tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post2010576234230805952..comments2023-12-11T08:49:46.305+00:00Comments on Dizzy Thinks: Want to host a taxpayer funded website?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-10568999590320964912008-06-09T16:30:00.000+01:002008-06-09T16:30:00.000+01:00As an accountant, tedious I know, I would suspect ...As an accountant, tedious I know, I would suspect Eduserve bills the government as a whole for the cost of maintaining the websites (i.e. for all the sites listed), and then the cost is divided and sent on (recharged) to the individual departments from the government accounts dept. It looks like this has been done fairly poorly. Admittedly, if I was the accountant at the Wales Office and this charge was sent ot me by the central government accountants or whatsit, I'd kick up a fuss, but let's face it, this isn't a private company.<BR/><BR/>If you're in the mood, the aggregated figures for Eduserve would be more interesting, and probably still ridiculously expensive, but as it is it looks a little misleading.<BR/><BR/>Apologies for the typos above. I really should learn to touch type.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-37523834400672592322008-06-08T02:22:00.000+01:002008-06-08T02:22:00.000+01:00I thought govenment websites were supposed to be u...I thought govenment websites were supposed to be user friendly?<BR/>(able to resize the text for easy reading and/or have a text only version)<BR/><BR/>It's not even Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional :)<BR/><BR/>The webdesigner is making a killing for only half (or less) a job. Nice work if you can get it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-91179164887554809992008-06-06T23:07:00.000+01:002008-06-06T23:07:00.000+01:00If I found out how much they cost to run what othe...If I found out how much they cost to run what other information would I need to work out if it was value for money (not being a techie)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-7635214717881375282008-06-05T17:26:00.000+01:002008-06-05T17:26:00.000+01:00Those fees for hosting are to be expected. You hav...Those fees for hosting are to be expected. You have forgotten to include in your calculations the bribes that have to be paid to get such business.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-72085340107444456482008-06-05T12:38:00.000+01:002008-06-05T12:38:00.000+01:00I would suspect that the hosting costs are because...I would suspect that the hosting costs are because instead of specifying just enough oomph on a virtualised or shared platform they will have pulled out a standardised specification for a dedicated server with a swanky SLA.<BR/>I would also say I think Simon is right that the £1,600 PA was for maintaining the site itself and didn't included the hosting.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00446535470734199043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-67546480596651930982008-06-05T10:15:00.000+01:002008-06-05T10:15:00.000+01:00Thanks for that Simon. The SiteCore assumption was...Thanks for that Simon. The SiteCore assumption was based on what Eduserv do. To be honest it was not the redesign cost that was of concern but more the amazing leap of cost in a matter of months.dizzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04250325010662356883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-77331667034881656392008-06-05T10:10:00.000+01:002008-06-05T10:10:00.000+01:00My company, Puffbox redesigned and rebuilt the Wal...My company, Puffbox redesigned and rebuilt the Wales Office site(s), launched in February this year. Bang on time, and bang on a relatively low budget.<BR/><BR/>I had/have no involvement with their contract with Eduserv, but I can add a few details and clarifications on Dizzy's post.<BR/><BR/>By my reading of the PQs from December, Eduserv were paid £13k for consultancy <I>since the Wales Office was established in 1999</I>. The answers don't say it was for a 'one off' web design job; and if you'd ever seen it, you'd know it was done in 1999, not 2006. (£13k divided by 7 years is more or less the £1600 annual running cost they quoted.)<BR/><BR/>Pre-2008, virtually every page on the WO site was hand-coded by external parties. As you'd expect, it wasn't always pretty, and I had to migrate each of 1000+ pages manually.<BR/><BR/>It's now all handled through WordPress (not SiteCore), and properly structured at last.<BR/><BR/>The move to a (GPL-licensed) blogging platform gives them numerous benefits. It's optimised for quick and easy content creation. Tags, categories and date archives mean everything's easily findable. And it may be the single most RSS-friendly website in government. I wish more gov.uk websites were more like it.<BR/><BR/>As I say, I can't offer any insight into the hosting charge quoted. But I do <A HREF="http://www.robtex.com/dns/walesoffice.gov.uk.html" REL="nofollow">note</A> that Eduserv hold the DNS records for the walesoffice.gov.uk domain, which certainly implies they do more than just host a website.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-35493106515263192832008-06-05T08:39:00.000+01:002008-06-05T08:39:00.000+01:00Although Alexa stats are about as reliable as a go...Although Alexa stats are about as reliable as a government press release, you can use them to guestimate traffic by comparing a website with another similar site.<BR/><BR/>Based on the presumption that both sites would have a similar user profile, and hence similar numbers of users with the installed alexa toolbar - you can then cross reference the traffic stats.<BR/><BR/>http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/walesoffice.gov.uk<BR/><BR/>Also, if you know someone with access to Hitwise - they have agregated stats from the ISP's own traffic logs and tend to be very informative.<BR/><BR/>Based on a quick look though - I agree that the hosting fees look excessive (to put it politely).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-32091319152533803662008-06-05T05:51:00.000+01:002008-06-05T05:51:00.000+01:00They can stick it on mine, that cash would pay my ...They can stick it on mine, that cash would pay my mortgage and buy me a car! which i suspect is what its doing anyway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22202011.post-53179496453922203112008-06-05T00:20:00.000+01:002008-06-05T00:20:00.000+01:00So what is the point of this website, Independent ...So what is the point of this website, <B>Independent Safeguarding Authority </B><BR/>http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/independent-safeguarding-date <BR/><BR/>"<I>The authority, which will vet those wishing to work with children or vulnerable adults, will begin work in October 2009.<BR/>When fully up and running, the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will be part of the biggest overhaul of vetting and barring arrangements ever undertaken in this country.</I>"<BR/><BR/>Since it appears to duplicate the function of<BR/><B>The Criminal Records Bureaux</B><BR/><BR/>http://www.crb.gov.uk/<BR/><BR/>"<I>The CRB’s aim is to help organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable to work with children or other vulnerable members of society.</I>"<BR/>Which, for all its' faults, has been up and running for some years now.<BR/><BR/>Guess 1. The 12 million on the 'new' ISA database will be Required to have the voluntary ID card because they work with vulnerable people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com