The website development market - Italy

1.2 World market

The number of internet users is growing

The success of the Web development market directly depends on the growing share of Internet users worldwide: in April ****, there were about *.** billion Internet users This represents **.*% of the world's population connected to the Web, **% more than the *.* billion in ****, which represented **% of the world's population. Even more striking: in April ****, the Web has nearly *.** billion people registered on social networks, or **.*% of Internet users. [***]

Internet and social network user penetration rate World, ****-****, % Source: ****

According to the same source, this worldwide Internet penetration rate varies widely from country to country: **.* percent in Western Europe, ** percent in Northern Europe, **.* percent in North America versus **.* percent in East Africa and **.* percent in South Asia in April ****. [***]

The global market for web development

The global market for web development and web design is dynamic, with more than ***,*** new websites coming online every day worldwide, totaling *.** billion websites worldwide as of June ****. [***]

While it is very difficult to get figures on the size of the global web development market worldwide, it is known that in the United States alone it accounted for $**.* billion in **** , with a **.* percent increase from $**.* billion in ****, [***]

1.3 Italian market

More than ** million people in our country access the Internet every day and ** million are active on social media. The report, produced in collaboration with Hootsuite, a social profile management platform, shows that of the six hours each Italian spends online, an average of one is dedicated to video games, a sector that has seen a ** percent increase in spending compared to the same period in ****. Daily, about ** million users connect to digital services, up *.* percent from ****, and more than ** million are active on social media, up *.* percent from the previous year.

Italians active on the internet and social networks **** VS **** Italy, ****-****, millions of people Source: ****

Almost all individuals access from mobile (***), but also audio, with **% listening to streaming music and **% loving podcasts.

In **** on average Italians who connect to the Internet every day are **.*% , **.*% do not use it at all, **.*% use it one or more times a week while the remaining *.*% rarely use it.

Internet use by frequency of Italians Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

Internet use implies an increase in activities related to management, content creation and internet sites. In Italy in recent years, new Ateco coidices have been created to protect and include new professions related to this ...

1.4 Impact of Covid

The market for websites and the internet in general has been positively affected by the Covid pandemic having accelerated the digitization of businesses.

On the business side, domains of Made in Italy companies have increased by *.* percent compared to ****. According to data updated to July ****, there are *,***,*** domains registered in Italy, thus ending with the suffix .it. To help development, the CNR board has decided to reduce the price of registering new ".it" websites by one euro until December ****. The goal is to incentivize companies to create their own online storefront. Registro.it has implemented other such initiatives to help companies affected by Covid-**. For example, in June the organization allocated about ***,*** euros to suspend the cost of domain renewal from the end of March to the end of June, allowing site administrators to save money.

In addition to business development, "Covid-themed" sites have also increased; as of today, there are *,*** domains with the ".it" extension on the Internet with a coronavirus theme. According to the CNR, which analyzed Covid-**-inspired ".it" domains registered from January to December ****, the Top-* most recurring words in ".it" sees the term "covid" in the lead (***)[***].

Most recurrent names in Covid-themed websites with .it domains Italy, ...

2.1 Increasingly digital sectors

As mentioned above, companies and freelancers are using the Internet to promote their business, and the need to have a website is increasing.

Companies themselves are increasingly connected to the internet in order to communicate and expand their business. According to Istat data, in ****,the sector with the fewest businesses with broadband connection is accommodation and food services, with **.* percent, while the sector with the most connected businesses is information and communication services, with *** percent .

Enterprises with fixed or mobile broadband connection Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

Change in ICT spending in the freelance sector Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

2.2 Services used

There are several services required and used by various companies in their websites.

Websites can be associated not only with the presentation of the company and its products or services, but also with online shopping, catalogs or price lists, order status tracking, product customization and design, customization of site content, the ability to formalize a complaint, and the company's presence on social media.

Services offered by companies with websites by sector Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

Clearly depending on the sector the services are more or less developed, for example in the accommodation and food service sector the customization of content is much more developed than in other sectors, this can be explained by the fact that many restaurants offer for example the service of changing the dishes you want to order. The most developed service from all sectors is the possibility of linking one's website to one's profile on social networks, which are now increasingly used both to share information and because the flow of users is increasing on social platforms.

2.3 Social Presence

social presence is considered necessary for many companies so much so that,in ****, **% of Italian SMEs say that a presence on social networks is essential to remain competitive and **% plan to increase their use of these platforms in ****, while **% are already present on more channels than last year.

