Times are tough at the moment and even when things are going good for you and your business spending money on a website can often be the last item on the priority list. So maybe it would be a good idea to create your own website?

Yes, no, maybe – it depends on the way you go about it. Let me explain.

I don’t want to put you off having a go at being the master of your own online empire. It can be exciting and empowering to have a website that you have created yourself. You will feel proud and a little bit smug thinking of the cash you have saved by not paying a web designer to help.

I know plenty of business people who tell me that they have created their own website and how they think it is very good indeed. I used to feel a little dejected at this but after I’ve checked out the websites in question I have come to realise that it’s only because they’ve never created a website before that they are so proud. Compared to professional standards their website doesn’t quite cut the mustard.

Hopefully, in this article you will learn about the different routes to go down when thinking about your website creation. But first…

Why it’s a good idea to be in control of your own website

• You are in control to add to your website content at any time – keeping your website up to date and your customers coming back for more useful information that they want to read.
• You don’t have to wait for the web designer to have time to update your content for you and there’s no double checking that they’ve got it correct
• No to-ing and fro-ing when you have slightly changed your mind on something, you can get to it yourself.
• You don’t have to keep paying for ad-hoc updates or a monthly charge.
• Creating your own content may seem hard at first but with practice it will fuel more and more ideas for content and ultimately lead to a more informative experience for your customers, keeping them interested (and that’s what you are aiming for).

Why its a good idea to put your website in the hands of a web designer

• Your designer is a professional, designing and creating web pages day in, day out. They are experts and have knowledge about the best how and why of placing content. Use that knowledge to your advantage. Instead of telling them exactly what you want explain the results you are looking for and get them to define the best way of getting there.
• The work that your web designer will do for you will look far more professional and in keeping with your company image/branding.
• It will take a web designer far less time to create web page content that looks top notch than it would take you.
• There’s no danger of making a mess of your website – do you know enough about websites? Are you confident that you can avoid making a hash of it? What would happen if you needed emergency help – would it cost you?
• You have got other business issues to concern yourself with – you don’t need to be a web designer as well.

So what are the options available regarding website creation?

1. Create your own website yourself and be in control of the content
2. Get a web designer to create your website but you be in control of the content
3. Get a web designer to create the website and update the content for you

Let’s look at each option and discuss:

Option 1. Create your own website yourself and be in control of the content

This is the most desirable for any business person looking to create a website as you are fully in control of everything. There are basically two options under this category to choose from. You can either:

A. Create a website using industry standard software such as Adobe Dreamweaver.

This is a great option if you have the necessary skills and software. The former being the most important of the two. You can have all the latest software but that doesn’t mean that you know how to use it properly. If you do know how to use the software do you have the necessary design flair to make your website look the part? Do you know how websites are constructed? Have you learnt the basics of HTML? Do you know how to upload the web pages to the server? How about the latest web coding standards, is your website future proof?

If you answer yes to all of the above (it sounds like you want to be a web designer) – go for it!
If not, maybe try B…

B: Use a website building tool that requires no technical knowledge of how to design and construct websites

There are lots of website building tools out there, your website host probably offers an option to buy into a package that offers a no technical knowledge website building tool. It can be the best option if you want a professional looking website for low cost. You will have to choose a design from their catalogue of template designs. Not particularly good for your unique company image but if you find one that fits you well then the disadvantage of the template may be outweighed by the saving of using the tool, you decide.

Things to think about:

Don’t forget about the time it takes to learn how to use the tool.
Make sure that the support is up to scratch if you do buy into it – if you get stuck you need to know that help is at hand.
Is the template design flexible enough to expand effectively with your website?

C. Ok there’s another option…

Use a publishing platform such as Wordpress http://wordpress.org

Wordpress makes it really easy to create and update a website blog. I know what you are thinking, you want a website not a blog but with Wordpress you have the power to add web pages so in effect creating a website of your blog.

You can download free ‘themes’ to change the look the Wordpress blog and you can also buy into Commercial themes that have paid services behind them such as support and customisation etc

Option 2. Get a web designer to create your website but you be in control of the content

If you really want your website to look the part but you also want to be in control of the content it is best to get a professional web designer to create your website tailoring the look and feel uniquely to your business and get them to install a content management system (CMS) for you.

A CMS allows you to add content to your website including changing the structure of the website easily with no technical knowledge of website coding.

There are lots of different CMS’s out there, some are free to download but all will require time and cost to set up with your unique website design. Don’t forget to consider that you will have to spend time learning how to use the CMS effectively to update the content. Make sure there is support available if you do get stuck and need to ask a question.

