Hi, anybody here considering getting away from a "Web Site Design" business model in favor of SQL Server database contracts and hosting? I kinda see my own business model slowly changing over in that regard --- in hopes of better long term database contracts --- and moving away from one-shot-design, with no residual income except for a small recurring hosting fee. What do you guys and gals think?

I've found myself in a similar situation. As the internets developed so has the complexity of my clients requirements. The vast majority of all development jobs I now take on are reliant on a strong database backend which as you say can give you a higher ongoing income. I guess its like all types of hosting, if you think you can fill a niche in the market then more than likely there's more income to be had.

Helping people build out their SQL solutions I see as a viable way to go, from consulting to appliances.

HOSTING their SQL solutions I do not (unless its an appliance like above and located where they are). In many cases, the latency of having the SQL DB not local is just not worth it, not to mention the extra bandwidth costs a big deployment might incur. I'm not saying you wouldn't get some customers, I just don't see it as a huge market.

Latency will be an issue, but you need to concider connectivity at both ends..
You'll need atleast a dedicated 10 or 100mb connection to your db server or cluster with a very decent business connection at your clients end..

We've scaled out something similar for a client of ours, we installed a dedicated 2mb (u/d) SDSL line at their office solely for db transit and it does actually work extreamly well.. But we did find that on a standard DSL connection, most applications hit the default sql execute timeout when producing heavy duty data sets..

What is cool though, now that sql 2005 sql manager is designed for managing hosted SQL servers, it's hardly at all clunky to manage these sql servers regardless of where you are..

I started as a web designer, ended up running some of my own projects plus experiments all over the place. In the end I've come out a designer and a coder (xhtml/css/php/mysql). But being a student I don't have much time to improve/expand my skills.

I've found myself in a similar situation. As the internets developed so has the complexity of my clients requirements. The vast majority of all development jobs I now take on are reliant on a strong database backend which as you say can give you a higher ongoing income. I guess its like all types of hosting, if you think you can fill a niche in the market then more than likely there's more income to be had.

not quite.

a higher quality visual design still seems to be more expensive than program code, or anything sql. unless you are quite a rockstar.

of course, same requirement also exists in visual design field.

not quite.

a higher quality visual design still seems to be more expensive than program code, or anything sql. unless you are quite a rockstar.

of course, same requirement also exists in visual design field.

Sorry, I didnt make myself clear enough. With my clients thats what ive noticed, but I deal more with intranets these days.

Your right, visual design can be highly lucrative, if thats where your talent lies, but mine dosnt.

At the same time though, as we all know, theres a totally different skill set required to maintain a hosting platform (SQL or not) than to be a web developer/designer.

Well, maybe a high quality visual design commands higher fees that database support/development, but like the other guy said - I'm not really in that troop. My dayjob is basic Level 2 technical support in the Medical IT field. We support big hospital contracts - $100 million/5 year contract type stuff. All medical imaging/MRI/Xray/Ultrasound stuff is stored on SQL Server (some Oracle). Now... by night, I do small change website for pocket cash --- real estate agents, wedding photographers, a couple of small time authors and art gallery owners. Fees ain't anywhere near in the millions of dollars of course, just a few hundred/couple thousand bucks at the most. Now --- that being said --- I know/work with some contract SQL coders, they make more than me. They can command perhaps $125 per hour, general website design really sits at about $50 per hour, maybe $75 per hour. Now that I think about it ---- I often come across website that list their pricing --- Programming/Datbase work is usually higher $100 per hour, and graphics are lesser priced. Unless, your talking about some exclusive New York City top-flight design/marketing firms that command huge visual design fees, I think most of us "little guys" find Programming/Coding to command better fees and residual income, while Graphic Design seems to command only one fee, making us seek new customers all the time. What do you think?

The difference is really web designers from web developers.
Most web designers tend to just design fancy graphics and have no clue how to develop the backend functionality (ie, database design, frontend integration)..

Web Developers who can do both design quality websites and also develop the backend stuff charge allot more, but the most of the money is time it takes on a standard rate... For example, web 2.0 is a big thing now a days, visually and technically (ajax, silverlight etc)

If you thinking of providing high-level hosted database services, your basic 2nd level support skills might not be enough to cut the mustard.. You'll need to comply with SLA's, and to get trusted business become certified partners (ie, Microsoft, mySQL, Oracle) and have a number of other certified professionals to support these customers who will expect you to exceed your SLA. They will expect a tight infostructure...

Well, I really wouldn't jump into high-level hosted database services --- I think it would be a natural progression to stick with my already existing small business customers, and gradually take on more Web Site Development responsibities. See, I've got some customers I've setup MySQL based OSCommerce, its a start. Some customers already had Yahoo! accounts and needed me to populate there Yahoo! ecommerce database with products. Not exactly King DBA projects, but at least my interaction with database work is becoming more common place now. Immediate goals - really start working closing with SQL Server 2005 - hit T-SQL like a madman. I've already picked up a Windows Hosting Account with SQL ($14.94 monthly from EDTHosting) and playing with that. YEP.. thats my goal. Like I mentioned, I see SQL all over the place in my current tech support dayjob, and I really wanna pick up the pace in that area. Good chatting with you guys about this. Ya' know, one of the reasons I've incorporated (LLC) is so that I can do my own employment verification. See, my dayjob Tech Support is pretty cool and all, but us $40K technicians get pigeon-holed. Not too much promotion from within here at the Healthcare IT help desk. I'm really looking into trying to expand my own business rather than keep working for someone else. Heres the catch, how can I make the equivalent of $$ Forty Thousand annual salary. With benefits, my day job is really the equivalent of a $55K job if I had to pay my own benefits. Fifty-Five-Thousand??? Geezzzzz, thats a lot of website design and SQL!!!!