Build your own website!

Here's how...

I need a website...
    but I can't afford to pay someone else to do it.

Solution: There are lots of places on the web where you can build your own website for free – or for a low cost per month. You'll get a professional looking design. You'll get an easy to use content management system. Then you can control and update your website yourself. All you need is basic computer skills. Learn more.

I'm not clear about the purpose of my website.

Solution: Use this simple tool to help you think it through.

I know what I want on my website but I'm not confident about writing it.

Solution: We've written thousands of web pages. Contact us and we'll find the right writer for you.

If it's that easy then how come all businesses don't DIY their own website?

Answers:

• A DIY site is really suitable for an individual contractor or sole trader who has a small business with straightforward needs. The exception is if the business has someone who has design and programming skills – and has built websites before. Even so, never get a friend or someone in your family to build you a website unless they've done it before, successfully. There's more to it than meets the eye.
• Just because a web design looks professional doesn't mean it will suit your business. Design is a specialised area. Just because you like the look of something doesn't mean it will give the right messages to the people you want to visit your website. A design professional can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of your website.
• There's a limit to what you can 'buy off the shelf'. Even if the DIY site has blogs, email, ecommerce, etc. you will be locked in to that particular way of doing things. And if you want a specialised database then you will need a professional developer to do it for you.
• Words are incredibly important. They've got to be the right words. They should be big enough to read. And they need space around them. Many templates for DIY sites look superficially attractive. They have been created by designers who want the site to look cool, awesome or business-like. Visual designers rarely pay much attention to words. Yet words have 80% of the impact of the website. If you want a small DIY website where words are important, then consider using WordPress, which is primarily for blogging. But you can adapt a WordPress website for many other purposes. To see for yourself, go to WordPress.
   
  Or, if you need some help with the words for your website, contact us.