After you have an idea as to what you’re trying to accomplish with your website and how you wish to arrange the content, a decision has to be made as to how the site will be built. The big question is whether you can do it yourself or have someone build it for you.

Here are some things to consider:

1.  How much time or money do you want to invest in your website development project and the followup marketing needed to attract visitors to your site?
Any solution requires time. If you want someone else to professionally handle the tasks for you, that costs money.

2. How motivated are you to learn new software?
Even if you’re using one of the do-it-yourself (DIY) platforms for building a site, there is a learning curve. I have tried to build sites using a number of template-driven interfaces, such as those offered  by GoDaddy, SiteSell, WordPress.com and many hosting companies, only to be frustrated by the outcomes. These solutions are inexpensive, but can be time-consuming especially if you are in any way overwhelmed by technology.

3. Would you rather spend your time learning how to build an effective site or devoting your time to the parts of your business you enjoy?
Most of my clients are small business owners or professional practitioners with minimal computer and/or Internet skills. They are usually comfortable with e-mail and spend some time on the net shopping, doing research, and dabbling in social media, mostly Facebook. Their choice is to have someone build the site for them and learn to update site content themselves.

In the next post, I’m going to discuss what to consider when hiring someone to develop the site for you, then we’ll talk about costs.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOP IN SANTA FE, NM
Website Basics for the Technologically Challenged
April 26, 2011 – 11:45 am to 1:15 pm at the Chamber of Commerce
For details, visit www.ProsperSantaFe.com.