Making websites is incredibly easy for a web designer. So when do you need a web designer and when can you do the same job yourself and for free? Many people ask me this question and I always reply the same way.
Ask yourself this question, what do you need your website to do?
If you need a single page website that has your address, phone number, photos and business information, don’t pay us by an hourly rate to do what you can easily do with literally no web design experience what-so-ever.
Start by making a free account at WordPress.com. WordPress is a free blogging platform that will allow you to pick your template, add business information, contact information and make a professional looking website for free. Go to google and pinpoint your location on Google maps, click the embed link and add the map to your website, its that easy. Make yourself a Facebook business page and embed the page plugin into your website by visiting your “Resources” tab under settings. Make sure that you pick a design that does your page justice. Check it in several browsers and make sure it looks the way you want it to. Add photos and start blogging in just a few hours. If you connect to services like Facebook, Google maps, Google places, and Twitter, it greatly increases your rankings when people find you on Google.
So what are the limitations?
You have limited options to what you can customize because there are no advanced theme settings. If you don’t find a theme that you like, you won’t be able to change layout or other features. Generally you can change color schemes and minor layout features depending on the theme. You are also restricted in what your website can do. This method is excellent to gain online recognition and get your name out there on the web. You can easily add new pages, links and pages in just seconds, easier than writing an e-mail!
The best part, if you ask a web designer to do this for you, your looking at $300-$500 for just 2-3 pages!
Another limitation is your website will be http://www.your-company-name.wordpress.com and doesn’t look as nice as http://www.your-company-name.com. If you want your own domain name, it will need web hosting space and for that we recommend contacting a web designer to administer your account.
So when do you need a web designer?
Hire a web designer if you need a more complicated website. Do you need something like inventory management, online shopping (ecommerce) something that integrates with the website to help you run your business? These are custom features that often cannot be added using the free method but a web designer can customize any aspect of your wordpress page including custom theme options and adding unique features.
You shouldn’t pay for something that you can do yourself and do for free. But we never know, what we don’t know. So visit wordpress.com today, create your free account and get your business online, start now and you can be done before lunch!
Feel free to contact DeSalvio Web DeSigns for any help or questions you may have, or submit questions to MerchantCircle and we will try to find them.
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