# Cost for a website upgrade **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-for-a-website-upgrade/647298 "2013-01-15T17:13:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-for-a-website-upgrade/647298/21 "2013-01-26T00:26:03Z")
Here is an (admittedly old) article by a software engineer that supports and promotes Commercial CMS and Ektron specifically: [http://ezinearticles.com/?Open-Source-CMS-Vs-Commercial-CMS---Its-On&id=2003706](http://ezinearticles.com/?Open-Source-CMS-Vs-Commercial-CMS---Its-On&id=2003706) > [@](#): > > The Verdict > > With a clear and acknowledged bias towards commercial CMS software (because we do recommend the Ektron CMS regularly), we strongly feel that the additional value and value-added services that a commercial CMS software provides justifies the extra cost. That doesn’t mean that it’s the right solution for everyone – **if you have a budget under $15,000, it’s probably not a realistic option**. However, drawing on our vast CMS experience, training and support simply cannot be understated when it comes to successful CMS implementation and those are two areas where the commercial CMS clearly wins. > > WebSolutions has dedicated over thirteen years to providing premium Web site design, development and hosting services to a loyal and growing clientele. WebSolutions is an Ektron Platinum Certified Development Partner and is an official hosting partner of Ektron. These endorsements illustrate the comprehensive knowledge of Ektron and its capabilities that WebSolutions delivers on Ektron Web site development and hosting projects. In 2007, WebSolutions received three Ektron All-Star Award Finalist nominations, more than any other Ektron partner or developer. Ektron All-Star Awards recognize the most innovative and effective implementations of the Ektron CMS and with over 8,000 Ektron implementations worldwide, it is a significant achievement to be recognized. For more information, please visit [[http://www.websolutionstech.com](http://www.websolutionstech.com)] > > Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/2003706](http://EzineArticles.com/2003706) ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-for-a-website-upgrade/647298/22 "2013-01-26T05:21:36Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > Re-reading your post, you assumed 100 pages, in my opinion, $10k for 100 pages is insanely expensive. I don’t know WHAT you’re reading, but it wasn’t my post. I made no assumptions about their website, since I don’t know anything about it. _ **Twickster** _ said “we’ve got seven years’ worth of reviews and essays to keep available,” and I think that can be reasonably extrapolated to hundreds of pages: even at only one article a week, that’s more than 350 articles, not even counting ordinary informational pages like the mission statement page. **So if twickster believes that their site is fairly large, I have zero reason to dispute that.** > [@](#): > > Isn’t this the best time for them to define what they hope to gain from their Internet presence (before funding this project)? That’s outside of the scope of the OP’s question, so I didn’t answer it. Her organization can do whatever it wants, of course. I still think $10K is reasonable for a complete overhaul, including a total redesign, software upgrades, and data migration. They’re basically building a brand-new website, a fairly large one at that, PLUS consulting PLUS porting the old data over. > [@](#): > > for a commercial CMS like the one you provided. They can do whatever they want. I “provided” that because you seemed to be under the mistaken impression that there aren’t CMSs which have a licensing fee, and I was giving you an example that proved otherwise. > [@](#): > > Then please explain what you mean when you say static. I understand static to mean the pages are not changing and they’re typically built with gui interfaces (e.g. like Dreamweaver and that suite of programs). I meant that static websites are different beasts than dynamic ones, and the work and therefore cost involved in upgrading them would be different. It was one example, out of four, of how people can’t just blindly determine without any details whether $10K for a new website was a rip-off or a steal. Certain website features cost more than others. Please read for comprehension. More broadly, I mean the same thing as everyone else when I refer to static vs. dynamic websites. To be succinct, I was responding to _ **twickster’s question** _ in my post, not to any of the tangents you brought up _ **after I posted.** _ I have no ability to see into the future and respond to it before it happens. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-for-a-website-upgrade/647298/23 "2013-01-26T16:43:45Z")
1. We’re staying with the CMS we’ve got, just upgrading to the most recent version. We’re generally happy with it – we don’t have a lot of customized tweaking and appreciate the support services offered. The cost of the license upgrade is $50. Whether you think we should go open source or not, we’re not going to. 2. Size of current site is more like 3500 pages – or more – rather than 350. We add an average of 10 posts a week; this past week it was 15, which is definitely high. Plus there’s supporting info, writer bios, etc. 3. Exporting from old site to new will be via a tool called Datagrab, which costs $40. 4. Our Internet presence _is_ our mission – think of us as a blog rather than a charity. Yes, we’re a nonprofit, but we’re neither feeding the hungry nor curing cancer: We’re a site that does arts and culture commentary. There is discussion of adding more types of posts (previews, interviews), but they would not be significantly different on the back end from what we’re doing now. I think those are the main issues arising from what **Enkel** said – let me know if I missed anything. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-for-a-website-upgrade/647298/24 "2013-01-26T20:45:47Z")
Nothing you’ve added has changed my opinion. For what you do, $10,000 is overkill. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-for-a-website-upgrade/647298/25 "2013-01-26T21:50:44Z")
I’m talking to someone else who wants to bid on the job. We’ll see what he comes up with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-for-a-website-upgrade/647298.md?page=1)