Bandwidth and Web Space Requirements Analysis

Overview

Bandwidth allowance (a.k.a. web traffic) and host web space requirements (disk space) must be determined here in Step 2 before you can correctly select your host in Step 4.

It is also necessary to determine what web development software will be used to create the site (which will occur in Step 5) and whether or not it will require any special host accomodation; e.g. FrontPage2000 and Macromedia Flash produce websites that can only be hosted on specially equipped hosts.

Additionally, if you have decided upon a database driven website, you must here decide what your database requirements will be in terms of the actual database that will be created and the SQL scripting language that will be used to access it. Again, the host you select in step 4 must accomodate these choices.

Web Space Requirements

It is necessary to know the amount of web space, in megabytes of disk space, that you will need from a host to house your web site. This must be enough to accommodate your web pages (.html files, graphics and multimedia files), any server side scripts that you might be using (CGI,Perl...), any server side database software, traffic logs and email accounts. For web sites without server side (a.k.a. backend) databases

the formula is as follows:

WEB SPACE REQUIRED = (SITE SIZE IN PAGES) * (AVG. PAGE SIZE) * (3)

where the parameters are defined as:

SITE SIZE IN PAGES	Estimate the maximum number of pages you'll need to build or ultimately expand your web site.
AVG. PAGE SIZE	The experts suggest a 60 Kb limit on page size but this can vary depending on the size of images, animations, etc. The larger the page is the slower it loads. See Optimal Page Sizes for the experts opinions.
3	It is necessary to triple your exact estimates: once for the accumulated page total, once for miscellaneous overhead (log files, mail, etc.), and once for safe measure and room to grow.

WEB SPACE REQUIREMENTS CALC
Enter any two values to obtain the third
Expected Site Size (in Pages):
Avg. Page Size (in Kb):
Web Space Required (in Mb):

Using our web site as an example

WEB SPACE REQUIREMENT = 8.64 Mb where
Expected Site Size	we anticipate no more than 48 pages
AVG. PAGE SIZE	60 Kb

Note: Our 48 pages only take up 2.88 Mb by themselves (48 * 60Kb = 2.88 Mb) yet our actual storage utilization, according to our host, is 5.38 Mb. The discrepancy of 2.5 Mb results from our web site's email (2 Mb) and the traffic logs (0.5 Mb). This demonstrates the necessity for including the factor of 3 to compensate for miscellaneous overhead and expansion.

Web Traffic ( a.k.a. bandwidth ) Requirements

It is also necessary to know the amount of web traffic , in gigabytes per month, that you will require from a host. This is based on the anticipated number of monthly pageviews; every pageview increases the monthly running total by the pages' size.

The formula is as follows:

WEB TRAFFIC REQUIRED = (MONTHLY PAGEVIEWS ANTICIPATED) * (AVG. PAGE SIZE) * (2)

where the parameters are defined as:

MONTHLY PAGEVIEWS ANTICIPATED	Estimate the number of pageviews you expect each month.
AVG. PAGE SIZE	The experts suggest a 60 Kb limit on page size but this can vary depending on the size of images, animations, etc. The larger the page is the slower it loads. See Optimal Page Sizes for the experts opinions.
2	Double this exact estimate for safe measure.

WEB TRAFFIC REQUIREMENTS CALC
Enter any two values to obtain the third
Anticipated Pageviews/month:
Avg. Page Size (in Kb):
Monthly Bandwidth Required (in Gb):

Using our web site as an example

WEB TRAFFIC REQUIREMENT = 15.84 Gb where
EST. MONTHLY PAGEVIEWS	We expect 4,400 pageviews/day which equates to 132,000/month.
AVG. PAGE SIZE	60 Kb

Note: Since our current hosting plan has a monthly traffic ceiling of only 3 Gb we will be upgrading to a more robust plan as increases in our web site's popularity demands.

Do you need web authoring software?

The Three (3) Web Authoring Options

Choose a development method which meets the design specifications as determined in Step 1. The three options are listed here in ascending order of cost.

1. Use free online point and click web building tools provided by your host. Most hosting services, free or otherwise, provide this option. The disadvantage is that your design and feature options are limited to the selection of templates that they offer. Advantage? FREE and easy.



