Often, it’s easy to see how financial and time constraints work against smaller newspapers making a successful online presence.

But it’s worth considering the unique technical considerations as well, and trying to examine some solutions that I have seen work, as well as some overblown efforts that are failing as we speak.

If readers have suggestions about smaller papers that are meeting the challenge, I’d love to hear about it. Let’s face it, it’s easy to remember www.nytimes.com, but without a determined search or word-of-mouth, no one’s going to find www.theauburndalepostdispatch.net (not a real paper, by the way).

Raw technical talent

Larger publications often start with a considerable staff, and, in the early days, many of those staff were often cannibalized to start the online effort.

Smaller publications may have one or two people that handle all the computer work, and often they’re so pressed for time that troubleshooting or developing online applications is the last priority on their schedule. Many times, smaller papers are far from population centers, which makes hiring Web-savvy technical talent more difficult.

However, these challenges are chiefly restricted to the most technical issues involved, such as DNS resolution and actual administration of the site. Even smaller papers often have graphic designers who are eager to add another skill to their inventory, and will jump at the chance to learn Web design and design Web advertising.

Technology capital

Small papers are at a disadvantage, often using older and less-powerful machines that may not have the horsepower for modern Web-based applications.

Operating systems and environments may be mixed, as is often the case where larger chains have gradually absorbed smaller independent operations. Some papers will be on Apple OS 9, some will be on Microsoft Windows 95, and some may be using ancient Apple Quadras running wire-service software. Trying to bring these disparate systems together is a daunting challenge.

This is a particular challenge with front-end systems that are often the first step to getting data onto the Web site: some are homemade, some are generations old and little more than glorified text editors, and plenty of smaller papers use Quark which has never been conducive to data extraction. OK, if you’re the one in 10,000 people who have ever gotten Avenue.Quark to fulfill this need, great. For the other 9,999 of us, we need another solution.

Lack of bandwidth

Larger organizations often have spare capacity, linking remote locations together with T1 or greater capacity. Piggybacking Internet operations onto this level of access isn’t that difficult, and often just requires the purchase of incremental increases and perhaps some additional routers and switches. Even with outsourcing, there still needs to be a way to upload the content. With mostly text and a few pictures, a dedicated DSL or cable modem may prove sufficient here. But it will not serve for hosting, as these “consumer-grade” connections almost never offer service-level guarantees that come part and parcel with T1’s and higher.

Software

Often perceived to be a cost barrier, but this is where I truly believe a little ingenuity and, yes, modesty can win.

There are plenty of organizations that when the dot-coms were running high, immediately went out and purchased $100,000 content management systems, never to be within reach of any sort of reasonable return on investment. A smaller paper could maintain a modest Web site within spitting distance of free — remote hosting for perhaps $50 per month, a Web layout program like Microsoft Front Page or Macromedia Dreamweaver (or Notepad if you really want to keep costs down) and Paint Shop Pro for $99.

No, the site isn’t going to have fancy features and you’ll have to develop or buy an archive application and update it yourself, but sell ten ads or sponsorships and you’ll reach profitability, which is something a lot of sites that have spent a thousand times the money will never be able to say.

And that is the idea, isn’t it?

Hays Goodman is the Webmaster for Newspapers & Technology and GMToday, a Milwaukee-area portal. He welcomes your comments, feedback and suggestions for future Tips & Tricks columns. Write to him at webmaster@conleynet.com and include your contact information.