Three interesting posts I've read recently

http://www.contenthere.net/2009/08/fixed-bid-implementation-work-a-marri...

Large fixed bid projects are very hard to get right.

http://www.teamlalala.com/blog/2008/11/12/how-much-do-websites-cost/

How much do websites cost? Well it's hard to say.

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001239.html

You're gonna have bugs - plan for it and log them so that you can analyse the most common ones and  target your budget effectively. 

Developing websites is a real challenge, and putting a business process around it so that all parties make a fair profit is hard too. 

But it's an exciting business to be in and there are profits to be made.