Specifically, **% of companies say they have at least four active social profiles (***).

Italian SME social presence Italy, ****, percentage Source: ****

The social networks chosen by companies are chosen based on the number of active users present, in **** the social network with the most active users was Facebook, *.** billion, Youtube, *.**, and WHatsapp, *.* billion.

Active Users on Social Networks World, ****, millions of users Source: ****

In terms of management, the social profiles of Italian companies see only one person involved at the operational level for ** percent, but almost as many have at least two dedicated resources (***), in **% it is partially entrusted to an external agency while for *% it is completely outsourced.

Management of social by SMEs Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

Brand reputation and brand awareness are the main reasons why Italian companies use social networks, for **% and **% respectively. **% use them for the purpose of increasing conversions and sales, while **% use these channels as a tool to interact with ...

2.4 E-commerce

The need to open one's own website is also due to the fact that online commerce has exploded in the utmost years and, in particular, following the Covid pandemic.

According to a survey conducted in March ****, ** percent of Italian digital shoppers make, on average, at least one online purchase per month, which is * percentage points higher than in a similar survey commissioned by idealo in ****. Thanks to the data from this new research, it is possible to estimate the frequency and type of purchases made on the web by consumers, which can be divided into:

intensive (***); habitual (***); sporadic (***)

How often do Italians buy online Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

Also according to the June **** survey, Electronics, Fashion & Accessories and Beauty & Perfume Products are the product types most purchased online by Italians. Next come Shoes & Sneakers, Toys & Gaming, and Medicines & Health Products.

Most purchased product types online Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

Regarding the profile of the Italian customer who buys online, they are mainly men (***).

Who buys online by gender Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

In our country, consumers aged **-** are the predominant ones, accounting for **.*% of the total, followed by **-** year olds (***).

Online consumers by age group Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

Also again according to ...

3.1 Profile of an IT developer

AGE

The age groups of Italian developers are quite varied. Compared to ****, **** the percentage of developers over ** has increased: developers between the ages of ** and ** account for **.*% of the total, while **.*% claim to be between the ages of ** and **, and only *.*% are under **. These data do not take into conisderation students who, although trying their hand at first jobs, have yet to complete their period of study, as they are not considered professionals.

Age groups developers Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

The developer profession starts practicing at a young age. In fact, according to the numbers, **.* percent of BitBoss respondents started practicing this profession before the age of **, and only *.* percent became developers after the age of **. A good percentage even approached development in their teenage years.

At what age do people start programming Italy, ****, percentage Source: ****

GENDER

The majority of developers are men, **.*%. This figure makes it clear how the gender gap within the development world is real and concrete. Only *.*% are women, and when analyzing the average age of female representation, it became clear that this is around ** years old. it is clear that there is still much work to be done to bring young women closer to the world of ...

3.2 Developers in Italy

It is estimated that there are a total of ** million developers worldwide, of which *.* million are in Europe. [***].

Number of developers by country European Union, ****, thousands Source: ****

Italy has a shortage of IT developers, according to Unionecamere there is a shortage of about ** percent of the workers needed, the number rises to ** percent when looking for experienced graduates[***]. According to the Desi index, which monitors the digital competitiveness of European Union member countries, Italy ranks **th for the number of graduates in Stem (***) subjects and **st for digital skills. Moreover, only *.* percent of Italian graduates choose ITC subjects. A figure that is then even further behind the European averages for women. Not only are there not many students of ICT subjects, but also driving ITC people away from Italy are wages and the organization of work, which at the moment does not value skills enough, in the opinion of many graduates.

The lack of salaries is possible to see especially by comparing Italian salaries with those of other European countries : Italy does not offer competitive enough salaries, especially comparison with neighboring countries, such as Switzerland.

Average annual salary of a developer, by country World, ****, $*** Source: ****

According to BitBoss ' study of ...

3.3 Web agencies and freelancers

To design a website one normally relies on a web agency or freelancer developer.

According to research by Prometeia, carried out for UNA (***).

In terms of the areas of offerings that are most commonly manned, the top three include the web (***).

Services offered by Web agencies Italy, ****, percentage Source: ****

A sector, that of digital communication, which is a driving force for multiple other branches of the economy, not only in the North but also in the South. A steady growth that indicates the precise direction taken by the national and even international economy.

Regarding freelancers, there are about *.* million people in Italy in ****. The number of freelancers in Italy has grown exponentially in recent years, particularly in the ICT sector, which in the first quarter of **** alone ***,*** VAT numbers were opened in this area.

