Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Everyone is looking for web designers and web developers to build e-commerce shopping websites. But the problem is that if you have a "professional" build your website you are 100% dependant on them later.

If you are a business owner you know that the worst position you can be in is to have any of your employees controlling your business. Every business owner needs to be able to do every job at their business so that no single person can hold your business hostage.

But rather than learning a few things about web design they look to the web for a solution.

You built your business from the ground up, build your own website!

No one knows your business the way you do. No one has the passion and knowledge and understands the message and image you want to portray like you do. Don't be a copout, sit down and figure out what it takes to build a website.

With do it your self systems like http://pagebuzz.com and http://godaddy.com and others the process for building a website has been simplified. Anyone can point and click their way to a website that sells products in a very short period of time.

It is true it won't be the greatest design, it won't look like the movie premiere of Avatar but it will work and it will be uniquely you. It will be an extension of your business and not some designers idea of what your business should be.

I see businesses making over $100,000.00 a month on websites that are simple and quite unprofessional as most would see it. I don't know what is unprofessional about making more than a million dollars a year in sales.

I have to encourage people to at least try to do it yourself. Most business use accounting software, business software and other software to run their business. There is no difference between that and website building software to manage their website.

The types of products have changed greatly and most websites can be managed directly from any web browser and even from a cell phone.

Before you get stuck in a major project with a webmaster that holds all the strings to your website, explore the options out there and find out how simple running your own website really has become.

I agree with emtypockets,

I built my own website.  It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that a web designer would put in.  But it meets my needs.  I use it mainly as a background and information source for potential customers.

I have to agree as well.

When I started looking at getting my website up, I had known some people that could crete a website. My biggest issue is they know a lot more then me. Even thou I knew the layout and look I wanted to go with. They would be more prone to use php, scripts and all that fun language which I kow nothing about. So for me to go in and do a minor tweak, I wouldn't even know where to look. I would have to depend on them way too much. So I created mine with standart HTML and keep tweaking it as I learned more code. At least now if I want to change something small, like price or description, I know exactly where to look and hoe to change it.

Plus you get the satisfaction of saying you created it.

I'm in the process of doing exactly that right now, for those exact reasons.  Of course if the need arises to have a more complex site, I'll consider upgrading to a professional at that point, but the site must earn its keep to justify the expense.

A great tool I found on another StartupNation post is Weebly.com.  Its a website building point and click interface that is easy to use, and most importantly-FREE.

I also made my website from scratch using Dreamweaver and I am happy that I did but I am now in the process of transitioning to a shopping cart solution with ClickCartPro.  I hadn't realized when I first started my website that for only $200, it is possible to have a complete e-commerce solution.  There are allot of features that this software, and others like it,  provide that I could never do myself.  Granted, it's a bit of a learning curve moving from static html to a database driven system but a good software solution can make the change a little easier.

While there are many many do it yourself tools to create your own web site, it takes more than tools to achieve an effective web site. I am not saying any of the web sites noted above are ineffective (I have not reviewed them).

I admit - I am one of those "web designers".  I do not agree that if a web site is created by a third party you are locked into that third party for any changes, updates, etc.

I've created a number of web sites using Word Press or other CMS programs that enable the web site owner to log in and manage their own web site content.

There are a number of advantages of using a third party / web designer:

• Effective use of your time. Is your time better spent on learning a web program and creating a web site or planning for and managing your business?
• A good web designer will determine the design platform to use to handle your current and future needs and web site functions. Such functions can save you time by replacing manual processes with online processing.
• A good designer will work with you to determine what keywords/phrases you should target for search engine optimization.
• A good designer will suggest off-site promotion techniques that will help improve your web sites search results placement.

Ecommerce

One other area where an experienced web designer can help is in the set up of an ecommerce web site. Aside from designing/creating your online store, there are many questions and options that need to be considered, such as:

• Pricing policy
• Shipping charges (charge separately or include in the price of the product).
• Returns and allowances policy
• Payment processing options
• Customer interaction 
• Do you want to offer "sales" or specially priced items?

An effective web site is one that is created to acheive the goals for the web site. We are no longer in the "build it and they will come" era of web sites. Today, in order to be effective your web site needs to be seen and there are many web sites competing with yours for the eyes of the viewer.

~Roland

wow....thank you for all these infos....vworld..

i am still new here and need a lot of tips....

i create this web...my first web site...using word press.

rainybelle 

There are pros and cons for both methods. You can definitely develop your own site without a professional and get sales. There is no problem with that, especially if you are on a shoestring budget.

At some point, you may want to consider using a professional when budget allows it. Their experience can be priceless. Think of it this way. Say you spend $2000 to have a professional revamp that site making $100K in sales per month. By making the site look more professional with some nice graphics and a more user friendly layout you get a few extra customers who use you due to the fact that you now look more reliable and more concerned about your customers. Not to mention some advice on how to boost your search engine spot, etc... Say it boosts your sales by only 10%. You are now making $110K per month. Within a month or two, you have just made your money back and beyond.

Generally using a professional will get you at least a few extra customers, and even that little bit can make a difference in your profits. Remember, "the difference between ordinary and extraordinary, is that little extra!".

I would recommend that beginners start with a pre made template. I have been building websites for a long time and if the site involves dynamic content leave it up to a pro unless you have time and want to learn.

Static content - make it yourself or use a template.

Dynamic content - leave it up to a pro.

Just my two cents.

Nice post, emptypockets! I too agree with you. When you work on something entirely on your own and if it is successful, then the contentment and happiness it brings to you is uncomparable.

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Creative Ecommerce Web Design Co.