Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

There is one big advantage  in  creating your own web site but it does involve using a good soft ware program such as Front Page or Dreamweaver.  They are a little daunting at first but worth it if you want a  web site that looks different .  Typically, in my opinion, most Pros will produce a site that looks like the sites all Pros create.

If your site needs a different touch that is not so commercial looking consider doing it yourself.  I produced my site, www.oldeworldelace.com, using Front Page.  In my opinion it definitely does not look cookie cutter.  I felt that I had to do this in order to create a warmer more inviting look than most commercial sites.  Because I have the time to develop the OEM benefits myself  I am also able to come up on the generic first page of all major search engines for the keyword "lace curtains".  That would be very expensive through a Pro.  You should consider DIY.

I think it`s really unfair to lump all pros into the category of just reusing templates. 

I won`t say that some so-called pros do ...
But we really focus everyone a unique site that reflects the personality of the company and the owner.

I`m sorry you had a bad experience or have a bad opinion of pros ... being generic and costly ...

After reading your reply I think I owe you an apology.  I certainly did not mean that a Pro uses templates or that they all look alike.  What I meant is that, to me, a lot of sites look a little institutionalized and I believe that an owner can more easily personalize the site to  his or her needs.  If it is a smaller business, which is what Start Up Nation caters to, then a small business budget has to be considered.

I probably didn`t totally bail myself out so again I apologize.

 

No, no don`t be sorry.

I`m sure a lot of people feel the same way. There`s some really bad designers out there!

You do bring up an excellent point - that being a small business, your personality is often what makes you so unique. So whether you are DIY or going with a pro, make sure you create a site that reflects your personality!

I`d take issue with suggesting that Front Page is "good" Web development software.

But to your point, we`ve had many discussions about what goes into building a Web site. It depends if you want a professional looking site that many people you don`t know will see as professional, or if you want a site that`s more like a "vanity site," where it doesn`t matter if people like it or not.

FrontPage is just a tool... like Dreamweaver, etc.

Actually, FrontPage has been replaced by Microsoft Expression, which is much better for coding and more CSS friendly.

~Roland

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Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

hummm, step 2 of our 11 steps to a Successful Website:

http://www.startupnation.com/steps/66/3768/2/1/do-it-yoursel f-pro-web.htm

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He who gets greedy like a pig, gets slaughtered like a hog!

I would like to share few things that I personally feel about having a website.

First we need to think why websites evolved? What was the purpose of having a website? The answer is to provide information and later on do data transactions. Most of the web applications vaguely do the same job of data transfer and storage..be it online ticketing, online job site, or anything. People feed in data...and websites stores them, fetches them etc etc.

Now, whoever makes the site needs to have two things in it: Proper Theme and Simplicity. Whatever the site is about, it should clearly convey its message and present a very simple yet expressive design. Trying to put up lots of things simply confuses the viewer. The viewer should be shown proper and clearly spaced our sections/links on the website. As per the stats most of the users leave the first page itself because it took them more than 5 seconds to find the things they were looking for. And they were not looking for anything unusual. Just the common things, like contact section, phone numbers, new offers, new products, customer care, FAQs and so many small yet critical things a user might want to use.

So, whenever I design a site for my clients, I try to keep things quite nicely spread out in an ordered way. :)

What I find interesting about all these discussions about Web sites, is exactly the point Anurag brings up---the theme.

The problem is that to develop a theme requires a specific type of mental analysis. That type of analysis isn`t easy, nor is it something people are generally accustomed to doing. So if we say that a good Web site revolves around a central theme, and we further say that few people understand what`s a theme, then there`s clearly a problem: not many good Web sites.

A few thoughts...

I myself wrote my website from a pre-made site that I bought for about sixty bucks. In the end, I wound up keeping the graphics (half the reason why I bought it-- not having to spend time researching graphics or worrying about copyright issues), and ripping most of the rest out. BUT, it did give me a starting point at the time...something to get my creative engine going sooner rather than later...money well spent :/

Lack of money aside, there were other reasons why I wrote psychicbazaar.com myself. One was I wanted what I wanted...not what someone else thought that I wanted. Another was so that I would have more control and less confusion later on down the line. Like now...for example...I noticed that peeps were putting website and email addresses in my visitor (guest) book without asking. I didn`t even need to pick up the phone...I fixed it myself and it was done :) It was (and still is) a learning curve, but I already knew some ColdFusion, SQL, and MS Access before I got started. I also have a friend or two at work who will "look over my shoulder" for free if I am really trying and patient enough to wait until they aren`t actually working :)

Peter
psychicbazaar.com