Do I need a web site?
It used to be that we had information request cards in magazines to be mailed back to a company. Several weeks later we got our information, if we were lucky. Now we expect to find a web site address in the ad so that we can get the information instantly - be it 3:00 PM or 3:00 AM, weekday or weekend.
Impulse purchases just don't happen with info cards. Without a web site, that kind of response is impossible.
Why have a professional build it?
In today's world, everyone has a neighbor whos daughter's boyfriend creates web sites for free. Or you can go to the local computer store and buy a box with software to create a web site. You can even find HTML tools for free, buy a book and create your own site.
Oh, if it were only that easy. It's not hard to get some pictures and some text to show up on a computer monitor but that isn't creating a quality web site any more than cutting a few pieces of wood and nailing it together creates a quality piece of furniture that looks great and will endure Uncle Ned's sitting on it.
A professional webmaster probably uses professional software. EWW uses Macromedia's Dreamweaver software, the software used by 80% of professional webmasters.
A professional designs the site for optimal site navigation, optimal display properties, tailored to the client.
The professional knows many of the pitfalls of web site design and can often take precautions to circumvent 'breaking' the web page view or worse, hanging the computer. The web site creator has no control over the computer, monitor, operating system or browser being used to view the web site. The professional knows each of these things can and does affect how the site is displayed. He knows a site viewed in Internet Explorer 6 may or may not look the same in Netscape 7. There can be differences between IE 5.5 and IE6.0, etc. And guaranteed that Netscape 4 will not render the site properly unless it is considered in design. Let's not even consider the many other browsers that are available, all with their own idiosincrocies.
Other items of concern include the downloading of a web page to your computer. Quick initial loading is critical. The professional knows to optimize images and to limit their use, especially on general pages. Generally, the site must be designed for users with dialup internet connections. Overall, most people do not have high speed access so we must take them into consideration.
Bottom line ends up being the old cliche "Pay the webmaster now for a quality site, or pay him later" after many lost sales resulting from a poorly designed site from the neighbor's daughter's boyfriend. If the boyfriend creates it, will he be around in six months when revisions are required? I have a friend who had a high school kid create his network and set up the passwords. Several months later when a change was required, my friend had no idea what was done, nor did he know any passwords. Still worse, the kid just started a 3 month missions trip to the boondocks of South America - read that as not able to contact him.
Free is often the most expensive way to go!
You decide. What do you want out of your web site? Can you take a chance on the boyfriend?
