web sites
If you don't understand much about web sites you could easily end up paying for a site that has a pretty paint job but is fairly suspect under the bonnet. If the engine is suspect the car with the attractive paint job won't take you far!
useful information about web sites
Web sites are just a collection of individual pages connected via links which transport the user around the site or to other external web sites. You need a domain name to identify the site on the world wide web and you can buy one of these from a variety of sources quite easily. Once you have a domain name and your site designed you usually pay a hosting company to display your site via their 'servers'.
A purpose of a web site is to convey information in a way that benefits the user. Too many sites don't benefit the user as much as satisfy the web site owner, which is how web site design is often marketed.
We've all heard the features and benefits mantra. Applied to web sites this could be interpreted - features sell web sites to owners but benefits sell web content to users. Think on that while you read the next few paragraphs.
web site issues to be aware of
The usual purpose of visiting a web site is to get information and having to wait for a page to display while page elements load can result in users clicking away to another site.
Slide-shows where one image fades into another, popular these day, can present issues to users accessing the site using assistive technologies such as a screen reader.
Sites designed/containing Flash technology can cause problems for users accessing the web via an iPhone or iPad as neither supports Flash technology. The consequence for Iphone and Ipad users will be to experience the 'curse of the blue lego' instead of the intended web site content.
Relying on visual displays to get your message across causes other problems too. The 'spiders' which search sites for information to take back to the search engines won't find much if the page is relying on images to communicate a message at the expense of text.
first level options available for obtaining a web site
Template sites frequently offered with web hosting packages are often the cheapest option. You choose from a selection of designs and just drop your content into the boxes and launch the site via a control panel you get as part of your hosting package. You get what you pay for with many of these sites and they can be problematic to optimize effectively for search engine ranking.
A 'friend of a friend' who can do you a favour for a 'good' price. We strongly suggest you avoid this route unless you can assess whether they know what they're doing. This option can cost you dearly in time and money trying to sort out the problems you're likely to encounter once the site is launched on the world wide web..
Do it yourself. This is not a realistic option time wise if you are trying to run a business as well. Before you snap up the bargain hosting package with free web building facility, or the e-commerce software you've come across that promises 'ease of use', bear in mind you're likely to get what you pay for.
Once you proudly launch your site on the www you may well have a pretty site to look but it could present issues for search engine spiders, which you don't have the skills to address, resulting in your site achieving poor ranking in search engines and a bad headache for you. Do you want the hassle after a hard day trying to run for your business?
cyberseed advice for obtaining a web site
If you have serious business objectives then be advised to avoid taking the project on yourself to save money, you won't in the long run. Find a designer/developer you get on with who'll work with you to develop a site that will work to best advantage for your business out in the market place.
If you present ''I know what I want" fixed ideas you may well end up with what you wanted, but it may not offer the best solution to meet your business needs. Instead you are wiser to ask "this is what I want to achieve" and then evaluate the answer given. Outline your business objectives and ask how they would approach the project, you may find they help to expand your vision.
changing perceptions about web site designers
Whilst it's true to say that in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is King and you are wise to understand some of what's involved in the web site world, your time is best spent growing your own business. It really is harder than you think to design and build a web site of 'quality' and the trick for you to learn is to get one of those and not one of the others!
Finally don't be fooled with pretty picture sites and remember that a computer screen is not a TV screen and a web site is not a TV advertisement. One relies on sighted humans for success, the other on blind spiders!
Once you've discussed and established your web site requirements, which should take a period of time if it is done properly, your designer should be able to provide you with a breakdown of cost. At this stage you can decide how big a budget you want to commit, bearing in mind you can always add to the site at a later date, if that facility is available to you.