One thing we've noticed during the beginning of this recession/depression, is that many clients, even the nonprofits, are realizing the importance of keeping their online presence going. The good news is that many consultants and developers [like this one] are actually dropping their rates to keep busy. What used to cost thousands, now costs a few hundred.

Just like the housing market, NOW is the time to make the upgrade, add the features, make the big changes since pricing will likely never be this low again. However, many organizations are fighting just to keep the staff they have, office space they have, and even the ability to plan for any future beyond next month.

What are some easy ways to make that existing web site start milking green?

1) If you're a nonprofit, make sure your website has that front and center AND add a DONATE button linked to PayPal or some other online credit card transaction vendor. Many nonprofits have looked into this in the past, thinking in terms of a retail exchange and how much overhead is involved with getting an online merchant account, how much that costs per month, etc. versus the expected windfall and found that at the lower end of the $pectrum, the costs can be as high as 20 percent. If you take in $5,000 with your donate button, it may cost almost $1,000 spread out over several months in fees, add-ons, maintenance, statements, etc. Unacceptable ...unless you forget that you brought in $4,000 you otherwise would not have!

2) Renegotiate your contracts: ask your hosting company if there are other, lower-cost options for hosting, ask your contracted web services if they can lower their pricing. You may be surprised at the answer.

3) Spend more time on your website to find out what it does do well and what it does NOT do well. We realize that Einstein proved beyond a doubt that time equals money, but this is one area where you will likely receive a dividend of knowledge that will help you focus your efforts more efficiently. If you discover your "contact us" form doesn't work, and hasn't worked in over 2 months, that's something right there.

Take the time to look at the web tracking statistics and get rid of the dead wood content, the content that no one seems to browse.

4) We hate to say this, but if you have a full-time web person on staff, you can usually contract that labor out for about half the salary per year through a variety of web services companies [like this one].

5) Put a poll on your website to ask your constituents what they want. This will help will planning and fund-raising and cost-justifying.

6) Use any number of free resources to spread your web presence. Social network sites [facebook, myspace, flikr, etc.], association/affiliation websites [depending on the mission of your organization], wikipedia, etc.

7) Clumsy and cheap is likely more effective than expensive and pretty. This is especially true when it comes to websites. All those pretty, brochure-look websites are expensive to design, build and maintain and are proven to not be any more effective than a stripped down website that has similar content. Therefore, don't waste your time on how the message looks, invest your time in the message itself.

-Tim Corwin
Feb. 2009