By Bruce Balmer

Web design has changed significantly. What are the changes, and how can you to take advantage of them? Let me tell you a story.

In 1999, the Internet bubble was at its peak. New companies — all planning to become “the next big thing” — were launched daily. These companies were famous for two things — thinking BIG and massive “burn rates.” “Burn rate” refers to the rate a company goes through money. They were spending hundreds of thousands on programming to produce web sites considered mediocre by today’s standards.

Early in 2000, I was in charge of a substantial Internet project of a similar scale to what these companies were doing. I bought the computer hardware we needed for proof of concept $10,000 (US $8,861), the software $5,000 (US$4,430) and the first round of programming $80,000 (US $70,884). To my thinking, there was no need to spend millions on a “proof of concept.”

By the time we rebuilt the web site in 2003, the hardware cost less than half of what it did in 2000. Our software costs had gone to zero. It’s called Open Source, and if you don’t know about it, you need to. The programming cost $40,000 (US $35,442), and building it took half the time it did in 2000. Today, with all the recent advances in programming languages, I can program the same product for about $20,000 (US $17,721) — half the 2003 programming cost.

It used to be that having colossal cash for a web site was a huge competitive advantage. So, of course, the big players dominated the field. Not any more. The playing field for web site development has been leveled dramatically, and it’s a whole new ball game. With money no longer the Holy Grail, David can take on Goliath and win.

Today, small business owners can build their own site, if they wish, for one quarter of the cost in 2000. That’s a huge advantage.

Here are five important changes that have occurred on the web-building front:

• Hardware cost is no longer an issue. A medium-traffic web site with a few thousand hits a day requires less than $2,000 (US $1,772) in hardware, a price easily in reach of small businesses. Furthermore, if you have a low-traffic site, you don’t need to spend anything on hardware. For $20 (US$18) a month, you can host multiple sites at a reasonable level of performance. 1-0 to small business

• Ditto for software costs. Open Source is a huge phenomenon and gaining steam all the time. I can get a better database free today than I was able to buy for $5,000 to $15,000 (US $4,430 to $13,291) six years ago. 2-0 to small business

• Recent advances in programming languages — such as the arrival of Ruby on Rails — means that programmer productivity has shot through the roof. What used to cost $80,000 (US $70,884) and take six months to build a few years ago would cost only $20,000 (US $17,721) today and take six weeks. Increased programmer productivity. 3-0 to small business

• Tracking visitor behavior is all about finding out what is and isn’t working for you and enhancing your web site in response. Ten years ago, tracking systems used to cost big bucks, and only the big guys could afford it. Now, tracking systems can be implemented for less than $1,000 (US $886), well within the reach of small businesses. 4-0 to small business

• The Internet is undergoing a massive revolution. Web 2.0 (Ajax) provides new ultra-slick interfaces that make the Web more like desktop applications. Again, only the big guys had access to this because of the cost. Today, it’s easy to build a Web 2.0 interface. The result is that your site can have all the polish of the giant corporations. 5-0 to small business

The bottom line? Money is no longer a barrier to entry to get a professional, attractive and functional web site. In fact, the advantage has shifted from those with money to those with creative ideas, an understanding of their customers, decisiveness and speed.

With these terrific tools at your disposal, you are in a very strong position indeed. Seize the opportunity.

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About the Author: Bruce Balmer is a principal of Calgary On Rails (http://www.calgaryonrails.com) Calgary’s premiere ruby on rails development house.

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