2. Code it yourself
• Which software is best?
• Overview of website coding technologies
• Choose a FREE template
  
  
3. Hire a consultant.

Note: Expert knowledge of HTML, etc. is not required unless you choose option 2 - code it yourself - and then only if you go with a non-WYSIWYG editor. This is good news. The converse, though, is also true that if you code it yourself with an ASCII or HTML editor you must learn basic HTML at a minimum and most likely some CSS and JavaScript as well.

The following articles provide an overview of these three (3) options. They concentrate on the development options for a small business website but their analysis pertains to websites in general.

"Choose an ISP for Your Business"
PC World, Jan 2000

"Options for Small Businesses"
WebMonkey, July 1999

Code It Yourself

Three (3) coding methods are available.

1. ASCII editor (e.g., Notepad)
   
   Pros:
   • No purchase required
   • No software learning curve
   • No limits to code sophistication or customization.
   
   Cons:
   • Most time consuming
   • Requires programming knowledge of basic HTML (and usually some CSS and JavaScript depending on features desired).
   • Not developer friendly in terms of project management.



2. HTML editor
   
   Pros:
   • Some are FREE (e.g. we use 1st Page 2000)
   • No limits to code sophistication or customization
   • Many developer friendly project management features.
   
   Cons:
   • Software learning curve
   • Web development still takes time as you need to involve yourself with the HTML details
   • Requires programming knowledge of basic HTML and usually some CSS and JavaScript depending on features desired.



3. WYSIWYG editor (e.g., FrontPage 2000)
   
   Pros:
   • Development is fast
   • Does not require actual knowledge of HTML (or CSS, JavaScript, etc).
   • Developer friendly project management

Cons:
• None are FREE
• Software learning curve
• Possible limitations on ability to enhance or customize underlying code.

Note: Expert knowledge of HTML etc. is not required if you choose option 3 - WYSIWYG editor. This is good news. The converse, though, is also true that if you choose the ASCII or HTML editor editor options then you must learn basic HTML and most likely some CSS and JavaScript at a minimum.

In any case, no matter which approach you take, you will not DO the actual development until Step 5.

Which Software is Best?

Here are some articles to help you decide which approach to take...

Building Web Pages Without the Drudgery of HTML

"... There are now many ways to make a Web page, from old-fashioned hand coding in simple text-editor software to high-end applications that do the coding for you and help manage your site ..."

Site Design

"... If you want to produce a professional site without delving deeply into HTML, one of these five Web layout packages is for you. Each has distinct strengths, but all aim to make site creation simple and fun."

Text Versus WYSIWYG Editors - Find the Right Tool
Provides an analysis of each of these options.
URL: http://www.builder.com/Authoring/Htmleditors/ss11.html

WYSIWYG or the Real Thing
Provides an analysis of each of these options.
URL: http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/...

Overview of Web Site Coding Technologies

Webreview.com
All About Web Coding Part I

"... We'll go over the popular client-side and server-side coding languages that are out there, what they're commonly used for, and what they can and can't do ..."

Webreview.com

"... Today I'll brief you on what some developers consider the easy stuff and what mystifies others: server-side coding ..."

Free Web Design Templates

These templates can be downloaded for free. If they are what you are looking for you save a lot of time.

FreeWebTemplates.com
Get free website templates and page layouts, flash templates, business templates and more.
URL: http://www.freewebtemplates.com/

FreeSources.net
URL: http://freesources.net/templates/

FrontPageThemes.Shop
URL: http://www.trwebworks.com/fpthemesshop/

Free web site design templates
from JimWORLD.
URL: http://freesitetemplates.com/

Art For The Web
Free graphics by Art for the web.
URL: http://www.webpagedesign.com.au/Free_Templates/

Server side (host side) software requirements

Like it is stated above in the overview, it is necessary to know whether or not your web development software will require host side accomodation. E.g. FrontPage2000 and Macromedia Flash produce websites that can only be accomodated by specially qualified web hosting services. Read your software documentation to see if this is necessary.

Additionally, if you have decided upon a database driven website, the host you select must be able to create for you an instance of this type of database (e.g. an empty MySQL database created in your own area for you to populate) and it must be able process whatever SQL scripting language that you have decided to use in your web pages HTML to access the database (e.g. PHP).

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