Reviewing your Web site building options
If you’ve followed along so far, you’re armed with an understanding of all that needs to be accomplished to get a Web site up and running (and to keep it that way). Here we look at the available options:
• Use an agency or an experienced independent professional. Of these two, the independent pro will probably be the more costly. But either way, you’ll wind up with a high-quality, high-performance site. Be aware, however, that not all custom builders are as competent at building in the right lead capture and conversion methodologies for small businesses as they are at designing, and you may find that you need still other experts to handle these deeper functions.
• Use a Web design firm that specializes in providing turnkey Web site solutions for local businesses. These firms can do absolutely everything, including building your site, registering your URL, hosting, providing ongoing maintenance, updating, and sending you a nice card for the holidays. Yes, this is the Rolls-Royce approach, and it’s a terrific option for those local businesses that can afford it. You can, however, usually buy somewhat smaller packages of services from these folks if you’re willing to, say, handle all future updating — and that can save you some marginal expense.
- Doing it 100 percent DIY, without even so much as a template: Unless you’re a Web site programming and design wizard, we don’t recommend the 100 percent DIY approach. For most business owners, the time, hassle, and learning curve are too steep.
- Creating a DIY Web site with a template: A local business owner can find a good number of free or low-cost, good and thoroughly workable templates (many of which you’ll find listed in the section, “Finding a template that best fits your Web site”). This is a credible option for folks who have a tight budget, little spare time, or both. However, this option still leaves you with a lot of things to do on your own (like hosting and maintenance) that you may simply lack the skills for.
- Having a Web site built for you based on a template: You can hire an outside Web site company (or an independent consultant) to do your site design based on a template you like; after the site is done, this same outside resource takes care of the hosting. You’re still often left holding the reins as far as maintenance and updating are concerned, but you have an expertly designed Web site that works properly and reliably. For a lot of local businesses, this approach represents the best balance between cost, time, and results.
- Having a fully custom Web site built for you: This is pretty much the soup-to-nuts approach. This option is almost always pain-free for a business owner, and consequently, it’s the most costly of the options. Actually, here are three sub-methods of getting a custom site built. Each may entail a different level of expense (research to find the one that best fits your budget).
• Use an agency or an experienced independent professional. Of these two, the independent pro will probably be the more costly. But either way, you’ll wind up with a high-quality, high-performance site. Be aware, however, that not all custom builders are as competent at building in the right lead capture and conversion methodologies for small businesses as they are at designing, and you may find that you need still other experts to handle these deeper functions.
• Use a Web design firm that specializes in providing turnkey Web site solutions for local businesses. These firms can do absolutely everything, including building your site, registering your URL, hosting, providing ongoing maintenance, updating, and sending you a nice card for the holidays. Yes, this is the Rolls-Royce approach, and it’s a terrific option for those local businesses that can afford it. You can, however, usually buy somewhat smaller packages of services from these folks if you’re willing to, say, handle all future updating — and that can save you some marginal expense.
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