible source. There are several state institutions and international organizations, which give access to various sources that facilitate funding and to which projects can be submitted.

In view of the above, this topic has been divided into two areas:

1. Internal sources of funding
2. External funding sources

They are the set of systems that the institution itself has put in place to finance the web development projects it intends to carry out.

From a general point of view, the recommendation is that the annual internal budget, which is reviewed by the Ministry of Finance, includes all projects related to information technology and new technologies, in order to allocate the funds that correspond to the sector’s activities.

In this sense, the recommendation is to make adequate calculations of all the costs mentioned above, in order to actually obtain the allocation for the projects to be developed annually in the institution.

These include the ability of the organization to obtain funds from third parties to finance the web development projects it wishes to carry out.

The line to be investigated in this aspect is the existence of so-called competitive funds which are occasionally available through other government agencies and also in international organizations for the promotion of this type of project.

For example, do you live in Switzerland? Then you can apply for a loan in Switzerland to finance your website creation project.

Thanks to these funds, which are not limited in terms of subjects to be financed, it is possible to obtain new resources for the development of projects. Among the projects that can be submitted and eligible for funding are those that promote citizen participation, contact with social organizations, community information systems or any other innovative initiative.

Although the funds have regulations that must be known and accepted at the time of the application, it should be noted that in general these funds have specific constraints as they finance projects with specific objectives and duration, with constraints on the extension of deadlines. In this sense, it is necessary that the projects have a duration limited to one calendar year or, alternatively, that their continuation for a further period is explicit. However, it is advisable to look into fund-specific regulations to see how they work.