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New Website Contract Will Upgrade Ogden School District's Online Presence

The district will pay $160,000 over five years for a company to create new websites.

(TNS) — OGDEN, Utah — The Ogden School District Board of Education approved spending $160,000 on a new website over the next five years.

At a board meeting Thursday evening, the board approved hiring Finalsite, a Connecticut-based company, which was selected from a group of 10 applicants.

The endeavor will cost $40,000 for the first year and $30,000 annually after that for a total of five years. The new sites are expected to launch this summer.

District spokesman Jer Bates said the price tag is typical for quality work. The project will be paid for with funds in the district's operating budget that Bates said have been set aside for this purpose.

Bates said the district's website was previously "home grown and maintained" but the importance of a good-looking and functional website caused them to turn to a professional.

"In this day and age whether it be business, government or schools, having an attractive and a functional website is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity," he said.

The cost includes website design and development, content management and upkeep. It is slated to be launched in July, according to board documents.

In an email, Adam McMickell, assessment and instructional technology coordinator for the district, said the redesign will be district-wide, including the primary Ogdensd.org site and 20 school websites.

Online estimates for professional website designs vary widely.

The marketing firm Impact Branding and Design says a "simpler" website redesign can run from $15,000 to $20,000, but more complicated websites will cost between $20,000 and $40,000.

A 2017 Forbes article says a simple website redesign of old pages and six new pages would roughly cost $1,680.

The LeRoy Farmer City Press reported a website redesign for the small city of LeRoy, Ill., in 2016 cost $16,720 for the redesign and $82.25 per month for maintenance thereafter.

Bates said the $160,000 project can sound pricey at face value but has become a necessity nearly a decade in the making.

"Sure it sounds like a lot of money, but we've kind of limped along not paying when we probably should have been," he said.

Contact education reporter Anna Burleson at aburleson@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @AnnagatorB or like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/BurlesonReports.

©2017 the Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah), distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.