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WEB TEMPLATE OR CUSTOM
BUILT WEBSITE - WHAT IS BETTER FOR BUSINESS? Do-it-yourself website
design. What should you know.
Often website owners want to be able to update their website by
themselves after the original custom website is built. There are several
solutions for those who are willing and capable of maintaining website
content.
There are several options available for those who wish to manage their
own website: you can do it with HTML editing software: FrontPage,
Dreamweaver..., you can buy a 3rd party Content Management software to
allow you updating the content on your website without any HTML
knowledge. You can install this software on your web
server. This is an excellent option for
those who updates their websites daily. For example, news section, job posting,
reports... For those who updates site seldom, this feature is not cost
effective. Just too expensive.
There are many other do-it-yourself website building options. Many
hosting companies offer website builder tool. It comes with a web
hosting account. Basically, the hosting companies want to sell you their
web hosting services directly -Who needs a web designer?...There are
many templates and colors to choose from. Flash intro pages can be
designed at no time and effort. You can change colors, template layout
add/delete/modify pages as many times as you want and need - fantastic!
If you need an e-commerce, Yahoo is the best choice. It is really
affordable, reliable and easy to use even for a novice. You do not need to worry about purchasing a merchant
account, site security and fraud protection. Yahoo's interface is easy
and user friendly. You can start from a small catalog and built it up as
your business grow.
Another option is to open a eBay store. Again it is an easy interface,
template based website design, where you can choose your layout and colors. You
will not get a large selections of templates, but what they offer is
completely acceptable for the application. Some people enhance their
eBay store with custom headers and promotional boxes. Make sure you can
do your custom pages professionally. It helps increase sales.
For many computer literate people building a website using HTML editing
software or use Do-it-yourself web site design tool sounds like a good
alternative to custom web site design. "Why do I need to pay
a web designer, if I know computer and have HTML editing software?" -
you can ask. Good
question.
In our opinion, there is nothing wrong with trying to build a webpage by
yourself. It will give you the opportunity to learn about web design,
layout, colors, content writing, web host selection, tracking the
website visitors and.. at the end the frustration that nobody visits
your site except yourself. Sooner or later you will realize, that the
time spent on building and updating your website can be better invested in your core
business. Building your own website will give you the opportunity to
appreciate the work of a professional web designer. For start-up
companies with a limited budget, it is better to wait until you have
sufficient finds to hire a professional help to build your website.
Website is powerful advertising and business tool. It reflects your business's
physical presence. Unprofessional web site can ruin your company's
image.
Easy and cheap do-it-yourself websites cannot compete with the
professionally developed websites. Your online success depends on
quality of the website. Professional websites generates more sales leads
and traffic, builds business image and promotes brand. There is no such thing as cheap website design.
This is a classic examples of "you got what you paid for".
Do-it-yourself web design is a product. Professional web development is
a service. Do not waste your time and money to get negative result at
the end.
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