Bookmark and Share
Do-It-Yourself Web Design

Often we hear - I have Front Page or I have Word and would like to edit my own web site. While they can be a good place to learn building a personal web site.  I'll give you some good reasons why you don't want to use those products to build or even edit a business web page.  

1) The code they create "behind the scenes" is bloated.  There are a lot of unnecessary items that make the web page slow to load and can create viewing problems in some browsers.  An example is one of the first web sites I did looked great in Internet Explorer - but I soon discovered in Netscape it was nothing but little boxes - no text to read at all! So I did a test - I used Word and Front Page to create a page with a 3 word sentence.  Nothing fancy - just black text in the default size and style - and guess what I got?  I got PAGES of code for those three words!  The same 3 words in a good web tool is about 5 "words" of code.  You can guess which was fast loading and which caused problems! All that extra code is also confusing to search engines which will penalize your site for using them.

2) Again, many of the Microsoft programs such as Word or Front Page or Publisher look good in Microsoft browsers...but you will lose the Mac, Netscape, Firefox and other users of the world due to the propriatory code they use. Sometimes they can't even be edited in other products - a good example is Microsoft Publisher.  The code is a mess of tables within tables - and if a designer wanted redesign the site, it would be less expensive to start over!

3) You are limited by the scripts you can include on your page.  Scripts are an important part of an interactive web page. Most propriatory programs we've talked about need special hosting that can understand the code it writes - for example, Front Page requires the server to have "Front Page Extensions" to make many things work properly.  So you are hampered in your ability to find the best and most affordable hosting. They are also notorious for changing the code you meticulously type in - adding and deleting things that usually hampers the way the code works.  So you spend all day putting in a script and it won't work the second it's saved!

4) Online web builder programs (ex: homesite, geocities) are good beginner tools as well.  Their forte is allowing the mass public put cool thingys into a template with little effort for personal sites.  The limitations are you have to like their typically blah templates and most of the do-dads you can add are essentially useless or can even be harmful to a business site (ask what happens when you have a guestbook and an irate customer!).  The other drawback is many generate no readable code that search engines can see.  So you are creating "blank" pages on the internet for search engine purposes.

4) Some page design programs (ie: Front Page) add extra files and directories that hog space on your server.  Front page makes a copy of every file you upload - and stores it in hidden folders.  Not only does this use twice as much space, it can create problems seeing changes you make.  On more than one occasion Front Page has gotten "confused" and keeps showing the stored page rather than the new one - and it's difficult to correct the problem without server access.

5) Front Page and others are easy to use for beginners - but soon you'll realize it's limitations. You'll go to add a snippet of code you found and Front Page will rewrite it - and the code won't work. You can take a well done website and destroy the background coding so it no longer works, just by importing it into Front Page.  When Front Page "rewrites" the code to it's own specifications it may render the whole portions of the website useless.

If you think my whole purpose is to diss Front Page - no, you are wrong.  My first web site was done in Front Page - and second and third.  But by then I realized it's limitations and began looking for something better.  It is a great beginner tool.  You'll find novice web designers (and do it yourselfers) love it because it's fairly easy.  However, soon you'll outgrow it and look for something that can do the one thing you really need!  I can recommend a lot of design programs, but you'll find the best designers use Dreamweaver or hand code simply because they are the most versatile. 

If your main wish is to edit something someone else has built for you - we highly recommend Easy Edit Pro an elegantly simple editor.  If you can make basic changes in a word like editor. It won't let you mess up the design or coding either.  Let us know and we can inexpensively install it for you! 

If your desire is just to edit a site you've already had built - have the designer install a content management system.  You'll save yourself a lot of headaches and it will help you to not mess up the important underlying code.  

Contact Info

subs. of C O'Malley & Associates LLC

Located in Howell, MI 48855
Email:

Phone: (517)548-3437

Mobile: (810)599-1364

Fax: (517)548-3437
send tone for fax



Artisteer - Web Design Generator

Web Resources for Do-it-Yourselfers

Web development classes run $1,500 - $2,500.00 per course.  There are usually about 11 courses  depending on what aspects of web design and development are needed.  The courses aren't geared toward teaching all of the tips and tricks, but the basics using the typical web design/development software available. Most topics are general not gone through in great detail.  You will have to also do research on the web or take additional college level classes, depending on what you expect to do.   At minimum you'll also need common web development software such as Dreamweaver which is $399, image editing software such as Photoshop $999,  Fireworks $299, and possibly Flash Professional $699, Illustrator $699, or Acrobat Professional $449.00,  or Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 Web Premium.. That's what we use - available for $1,699.00 and can be obtained from Adobe.

