How do I get started?
Building a Web site is relatively painless, unless you try to do it yourself. I have always been a fan of DIY (Do It Yourself, or in this case, Design It Yourself) because you know you're going to get what you want, provided you have the knowledge and tools to accomplish the task.
With Web design, the knowledge is readily available to learn and the tools are cheap, or better yet in some cases, FREE! Anyone can learn to build a decent, functional Web site and post it online for free. So why pay for a Web site?
There are a multitude of reasons. Here are a few:
- If something goes wrong and you don't know what caused it, who will fix it for free? Not many people I know.
- Finding a free Web host is easy. Putting up with all the advertisements they bombard you with is annoying to your visitors. Why put them through that punishment? How many Web sites that are full of advertisements do you return to on a frequent basis?
- Designing a Web site with lots of graphics you pull off the Web is fun! You know, all those flashing signs and blinking lights and rotating animals! They're cool, to you. Your visitors are really turned off by them. Would you have known that?
- And most importantly, why use your time to learn Web design when it could be put to more useful things, like making a profit for your company, or spending that time at home doing much needed repairs and projects. If you plan on going into the Web design business, then by all means learn it! If not, it's in your best interests to leave it to the professionals.