Internet Webmaster Costs - Should You Outsource Website Management? 2012

The Cost of a Webmaster
If you have a website and are considering hiring someone to manage that website, you need to consider the cost of hiring a webmaster. When compared to the cost of hiring a full-time or part-time employee,
outsourcing your website management needs to a professional webmaster may make a lot more sense.
How Much Does a Webmaster Cost?
This is a bit of a loaded question. The answer is as simple as it is complicated... it depends! Every website has different management needs,  therefore the cost of managing it will be different from one website to another.
Webmasters also charge differing fees. Some base it on a standard hourly fee, while others offer monthly or annual packages. You could see pricing online ranging from $10 a hour for an international webmaster to a few thousand a month for a professional webmaster that is focused on only a couple clients.

The thing to remember is that in this marketplace, you truly get what you pay for in webmasters. At $10 a hour, you are most likely considering someone overseas that works in a different time zone, offers only a select few options in management and manages a hundred or more clients at a time. At several thousand dollars a month, you should expect a dedicated webmaster with few other clients and a wide range of services.
Outsourcing Vs. Direct Hire
One of the considerations is whether to outsource or hire internally. Here the cost difference can be even greater. Let's look at an example...
According to Salary.com, the average salary for a webmaster can range from $45,000 to over $105,000 a year, depending on location and experience. Add to that the costs of employee benefits, such as insurance and retirement, and the additional taxes required for social security and unemployment, and you can see how the costs can really add up!
If outsourcing to a professional webmaster can range from $10 a hour to a few thousand a month, you could see annual costs from less than $1,000 to upwards of $30-40,000 a year, depending on your needs, the services offered by the webmaster and the number of clients the webmaster works with. The more the webmaster charges, they should offer more options and work with less clients, providing you more exclusive attention.
John, with Widgets Galore, is seeking someone to manage their company website. They need a website manager to update content on a weekly basis, optimize their content and keep the software up to date. Adding social content and email marketing would be secondary needs, if their budget can handle it. Doing some research, John has found a professional webmaster that works with only a handful of clients with a monthly cost of about $600 to provide all their needs. Doing some simple math, the annual cost of this webmaster would run John's company only $7,200 a year, much less than hiring a full time employee, or even a part-time employee. Given the major difference in costs, you should seriously consider a webmaster service over hiring an employee to manage your organization's website.