So, you want to design your own website?

Apr 21
06:33

2008

Jim Gharib

Jim Gharib

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There are many computer savvy people who get sold on tackling the job of designing their own website. Are you one of those people? You may change your mind after reading this.

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There are many computer savvy people who get sold on tackling the job of designing their own website. They may know how to get around their favorite word processor program easily,So, you want to design your own website? Articles however, html maybe a different story. The forums and help websites are loaded with requests for help or questions regarding various problems they encounter. In the meantime, the website design is delayed till the problems are resolved or seek a professional web designer.

I have had to fix more than a few websites, to salvage what the owner had done, to enable it to function. Sometimes they are not major items and some times the errors actually create such malfunctions the site is useless. I ask those clients what possessed them to embark on creating their own website. The usual answer is they were encouraged by myriads of program sellers or web hosts who offer easy website design programs. I am not knocking down such programs but they make it sound so easy to use most people are tempted to try it. In general they hit a deadened or a complex problem then they seek help but only after a long period of time. One of my clients had so many errors, the links didn’t work properly, and there were black lines and squares in the middle of the page that had a red background. One, I counted, had 34 tables in a page not one larger than 400x100 pixels which is the reason he had so much trouble trying to make the page behave, the tables kept moving around on him.

Generally the reason for one to begin creating one’s own website is because they have been lead to believe they can and its easy to do. Well, isn’t as easy as hooking up the VCR?! After all the advertisement said anyone could do it! Of course there is the design, colors, buttons, navigation, page transition, maybe a video or sound placement may not be too complex to choose. Making them work in a page flawlessly is another thing. The technical challenges are many and sometimes one has to be persistent and have a dogged attitude but when frustration sets in and problems don’t seem to have solutions, its time to call in an expert. I say don’t even start; let the experts do it all. It’s a lot less costly in the long run.

Most people who try their hand in this endeavor are business people, start up companies with small budgets who believe they can save some money and when a business is just starting, money can be in short supply so who could blame them for trying. As a result of trying to run a business, generating sales, stocking a product line and many other functions that has to be done, the design of the website takes a back seat and most often they can devote little time to it. Then when problems arise, it’s even worse to find motivation to pursue it and make it all work. So I ask you why even start? You’ve got enough to be concerned with starting a business or running it, your market and your completion. Why add to it? I say let the experts do the website and you tend to your business to grow it.