12/ 21/ 2004
by Doug Addison
If you're like me -- a do-it-yourself kind of person -- you might be wondering if you really need a designer for your small Web site. After all, a small site is simple and doesn't require numerous or complex pages. You might be thinking that only large sites need designers and Web teams to create and manage all of the Web pages that they provide.
Many small site creators and small-business owners will discover that they can do all or most of the work on their own. But not all of you will have the time, interest, or technical and design experience to create what you need. In such a case, employing the services of a Web designer for your small site is a smart idea.
The right Web designer can help you make your site look good by ensuring that it has just the right professional-design polish. Just think about all of the print brochures you see that are produced by do-it-yourself business owners who are trying to save a few dollars. Often, they miss the boat in the design category and sometimes they can look downright cheesy. When producing business communications like this -- and your Web site certainly is one -- it's never a good idea to cut corners or put your business's image at risk. You've certainly heard that people judge you by the way that you look, and when it comes to your business, people do their judging with their dollars.
If you are having difficulty deciding if you really need a Web designer to help you create your site, here are some issues to consider:
Designers can help you get the best perspective. The right designer, especially one with small-site design experience, can help you get really focused on what should be incorporated into your site. Doing everything yourself makes it difficult to stand back and get the right perspective. An objective designer can take all of the elements that you think should be included on your site and help you prioritize the ones that are important and leave out the ones that are not needed.
Designers can help you save time and money. An experienced Web designer knows all of the tricks for getting things done quickly and saving time and money. If you are trying to create your own Web site for the first time, you can waste a lot of time on false starts or trying to adapt all your existing materials for the Web, not to mention fixing portions of your Web site that turn out differently than you really want, all of which can lead to expensive changes later.
Designers can help you properly promote your company image. Designers can ensure that you really promote your company identity and logo online. I often see businesses do a good job of promoting their image offline only to set up their own Web sites and undermine their efforts by, for example, changing the shape or color of their logo, changing their marketing slogans and using "hip" typefaces that differ from what they typically use, in effect taking a simple and friendly business and turning it into an online monster. A good designer can serve as a sort of company "identity cop" and make sure that you stay true to the image that you've worked hard to create for your business.
The right designer can help you create a site that can be readily maintained. Creating a Web site is only half of the battle. Web sites are dynamic by nature and they require regular updates and fine-tuning to stay successful. Experienced Web designers can help you create templates and other devices to help you better automate the process of keeping your site up-to-date. By working with a designer, you might spend a little more money up front, but you could really save a lot of time and money in the long run. In this respect, working with a designer early on in the process can be a smart investment.
Designers can help you expand your design sense. Because your time is limited, you can explore only a certain number of Web sites to get design ideas. You might have already convinced yourself that your site should look a certain way because you don't have time to explore more options. Good designers eat and breathe Web sites, and they are always on the lookout for better ways to communicate ideas and make sites more interactive and dynamic.
Excerpted from Small Websites, Great Results, Copyright 2005 Paraglyph Press. Used with permission. Doug Addison is a freelance journalist and Web producer in Austin, Texas. You can contact him at doug@daddison.com.
