Web 2.0: reassuringly inexpensive 16 March, 2006
Building a web application is expensive, right? You need designers, developers, branding, testing, trademarks and loads of other stuff that you haven’t even thought of. Wrong! Ryan Carson shares his experience of building DropSend in this excellent MP3. Total cost? Under £30,000. Less than a lot of developers get paid in a year.
A lot of the buzz about web 2.0 and web application development has focused on technology and process rather than the business case, so it’s really refreshing to hear someone talking honestly about the costs of development and offering advice on sticking to a budget. Gems include:
- The credit card test – would you pay for the service you’re offering?
- Outsource development – everyone else seems to see coding as the fun part
- Avoid ‘formal’ marketing – write features or ‘guest’ blog articles
- Be really tight – check any spend above £25
- Barter your services – how about a website or some evaluations for that £1,000 charge?
And it’s always great to hear Americans say ‘quid’ (I don’t know why, but it just sounds so incongruous).
March 16th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
It’s funny, because I didn’t even know I was saying quid until someone mentioned it afterwards. My American-ness is being sucked out of me! :)
Glad you enjoyed the MP3 – I was trying to offer real value.
April 1st, 2006 at 7:32 am
Hi Ryan. Thanks for stopping by.
For me, yours was definitely the stand out talk of the Workshop and, as someone who only found out about the Workshop after it had sold out, I really appreciate you sharing the MP3s. The next best thing to being there; and following your advice about being tight, I can put the money I saved into my own little web application fund! (I’m joking, of course. All my money is spent keeping the little one in nappies.)