What type of Website do I need?
Having answered this query many times, I felt it was t= ime to write down some common plusses and minuses of different kinds of websites. = You can then compare these with your business needs, your budget, maintenance p= lans, etc. to choose a category that fits your values. Below, let’s discuss Hosted Templates, (non-hosted) Templates, Semi-Custom Designs, and Custom Design.
The least expensive option in terms of design time
are pre-made, generic websi= te designs. They are most often = part of a “site builder” – that
is, it is made by the software on a ho= st website and it is meant to be easy for a non-web designer
to do themselves.
At first it is – you select a background “look”, tell it what buttons/pages you want in your website (and the order you want them in), add a graphic or two in pre-designated places and presto! – all the links are done, and you merely add your text a= nd picture content into the middle
of the pages much as you wo= uld with a text editor. The plusses ar= e that it is FAST, often but not
always CHEAP in terms of design time, and you can main= tain it yourself-not needing to have a web person help you every time you want a= new photo posted or a change of address...&nbs= p; But, as you get what you pay for – here are the “gotchas” -
#1 – Often, you cannot preview the templates. Some h= osts may have very few styles available that do not fit your business or tastes.= Some have hundreds, and they can be classy! But once you sign on with a host, you cannot switch your domain name again for about 60-90 days due to ICANN rules, and you are likely out the m= oney for that time period if you are dissatisfied.
#2 – Once you create = your website and are beyond the waiting period, you may decide that the host is = too expensive or for some other reason that you want your website to be hosted elsewhere. All your files are= somewhere within their “Site Builder” file structure, and cannot be acces= sed, copied, or moved. Your websit= e was built around the skeleton of their= design, and that is copyrighted to the web host. It is not yours! Therefore, in going to a new web h= ost you would be starting entirely over.
#3 – Some web hosts c= harge extra to use their Site Builder and Templates. Instead of the $5-10 a month for b= asic hosting with someone like Ipowerweb.com or Hostmonster.com (my favorites), = they may charge $20.00 or more per month to host your website. Meaning you’= ;ll save on designer time but pay more for hosting expenses every month. I= f the host is specialized to your business, such as Dentistry or Real Estate, and therefore offers tools and special content to your customers, they can char= ge $40-$300 month – or more! - for that privi= lege.
#4 – Limitations vary= all over the map. Often you can o= nly use “x” number of pictures per page, and often they must be in exactly “this” spot and “this” size. Your website may not allow web ele= ments such as FLASH animation, movies, sound, or even the Ja= vascript and CGI scripts that make your shopping cart work, your tables add automatically, or allow you to add a photo album, etc. So it is helpful to know what you = may need and ask ahead of time if that will be an issue.
#5 – All editing is d= one in their Site Builder, online. T= his means that if the internet is slow and you are trying to upload a photo or = save your work, it may mean extra time waiting.= Also, if you are working on the files at that moment your customers = may see every half-done change or be told to “come back later”.
#6 – The devil is in = the details. You will be able to = do much work by yourself, but invariably there will be times you will need to = know a little web design basics (.html, .css, graphic editing) to get helped out of a corner, or to know if something you want ca= n be added – perhaps using a back-door type of approach!
#7 – free web hosting site-builders often have pop-up ads. To remove them, you must upgrade your account to a paid one.
Another way to save money may be to use TEMPLATES, purchased or free, that you can find on the internet=
. These are generic, pre – mad=
e web
“images” without t=
he
Site Builder. There is a lot =
of
variety in quality, and most prices seem to be under $100.00. There are animated FLASH templates=
and
regular web templates in every design imaginable! (I prefer the ones for HT=
ML,
CSS, or
Dreamweaver, if they specify) You
download the graphic art to your own computer files, saving the designer the
time of trying to define and then create your “look”. Then the designer can take it from=
there
and add pages and links, re-name buttons, and fill in your page content.
Rats, back to the “Gotchas<= /span>”
#1 - There is no guarantee = that your design won’t be endlessly copied to other websites. On the purch= ase sites, you may be able to request “exclusive use” but expect to= pay extra for that privilege.
#2 – No guarantee of = the file quality. It may LOOK nice, bu= t if it was poorly constructed there may be unforeseeable problems, such as how = the page re-sizes in the browser. It may look good in Internet Explorer but have spacing issues in Firefox, or vice versa. Or it is such a large graphic file = that your website loads slower than you’d like. Or it may only be editable= in Front Page or another type of Graphic editor that you or I don’t own.= I will be happy to advise you concerning file types.
#3 – You may be requi= red to have a small ad on your website, often on the “home” page, sayi= ng something like “Template design by: MyTemplateSite.com” This may be unobtrusive, but= it IS an ad on your business page. =
#4 – Check the fine p= rint before you buy! Sometimes, the desig= ns (especially the free ones) are NOT allowed to be used for a business website, but only = for individuals.
The next type is what I call a SEMI-CUSTOM site. It is simplified. By giving less choices in
design, the process takes l= ess time – saving you money. For example, most all websites have
a logo on the left corner, = and a banner across the top. The bu= ttons would be simple rectangles
either horizontal across th= e top, or vertical on the left or right, and the background would be
a solid color. “So,” (I might say), &= #8220;you provide me the logo. I’= ll design a banner image to match your business, in your favorite colors and w= ith whatever wording you choose. Then I’ll pick buttons in that same color range. You can have up to 5 (or whatever,= by cost) pages, 1 picture per page that YOU provide, and up to 2 typed pages of text per web page. Then I = can get quite close on keeping the page under YOUR budget, if there are few cha= nges from the plan ”
This is less expensive, but still preserves full design capability for further down the road. It also
works with any host. This might be good if you are a bu= dget minded small business now but
plan on much growth and add= itions to your website at a later time. Downsides are as follows:
#1 – Somewhat generic= . It will look nice, but perhaps not “Wow”. Your basic website.
#2 – Changes will cost extra. If you decide later th= at you wish your (whatever) were another color, expect = an additional charge. I will be = happy to give an estimate of the time required for any changes.
#3 – Remember that on= e web element affects another. Without pre-planning the uses of the site, there may later be some re-working of the whole page when you change crucial parts, such as large graphics and tables. Precise positioning can be affected.
Finally, there is FULL CUSTOM. This is the most expensive in the design phase, and takes some interaction and time to decide together on colors, button types, placement, future needs, etc. But, it wil= l be completely custom and will incorporate all your ideas. Most of my full custom sites to da= te have come to $500-$1,500 for a complete, 5-6 page website with contents,
set up on a host server. Fi= les can be moved and edited easily, so the website can be re-worked any way you wish – though some changes may take time. Downsides here are:
#1 Higher Cost
#2 Expe= ct experimentation. You may not know how “these&= #8221; buttons look on “that” background with yellow font until the de= sign is on paper so you can see it. These tend
to evolve, but the owners are then satisfied that this is their unique creation that d= efines
their business vision.
#3 Designs are “per hour” NOT “per job”.&nbs= p; Sometimes it is hard to “guesstimate” how long a drawing might take, especially if a client is unsure what they want, and I am making many variations. Similarly, i= t can be hard to foresee some of the coding issues
that might come up, and how they interact with the website, the host, etc... Even
calling= a web host to work out a domain transfer problem can become a lengthy, unforeseen phone time.
Please feel free to call and discuss any additional questions you may have regarding this.
~Cindy