Here are some free CMS software examples:

ModX http://modxcms.com
Plone http://plone.org
Drupal http://drupal.org
Joomla http://www.joomla.org

Option 3. Get a web designer to create the website and update the content for you

Ok this is the most expensive I know but probably the best solution if you really want to look professional. As I’ve said before, if you get a good web designer they will make you look unique, professional and up to date. Designing and building websites everyday and keeping up with industry standards will ensure maximum online credibility.

If you don’t know any web designers ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations. The cost of a professional web designer varies wildly so shop around to find reasonable rates, look at their portfolio of recent work, find a website that you like and contact the company that built it or all of the above. Don’t feel pressured into saying yes unless you feel comfortable that they are right for you.

So there we have it, lots of hopefully useful, information to consider when you are thinking about how to go about creating your business website.

Website cloning is when your website is duplicated and set up on a completely different domain name. It is an exact copy of your website that is been ripped from the internet without your knowledge or consent.

How do I find out if my website has been cloned?

The easiest way to do this is to copy a sentence from your website and enter it into a Google search. If your exact sentence comes up in the search results click the link to see if it is a copy of your website.

What should I do if my website has been cloned?

You need to get in touch with the hosting provider for the cloned website and send them a ‘Cease and Desist’ letter. Cease and desist (C & D) is a technical term for the letter that details the problem. It is a request to halt an activity or face legal action.

The hosting provider has to investigate the problem by law, by getting into contact with the third party and giving 30 days to respond before the website is closed down.

How do I find out who the hosting provider is?

To find out who the hosting provider is firstly note down the URL of the cloned website e.g www.yourdomainname.co.uk and then look up the domain name using a WHOIS search. There are lots of WHOIS lookup facilities online just Google ‘WHOIS’ Example: http://www.whois-search.com. Using the results of the WHOIS information send the Cease and Desist letter.

How can I stop my website being cloned?

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about website cloning. You just have to be vigilant.

Potential customers, future employees, business partners and investors all search online to research, find products and services or just give peace of mind before making enquiries.

You may have little experience of the internet and websites and possibly, you may not want to bother but the truth is that there are a mass of people out there who love the internet, spending most of their working day with instant access to millions of businesses, products and services. For a lot of people, searching online is their primary way to find information.

If you don’t move with the times and adapt you may find yourself losing out to competitors that are quick to respond to changing market places.

There are some business people who would say that having a website is a pointless exercise, wasting time and money. They don’t know of a single sale or enquiry that their website has generated. All this means is that they have failed to maximise the potential of the website through poor planning, marketing, design or all of the above!

Used in the right way your website can provide your business with so many opportunities. You can use it to communicate with your customers, test out new products / services before rolling out fully, learn about your customers’ likes and interests through website statistics, create a buzz about your business to get and keep more customers.

Too many businesses create websites and then leave them to stagnate. Over a short space of time they look outdated and actually reflect badly on a company.

Make sure you:

• update the website frequently maybe add some special offers, promotions
• provide useful free information about topics relating to your business
• collect customers details and send out an email newsletter to keep in touch with your customers
• update product / service information when things change

You may be tempted to try your hand at creating your own website to save money or because you think having a website is not very important. My advice is to stop right there!

Its better to have no web presence at all than to have a badly designed and constructed website that will make your company look amateur and untrustworthy.

After all you wouldn’t have a go at your own dentistry if you needed a tooth out?

If spending a lot of money on full blown website is hard to swallow the solution is to start small (and reasonably priced) and build on it over time – make sure it is designed and created by somebody who has a proven track record of professional web site design.

Compete with the big boys…

One of the many advantages of having a website is that you can compete with businesses that are far larger than you. It doesn’t matter whether your company is one person or 10,000 strong, if your company website is professional and functional it will project a far better image than a larger company that has asked a friend of a friends 12 year old son to do it.

You can reach people that you may miss out on without a website reaching people locally, nationally and even worldwide. Plenty of remotely located businesses have flourished due to having a professional website.

Unlike printed media a website is easy to update. As your business evolves you can adapt your website to promote your new products and services.  Those leaflets you had printed last week might be out of date before you know it – what a waste of money.

Of course it’s a little bit more complicated than just having something online.

Be aware that having a website online doesn’t mean that hundreds of people will stumble across it by chance. There are so many websites out there that you have to work at getting your website visited. You have to think about how people would find you and market your website appropriately. If you don’t market your website properly no one will visit your website. It would be as fruitful as flushing a lot of money down the loo.

All of this website stuff can be daunting but hey, you’re reading this so you must be interested in trying it out. If you are willing to put the time and effort in to having a business website then you will benefit from it. Good luck and remember if you snooze, you loose!