It should take you around 6 months to 1 year to complete all the courses you might want or need before you can start building, or seriously edit, your website. The courses run 3-5 weeks each, usually during business hours.  Classes are sometimes available in a classroom with standup trainers who do the same classes in 3-5 days per course, but you may have to travel as they are often in central locations such as Pittsburgh or Denver. These are limited in scope and you may not learn the actual things you wanted to learn. Of course you'll also need to get some courses specific to the software like Dreamweaver, Photoshop or Illustrator which is additional. If you would like local tutoring or phone support for something specific relating to Dreamweaver, etc., accommodation is at the above rates.

 

On the other hand, there are those of you that think there is a shortcut to a good website and anyone can do it.  While there is no shortcut to a GOOD website, there are ways of building a marginal website yourself when you have limited funds and technical knowledge.  There are products that will do the coding for you for a very basic site.  Mainly I don't recommend them unless they are for personal use (ie: family reunions, family pet sites).  When you use a "coder" program such as these, the code is VERY search engine unfriendly and your site will use a template that will make it look like thousands of other sites, further hurting you with the search engines.  This, in fact, may hurt your future chances of being 'picked up' by Google, Yahoo or the other major engines when you do decide to build a site this way. 

Once you've damaged your URL's credibility, it's very hard to get that back.  If that doesn't matter to you, go for it.  On the other hand, most businesses do need to be found by prospective customers, suppliers or the general pubic.  If this is important to you, it's important your site is built to current standards (CSS, XHTML) with some amount of site optimizing which only can be done if a competent web designer builds your site. 

Web design is a profession and our stock in trade.  It is our gift, our creativity, our technical expertise. Some of that we get from books and classes, mostly it's trial and error - or more likely, trial by FIRE. You really can't take a college course or two, or even the above courses and become a good web designer - it takes years of just building one website after another and accumulating that unique perspective that each and every one of us possesses that makes OUR particular skill set and talent a thing of VALUE to you, our client.

A lawyer's expertise, a doctor's healing hand or any other professional's skill takes years to develop and apply, and so does our skill set and ability with web design.  While folks would never dream of milking such a professional for "freebie" work or "pick their brains" for free advice or answers to their questions, it's quite common for a web designer/developer to be used this way.  This is why we no longer give free "consultations" nor provide "trade secrets" (which aren't all that secret, they just took years to acquire and refine so why should we give them away?) to help you build your "free" site.  

Below are some programs for "do-it-yourselfers".  If you cannot afford to do it right, you can give them a try.  Please understand their limitations and please don't call us looking for free advice when your site doesn't work properly or you find your site is lost in the abyss of millions of other websites on the Internet.  We'd love to build a proper site for you, but we won't tell you how to do it halfway and on the cheap because, really, that's not going to help you succeed.

Build a Website in 30 minutes. Try Free, Click Here.   

 

Artisteer - Web Design Generator
Support
If you discover DIY isn't your thing, consider us. Our support doesn't end when your site is complete. We are always here to answer questions about your site, it's hosting, domain and take care of your website maintenance needs. We offer several outstanding and inexpensive plans to keep your site up-to-date. We'll let you know when software updates become available to protect your site from hackers and malware. You can be involved as much or as little as you desire in the maintenance of your site.
Development
Development will progress at a pace you feel comfortable with. We want your input and include you in the site development process so that it becomes your very own. There are mainly two phases to creating your site. The design phase where we create the design and it's unique look and feel, and the development phase where we configure the software and code in the content. If you want to develop portions of the site yourself, that's ok - here are a few tools to get you started.
Strategy
Our strategy is to get you found on the search engines as fast and effectively as possible. We use Style Sheets, Google site maps, follow Accessibility standards, and use every legitimate SEO technique to improve your search engine rankings, while still giving you a user friendly, attractive site.

Who uses our services?
 

All size corporations and small businesses that want their website poised for the future. Companies that aren't caught up in extensive analysis before implementing change, that listen to their customers and recognize quality, have self-initiative, productivity, and are hands-on. Like us, they stick to the things they do best and appreciate the value we provide.


FREE tips and tricks for your website....

Register for our FREE Newsletter. All we need is an email address.

  The Newsletter Archive    (see what you're missing!)

Contact Us | Terms of Service | Worksheets | Privacy Statement | Archives | FAQS | Affiliate/Referrals

ajax, authorize net, CSS, Flash, html, java, Wordpress, Joomla, Microsoft, Mysql, php, w3c, verisign, web2.0, Drupal

Copyright © 2009 C O'Malley & Associates LLC. All Rights Reserved.