How much of the web development can or should be conducted in-house and how much should be out-sourced?  

In deciding what can and can't be done in-house, the mistake is often made of assuming that people can easily develop skills and make the mental leap into the online world without assistance. In-house content experts, the marketing department and the shop manager are likely to need some training in how to apply the traditional business models to the online world.  

Assigning existing staff to fulfil the new online roles and functions often does not work in practice, simply because managers do not allocate sufficient time and resources for the staff to carry out their new roles effectively. Too often people are assigned to online tasks with no adjustments to their previous work-load and job descriptions. Sometimes this reflects a genuine underestimation by management of the time commitment required to, say, digitise content and answer email enquiries.  

Staff need to be given appropriate time to perform their online roles effectively. If this is not possible because they are already stretched, then outsourcing those roles or buying-in the skills in the form of new staff should be considered. Alternatively, tasks could be re-assigned within the organisation, freeing up time for one person to devote more time to the website. This shuffling of roles may not avoid the need to employ additional people.  

A possible strategy for freeing up time for some staff is to identify tasks that they currently do which could be done via the website. An example is using an email list to distribute an electronic version of the organisation's newsletter via email to its customers. The time it once took for someone to address envelopes and do the mail-out could be spent answering email enquiries or browsing the Web for links to new websites.  

Any foray into the online world brings with it the necessity to resource the website appropriately. This implies an obligation not to over-burden staff or expect them to perform roles for which they were not employed or in which they are not comfortable.  

If adequate training is provided and realistic time allowed for staff to learn new skills, then carrying out web development and management tasks in-house can be of great benefit. It builds in-house expertise and reduces the reliance and dependency on web developers and other outside organisations. Sometimes the expense of gaining in-house expertise by either hiring specifically trained staff (eg a webmaster) or conducting staff training, is easily off-set by the cost savings and cost-containment that flows from not being reliant on an outside specialist.  

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