When you are making a website, you have to be very honest with yourself as to how much work you are really prepared to put into it. There's nothing more sad than an unmaintained site ("Last updated September 12, 1999").

What pieces of your site are static? Which things require no updating? These are the parts that are easy to judge -- if you think their existence is worth the initial investment of time (and money), then you can put them up. But there isn't a lot of content that fits into this.

• What are the pieces that need updating every so often? Like a resume, portfolio, maybe some of the copy or contact information. You can't ignore these, but you probably will unless you make an effort of it. Be ready to schedule some time to reread and update your site a couple times a year.

• What pieces need constant updating? Products, news, perhaps hours or dates of events. Automation can help here, both to make it easier and to make it possible to delegate some of this work. For instance, you might have an intern who can update the news, but you wouldn't want to subject the entire site to their potential mistakes. Volatile data should be changed in some limiting process, probably with forms that perform error checking.
      A detail I always add to news and similar functions: expiration dates. It looks dumb to have news about a sale three months ago. I try to make sure that never happens.

• Lastly, you should note that some things are not even really "maintenance", but ongoing, every-day sort of work. If you are selling something, you need to check every day for new orders. If you are answering queries, you should be checking email every couple days. I usually like to implement a push approach -- that is, when something happens that needs your (relatively) immediate attention, you should get an email about it. You should only have to check one thing often, and for most people that's their email.

So, what does this mean for your page? Well, be really honest with yourself. And start small. Just about everyone and every organization can safely start with a brochure page. That is just a page with an image or two, contact information, and maybe directions. That's a good start, because people really expect you to be on the web these days, and that basic information is actually quite helpful.

Once you've done this, be reflective as you try to make a larger site. The work you put in creating the site will be more than the work maintaining the page, but not necessarily a lot more. See if you are willing to keep up with that extra work for a while. If not, pull back early and simplify the site.