Friday, December 26, 2008

Designing Your Own Business Website Will Cost You

By Stephen Grisham, Sr.

"Hire a Professional" sounds a lot like "write a check." The truth is, if you are busy running your business then you don't have time to learn how to do someone else's job. It might seem like it's saving you money to do it yourself, but it will cost you later.

A business owner should take a moment to consider how much his time is really worth, and whether the time you're willing to spend putting together a website will produce a good website. It's important for a business owner to consider the cost of neglecting other parts of running the business in order to make a website. After considering this information, it's clear that the money invested in a website design professional can be quickly recovered in sales and savings.

Up front, HTML seems easy enough, but that's not the only programming languages. There are literally dozens out there. Do you have time to learn them all and make an fantastic website? Doesn't your business deserve more than a "Dear John" pre-formatted website? YES! This is where the web design masters come in.

An introductory webmaster knows the 4 basic web programming languages: HTML, SHTML, Java, CSS. A more seasoned pro will have tons more to offer you. The more training the professional has, the more costly the web design fees will be, but also the better the results can be.

If your budget is tight, you can always consider hiring a student to create your web design. Many professional and 2-year colleges teach computer courses, and many will have design students in their classes who need to build portfolios. Some of the students will even work for free. Other students will work for low fees, but they will definitely ask for a reference.

It is also vital for a business ownder to consider what their online website is going to have on it, and what you need the website to do. If you have more features on your website, it will take up more space, and extra space costs money. As a result, it's important to minimize your rpace to what your company needs.

If you need programs for your website, such as a shopping cart, a programmer is often very expensive. It may suit your needs for you to buy a software program that is pre-made to meet your needs. This kind of software can be found for important features such as your store's online shopping cart. It is absolutely critical for you to harbor a secure online cart that has no errors so your website's customers will feel that their information is safe.

The most important consideration is hacker safety. Neither you nor your customers want your site or the private information on it to be stolen. Be sure that your webmaster offers support, and be sure that your budget allows for those emergency calls that are sure to come. - 16039

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