06/ 02/ 2006
by Michelle Mizuno
By now, most people realize that to be competitive in today's fast-paced business environment, having a Web site is an absolute necessity. Making the decision to get a Web site up and running is simple. The hard part is deciding whether to pay a professional Web designer to do it or to do it yourself.
Hiring a professional
A Web designer can create a professional-looking site for your company with no direct effort on your part. You won't have to learn HTML code or have any specialized Web programming skills. Another obvious advantage is that your site will look polished and be set up according to standard Web site protocol. A drawback of having someone else design your site is that you will have to wait for the designer to make any updates, and then upload the changes to the Internet. Also, if you have frequent updates, costs can mount quickly, as some designers charge for each change they make. If you decide to hire a Web designer, consider negotiating a monthly maintenance fee, which will include any changes within reason.
Doing it yourself
Hosting
Several Web site hosting services are available. Research each in terms of customer service, bandwidth allowances and cost. Some services include comprehensive Web site building tools, while some provide pre-produced templates. A template will let you simply plug in your text and images for a quick layout that has already been designed. A Web site builder provides the tools you'll need to create your Web site. A builder allows design flexibility in regards to color choice and placement of your text and visual elements.
Site features
What do you need your Web site to do? Sit down and decide what the purpose of your Web site is before you start putting it together to ensure that you include all the necessary elements. Do you want to conduct e-commerce via your site? If so, you'll need to set up an online store with a secure payment feature for your customers. Is your goal to provide information about your company? Be sure to include an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page so visitors to your site can get answers quickly. Do you want customers to be able to contact you via email or live online chat? Some of the Web site features available on the market are photo albums, online stores, calendars, videos, FAQ pages, discussion forum and Web log (blog) capabilities.
Functionality
If you've decided to design your own site, keep in mind that functionality is key. Don't get carried away with using Flash, multiple fonts, colors and background textures just because you can. Overuse of these elements can make your site difficult to read and download times longer. Make sure all your links work, and your site's interface is clean and uncluttered. A visitor to your site should be able to navigate easily between pages and always be able to return quickly to your home page. Always keep your site updated—your visitors will tire of obsolete or stale content.
Test your site
The fastest way to lose credibility with your potential customers is to publish a Web site full of errors. Before taking your site live, have friends and family look at your site, as they may catch errors that you've overlooked. Make sure to run a spelling and grammar check. Try opening your Web site using different browsers. Consider paying a company that specializes in Web site testing to test your site.
Above all, remember that your Web site is an extension of your company. It should be attractive, user-friendly and geared towards making communication with your customers easy and convenient.
Michelle Mizuno is the director of Marketing and Communications for SpinSite. SpinSite Incorporated provides Web site building tools, hosting and domain names for business and personal use. SpinSite is dedicated to making Web site design attainable to anyone, without the need for specialized training. Web site plans start at $4.95 monthly. For more information on creating a Web site, visit www.spinsite.com.
