Getting a small business website built for you needn't break the bank and is likely to pay for itself through the new sales it generates. The thought that you could build your own website may have occurred to you but you may not sure if it would be cost effective or not. Ask yourself these questions. To start off with, do you have free time available to dedicate to building a website? secondly, what do you want to gain from your new website?
Learning to design and build a basic business website isn't the most difficult challenge. I by no means intend to suggest that web design isn't an exceptionally in depth subject or that it doesn't require a lot of study and skill but at a basic level and with a bit of applied learning you can achieve some pretty good results.
To be good at creating your own website you should be the kind of person who can pick things up fairly rapidly and also be adept at understanding new systems, these are often skills found in people that own and run their own business. There are a few necessary skills that need to be developed before beginning a website build, these include but are not limited to CSS, HTML and basic website design and layout.
So, back to our first question. Do you really have enough time to study and apply these skills?
You might feel that you would be glad to put the hours in to learn the fundamentals because you are feeling fed up with working for other people and want to start up on your own. Get yourself online and check out some tutorial sites. Find and purchase an up to date 'Build Your Own Website' book on Amazon. You will find plenty of learning avenues to guide you.
You may however be looking into this option from a completely different position. It may be that you are already aware there are not sufficient hours in your day. Trying to find time to create your own business website in this case is not a good option for you, as not only will your work life balance be put under increased strain, you will be unlikely to create a website that will do your business justice if you are unable to fully focus on working on it.
Now we explore our second question. What do you hope your new website will gain you? As well as answering this have a think about where you fit in to your market and have a look at the websites owned by your direct competitors.
If you run a small business as a gardener or electrician for instance, a basic website with your contact details enabling individuals to find you and give you a call may fully meet your needs. Creating this kind of basic website would be totally manageable.
Your type of business may come under what is deemed to be a more professional category such as accounting, law or finance. If this is the case then a basic looking site might not give an impression of your business that you want potential clients to see. Do some research online. What sort of quality site do your direct competitors have? You may decide that your competitors sites are of a significant standard and the best move for your business is to hire a professional to design and build your site.
To conclude the above; If you have the time to learn to build your website and you believe that you can produce a high enough standard then give it your best shot, if you are not sure then hire a professional. One last thing you will need to think about is that once you complete your site, it will not be of benefit to your business if nobody can locate it on Google. You need your website to be at the top of the search ranking in order for it to be a success.
You are missing out on potential sales and clients if you have no web presence to promote your small business. You can create your own website for your business, but you need to carefully consider whether you think the results you could achieve would generate more sales and work out whether you realistically have the time to teach yourself how to do it.
Learning to design and build a basic business website isn't the most difficult challenge. I by no means intend to suggest that web design isn't an exceptionally in depth subject or that it doesn't require a lot of study and skill but at a basic level and with a bit of applied learning you can achieve some pretty good results.
To be good at creating your own website you should be the kind of person who can pick things up fairly rapidly and also be adept at understanding new systems, these are often skills found in people that own and run their own business. There are a few necessary skills that need to be developed before beginning a website build, these include but are not limited to CSS, HTML and basic website design and layout.
So, back to our first question. Do you really have enough time to study and apply these skills?
You might feel that you would be glad to put the hours in to learn the fundamentals because you are feeling fed up with working for other people and want to start up on your own. Get yourself online and check out some tutorial sites. Find and purchase an up to date 'Build Your Own Website' book on Amazon. You will find plenty of learning avenues to guide you.
You may however be looking into this option from a completely different position. It may be that you are already aware there are not sufficient hours in your day. Trying to find time to create your own business website in this case is not a good option for you, as not only will your work life balance be put under increased strain, you will be unlikely to create a website that will do your business justice if you are unable to fully focus on working on it.
Now we explore our second question. What do you hope your new website will gain you? As well as answering this have a think about where you fit in to your market and have a look at the websites owned by your direct competitors.
If you run a small business as a gardener or electrician for instance, a basic website with your contact details enabling individuals to find you and give you a call may fully meet your needs. Creating this kind of basic website would be totally manageable.
Your type of business may come under what is deemed to be a more professional category such as accounting, law or finance. If this is the case then a basic looking site might not give an impression of your business that you want potential clients to see. Do some research online. What sort of quality site do your direct competitors have? You may decide that your competitors sites are of a significant standard and the best move for your business is to hire a professional to design and build your site.
To conclude the above; If you have the time to learn to build your website and you believe that you can produce a high enough standard then give it your best shot, if you are not sure then hire a professional. One last thing you will need to think about is that once you complete your site, it will not be of benefit to your business if nobody can locate it on Google. You need your website to be at the top of the search ranking in order for it to be a success.
You are missing out on potential sales and clients if you have no web presence to promote your small business. You can create your own website for your business, but you need to carefully consider whether you think the results you could achieve would generate more sales and work out whether you realistically have the time to teach yourself how to do it.
About the Author:
Teapot Creative are a team of graphic designers based in Somerset. Read one of our blogs - A link from the stars!!.We have a wealth of experience covering all aspects of graphic, web design and SEO services and have worked on countless projects for a diverse range of businesses. Check out the Web Pro Cafe forum.
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