ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Yes, I have to second what Travis says here. Updating/adding content can
certainly be managed in-house -- that's what Content Management Systems are
for in the first place! But "updates" in terms of security patches and
feature enhancements should be handled by an actual developer, for which
$75-$125/hour is reasonable. These updates should be rolled out and tested
on a development server first, then pushed to the live server. Think about
the money you'd be paying for someone to fix your broken site if you tried
to roll out an update yourself and it went wrong (and how long your site
could potentially be inaccessible in the meantime!).

The only thing I would add is that, really, *any* software comes with costs
for regular updates and maintenance. That's not limited to open source
software. Open source just tends to be free initially (though not always).

Cheers,
Michelle



On Fri, Dec 14, 2012 at 4:31 PM, Trevor Nesbit <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
>
> *****************************************************************************
>
> If this "updating" work refers to adding and updating content, someone on
> staff could be trained to help as Rachel as pointed out.
>
> "Updates": also refers to updating software (code, not content.)
>
>
> Open Source software comes with hidden costs of regular updates and
> maintenance.  Depending on a number of factors specific to your website,
> those updates can be tricky as they can impact functionality.  Installing
> updates can require careful installation and testing. This requires a
> developers time.
>
> The monthly hosting fees and hourly rate look fair to me.
>
> $75-$125/hr, is in the ballpark for time and materials for a well
> qualified developer working at a web shop.  We all know how painful it is
> when our websites don't work.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Trevor Nesbit
> Web Strategist
> Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE)
> Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC)
> 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW
> Washington, DC 20005
> phone: 202-783-7200 ext. 127
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>

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