To determine a realistic budget to establish a web presence, you need to determine your requirements for a web site. Answering the following questions will help you understand what is required to establish even a very basic presence online:

1. Have you created a marketing plan?
   
   
2. What are your needs and goals for your business?
   
   
3. What do you expect the web site to accomplish for you? Remember, a web site is NOT an advertisement, it is a business tool.
   
   
4. Do you know who your audience is? What are their needs and expectations?
   
   
5. What type of equipment will be used to view your web site? Does most of your audience have high-speed access to the Internet?
   
   
6. Do you want to use your web site to help manage your business?
   
   
7. What do you require in terms of functionality in the website (i.e., ecommerce shopping carts and real time credit card processing, surveys, business management, marketing tools, etc.)?
   
   
8. Do you want to develop an opt-in mailing list?
   
   
9. Do you wish to use e-mail to market your products and services?
   
   
10. Will you need restricted-access sections?
    
    
11. How about security? Will you have the need for data encryption? Will you be collecting or storing sensitive or confidential information?
    
    
12. Do you know what you want the site to look like? Do you have artwork, photography and promotional materials already developed? Do you need to establish a brand or a business identity (logo)?
    
    
13. Will you require assistance to develop the content of your web site? Will you require the services of a photographer, copy writer/editor or any other creative professional? Do you want to include video or audio? Will you require any elements of your site to be animated?
    
    
14. Have you created a basic outline of the content or do you have a basic structure in mind? Have you already written any of the text content for the site?
    
    
15. Will you be posting copyrighted material? Do you need to pay royalties for any content that you post on your web site?
    
    
16. Are you familiar with privacy laws and the legal requirements regarding the collection of personal information and sending out unsolicited e-mail?
    
    
17. Will you require legal advice regarding privacy policies or disclaimers?
    
    
18. How are you going to get people to visit your web site? How will you promote it? Do you know what search engine optimization is?
    
    
19. Who will maintain the site and keep the content up to date. Do you need a CMS (content management system) so you can add your own information and update the site and pages yourself? Will you want a professional to maintain your web site for you?
    
    
20. Who will host the web site and what hosting services will you need? Different web site features often require specific hosting services.