Content Revival

IfWorld Inc. of Fayetteville unveiled a free content management system (CMS) in January that enables businesses to update their Web sites for free. About a dozen local firms have already signed up for the service, which does require some upfront cost for creative development.

The initial design work can cost between $3,000 to $25,000 depending on the level of frills a business wants to build into its Internet presence. After that, firms would typically pay $100 per hour for maintenance and content updates — such as a change of company officers, business hours or products.

But IfWorld’s standardized CMS lets businesses maintain their own content without having to pay someone to know Web coding.

The free system offers Web sites up to 20 pages and one-user access. Full-scale versions of the software — which include 50 pages and functions for calendars, mailing lists and multi-users — are also available from $275 to $1,895 per month.