It need not be costly to have someone build a small business website for you and in theory the website will soon pay for itself in the income it generates from new sales. You might be thinking about building your own website but unsure where to start. You need to think about. Primarily, do you have the spare time needed to dedicate to putting a website together? and secondly what would you like your new website to achieve for you?
Learning to design and build a basic business website isn't the most difficult challenge. That is not to say that web design is not a vastly in depth subject requiring training and talent, but with some study and application you can achieve adequate results at a basic level.
To be good at creating your own website you should be the kind of person who can pick things up fairly quickly and also be good at understanding new systems, these are often skills found in people that own and run their own business. There are some crucial skills that need to be gained before starting a website build, these include but are not limited to CSS, HTML and basic website design and layout.
So, back to our original question. Do you really have enough time to study and implement these skills?
Possibly you are fed up of working for others and plan on developing your own business, so you are happy to put time into this project. Get yourself online, hit some tutorial sites, log in to Amazon and order the latest 'Build Your Own Website' book. There are plenty of routes for learning and just about all of them will lead you in the right direction.
You could however be looking into this option from a completely different situation. It may be that you are already aware there are not sufficient hours in your day. Building your own business website in this situation is not likely to do you, your business or your personal life any favours and if you aren't focused on what you are trying to achieve then the results aren't going to do your business justice.
Secondly, you need to ask yourself. What is it that you would like your new website to achieve for you? As well as answering this have a think about where you fit in to your market and have a look at the websites owned by your direct competitors.
If you are a small business such as a plumber, a landscape gardener, an electrician, or anybody that just needs to set up a web presence so that people in your local area searching online for your type of services can find your contact details and call you then a very small site showing up in the search engine results may be sufficient for you. A basic website to fulfil this need is entirely achievable.
The type of business you are in however may require something more professional. If this is the case then a basic looking site might not give an appearance of your business that you want potential clients to see. Do some study online. What is the level of competition in your field? check it out. If you see that the standard is higher than you can realistically achieve then employing a professional web designer may be the better decision for your business.
To summarise all of the above; If you have the time required to learn the new skills you will need and go on to build a site of a high enough standard for your needs, then go for it! but if not, then youshould hire a professional. One last thing you will need to take into consideration is that once you complete your website, it will not be of benefit to your business if nobody can find it on Google. You need your website to be at the top of the search ranking in order for it to be a success.
You are failing to achieve potential sales and clients if you have no web presence to boost your small business. Creating a website for you business may not be impossible to do by yourself but you first need to work out whether you have the time to learn how to do it and whether or not the results will bring you any more sales.
Learning to design and build a basic business website isn't the most difficult challenge. That is not to say that web design is not a vastly in depth subject requiring training and talent, but with some study and application you can achieve adequate results at a basic level.
To be good at creating your own website you should be the kind of person who can pick things up fairly quickly and also be good at understanding new systems, these are often skills found in people that own and run their own business. There are some crucial skills that need to be gained before starting a website build, these include but are not limited to CSS, HTML and basic website design and layout.
So, back to our original question. Do you really have enough time to study and implement these skills?
Possibly you are fed up of working for others and plan on developing your own business, so you are happy to put time into this project. Get yourself online, hit some tutorial sites, log in to Amazon and order the latest 'Build Your Own Website' book. There are plenty of routes for learning and just about all of them will lead you in the right direction.
You could however be looking into this option from a completely different situation. It may be that you are already aware there are not sufficient hours in your day. Building your own business website in this situation is not likely to do you, your business or your personal life any favours and if you aren't focused on what you are trying to achieve then the results aren't going to do your business justice.
Secondly, you need to ask yourself. What is it that you would like your new website to achieve for you? As well as answering this have a think about where you fit in to your market and have a look at the websites owned by your direct competitors.
If you are a small business such as a plumber, a landscape gardener, an electrician, or anybody that just needs to set up a web presence so that people in your local area searching online for your type of services can find your contact details and call you then a very small site showing up in the search engine results may be sufficient for you. A basic website to fulfil this need is entirely achievable.
The type of business you are in however may require something more professional. If this is the case then a basic looking site might not give an appearance of your business that you want potential clients to see. Do some study online. What is the level of competition in your field? check it out. If you see that the standard is higher than you can realistically achieve then employing a professional web designer may be the better decision for your business.
To summarise all of the above; If you have the time required to learn the new skills you will need and go on to build a site of a high enough standard for your needs, then go for it! but if not, then youshould hire a professional. One last thing you will need to take into consideration is that once you complete your website, it will not be of benefit to your business if nobody can find it on Google. You need your website to be at the top of the search ranking in order for it to be a success.
You are failing to achieve potential sales and clients if you have no web presence to boost your small business. Creating a website for you business may not be impossible to do by yourself but you first need to work out whether you have the time to learn how to do it and whether or not the results will bring you any more sales.
About the Author:
Teapot Creative are a team of graphic designers based in Somerset. We have a wealth of experience covering all aspects of graphic, web design and SEO services. Read about How The Latest Google Updates Effect Small Business Websites on our blog and then find out more at seomoz.
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