Website costs under review - do your sums quickly

With the Government reviewing its spending and the drastic cuts it has to make, it isn't unusual to find website costs featuring in the review. But, the sheer audacity of some of the costs is astounding - nay practically unbelievable! The Business Link site has had repeated £35 million running costs for the last few years, for example. See the full exposé at Rory Cellan-Jones' blog on the BBC News web site. (The comments make for interesting reading as well.)

There's a valuable explanation there about why large companies tend to get the government contracts - will this change? Have you had problems getting onto those notorious preferred supplier lists?

But while making us all feel virtuous in relation to how much we charge our clients, all firms will follow the government's lead and review their website costs. Be ready to justify your costs far more and have some efficiency cost cutting scenarios to hand for all your major clients. Account Managers will have a hard time, along with Project Managers, as clients tighten up their questioning along with their spend. Whatever the market conditions, the mantra of time, cost and quality will still work for you.

Do your own reviewing of costs before you get asked. Approach your clients with efficiency saving offers to retain their trust in these stringent times.

Happy reviewing!