The strongest motivation that has prompted washers to pursue a freelance career is the search for freedom and work flexibility. Being able to be free to work at the times and places they want is what motivates **.* percent of freelancers the most. All other incentives are secondary and statistically quite equivalent. The economic factor assumes some importance, but it reaches only **.* percent. Lack of alternatives is confined ...

4.1 Offer

Summary of web development solutions

Turnkey web development solutions

Deployment of an open-source CMS

This solution is aimed at Internet users with basic knowledge of HTML/CSS and FTP, who want to spend as little as possible to create a site and are ready to invest their time. It consists of using an open-source CMS (***), such as Wordpress, Joomla or Prestashop, to administer the content of a website themselves. It should be noted that buying a theme to "dress up" the CMS costs about ** euros, and hosting on a dedicated server costs about *** euros per year.

Online software rental with subscription

Basic website designs are well suited to subscription-based online software, also known as a "proprietary CMS," developed to democratize website creation and management. Any user can choose a general theme and then edit site pages from a simplified interface that requires no technical skills. The cost of this solution ranges between €** and €** per month for a showcase site, and can go up to €*** per month for an e-commerce site

Purchasing a turnkey website

The turnkey or pre-built site is actually a fixed-price web development service based on a general interface and dedicated management. The service most often includes installation and ...

4.2 Prices

Due to the fragmentation of the web development market, the lack of industry-wide figures, and the extreme diversity of web development projects, there are no figures for the costs of personnel, services, and infrastructure. While it is commonly accepted (***) that the domain name of a classic site costs an average of about ten euros per year and accommodation of ** to *** euros per year.

The price for creating a website ranges from *,*** euros, for a showcase site with a few pages, to tens of thousands of euros for commercial realities that require large sites with advanced, customized features.

if we were to try to make a price list, the costs would amount to:

one-page site (***): about *** €; showcase site: from *,*** €, for sites with *-* pages, to *,*** €, for sites with **-** pages; small e-commerce: from *,*** €; standard e-commerce: around *,***-**,*** €. large e-commerce: from **,*** € to ***,*** €.

The price can also vary greatly depending on the entity to which it is entrusted. A freelancer will charge significantly less than an emblazoned web agency would, not having to manage the costs of a corporate structure.

The prices of a website depend essentially on three factors:

the size of the site, thus the number of pages/products to be created; the ...

4.3 Mobile Commerce

The rise of m-commerce

The growth of the web development market also lies in the new services offered by websites. First of all, it is the mobile commerce market This is the first time that m-commerce, otherwise known as e-commerce, is taking off. Commerce conducted from a tablet or smartphone, after spreading in the United States, has experienced very strong growth in Italy. Two out of three Italian consumers use their smartphones for online shopping and price comparison. In particular, here are the data obtained from purchase intentions on idealo's Italian portal: **.* percent from smartphones, **.* percent from PCs or laptops, and *.* percent from tablets. Those who connect on the move prefer an Android device in **.*% of cases while iOS stands at **.*%.

What online shopping is done with Italy, ****, percentage Source: ****

Websites must therefore be optimized for the mobile format, which opens up new opportunities for web developers.

The services offered by cloud computing

On the other hand, Cloud computing Cloud computing aims to enable the use of a provider's available computing services and storage space by external customers. The Cloud has quickly proven its effectiveness in web development due to its functionality in * segments: application, platform, infrastructure and data.

In the ...

5.1 Regulations

There are guidelines for the design of interent sites drafted by Agid (***).

Based on the ISO/IEC Directives, Part * standards for the drafting of technical documents, the Design Guidelines provide indications that must be compulsorily met for the creation of PA websites and digital services, those that are optional and those for which careful evaluation is necessary.

Among the requirements enunciated, ease of reference and user experience constitute a crucial junction for the effectiveness of PA online products: useful and easy-to-use websites and digital services, according to a user-centered design methodology, become essential to enable citizens to use them in a simple and clear way, and increasingly increase their uptake.Further important references relate to information transparency and security, accessibility, service monitoring, user interfaces, integration of enabling platforms, and licensing.

In particular, the following must be guaranteed for consumer security: the protection of personal data and privacy, at least the basic level of security established by the "Minimum ICT security measures for public administrations" must be respected, technical and organizational measures must be put in place to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, in compliance with the requirements of Art. ** of the GDPR and with a view to ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Monogrid
• Awd Agency
• StudioGusto
• Aquest
• Addlance
• Upwork
• Wix