How to Build Your Business Web Site

How to Build Your Business Web Site – Now that you’ve outlined the elements for your site design, it’s time to make them a reality. Site design can be done in-house — meaning you or one of your employees builds the site — or you can outsource the work by hiring a firm to design your site based on your input and goals. Let’s look at in-house versus outsourced design.

In-House Options
There are a few ways you can build your site in-house. Each of the following approaches requires a different skill level:

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) code: If you or your staff knows HTML, you already know how to build your site and will likely choose this in-house approach. After you build your Web site, you need to determine who will host it and how.

Design software: Design software packages, such as Adobe Dreamweaver (formerly Macromedia Dreamweaver) and Microsoft FrontPage, enable you to design your site yourself, without knowing HTML code. However, the level of design you extract from these programs depends on your willingness to learn the program. With design software, you can design your page almost as easily as creating a text document; however, to create more dynamic sites, you may need training to fully utilize the software’s features.

Templates: A final option is to use templates available online through a variety of vendors. A template may or may not allow you to alter color and layout. You still build the site, but your design must fit within the selected template.

Outsourcing
If you want to build a customized site with a professional, polished look, outsourcing the design to a designer or design firm may be a route to consider. Additionally, the design firm you select will likely have significantly more experience designing and building sites than you or your staff, so they can provide insight and guidance you might not otherwise have access to. However, outsourcing your design is often significantly more expensive than designing the site yourself.

To find a reputable design firm, ask other business owners whose opinions you respect and sites you like. Additionally, you can conduct an online search, which will provide you with a variety of options and price ranges.

Vendors who provide templates or design services may also provide hosting and email services.

Design Resources
If you intend to code your site yourself, The Web Design Group offers free resources on HTML-related topics.
To view and download free open source Web templates or share your designs with others, visit the OSWD (Open Source Web Design) Web site.
To learn HTML coding, scripting languages, and other Web-development issues, visit SitePoint.

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