MAKE YOUR OWN SITE
Make Your Own Website
There are two basic ways to make your own website. One
way is use an online website that gives you access to pre-made templates.
The second way, if you are lucky, is to find someone in your organization
with the expertise to construct a website.
Template Website
There are companies on the Internet that are set up
to help your produce template websites. These sites allow you,
for a fee, to use pre-made “boiler plate” templates of
a website. You fill in the information, navigation system, photographs,
etc. from a selection of pre-made forms. Two examples would be
a GoDaddy account (http://www.godaddy.com)
and Network Solutions account (http://www.networksolutions.com).
Advantages to a Template Website:
1) Easy to get up and running.
2) Not many decisions to make regarding the look,
feel and form of your finished site.
3) Some sites offer many templates to chose from,
along with some clipart and stock photos to use.
4) You don’t need much in the way of equipment – a
computer, Internet access and a web browser should be enough to get
you started. A digital camera and a scanner would be useful if you
wanted to upload your own photos or scan in your own material (like
a photograph printed on paper for example).
5) It is easy for the end user to add and delete information
and some graphics to their own website, without the need for a webmaster.
To view a template website I made for the Central
New York Speech-Language-Hearing Association please click
here. The
client has taken the responsibility to add and delete content to the
site, I simply built the site using GoDaddy.com.
Disadvantages to Template Website:
1) Time, effort and some knowledge of the technology
is required.
2) Uploading your own material may require additional
software.
3) You have to provide your own content (this is a “disadvantage” to
all types of website construction).
4) You should have an idea of what you want your site
to look like and its contents before you actually start working on
it.
5) Costs vary and may be confusing or misleading,
check carefully before signing up.
Using Someone “In-house” to
be your Webmaster
There are some real advantages if you have someone
with the expertise and time to take on the responsibilities of becoming
your Webmaster. There are also some disadvantages.
Advantages to In-house Webmaster:
1) The organization can have total control over the
look and feel of the website.
2) The website can be a collaborative effort with
easy communications between the Webmaster and the officers.
3) The website can be updated quickly.
4) The right Webmaster would also know the goals of
the organization and what image the organization wished to portray
with the site.
Disadvantages to In-house Webmaster:
1) You need a person with a working knowledge of all
the appropriate hardware and software – and who has access to
all the appropriate materials. This can be expensive if you are starting
from scratch.
2) The job is time consuming. You need someone willing
to spend a lot of hours learning the “trade,” producing
the website, doing the updates, etc.
3) You need someone you trust to keep checking the
content, look and feel of the website. The site is an extension of
your organization that’s out there for the entire world to see.
Your Webmaster will probably NOT be the spokesperson for your local
or your business. You can’t let them have the final decision
on website content. Your Webmaster needs a contact person in your organization
that can answer questions like, “Do I put the entire salary schedule
up on the website?” or “What items are going on sale next
week?”
4) You will always need new content. A website is
never finished. If you don’t update it regularly people will
not revisit your site. In a business site you must ensure that your
product line is up-to-date and the prices are accurate.
5) If you are going to utilize someone in your organization
with this experience, and ask him or her to do a lot of work, they
should be compensated in some way for the work they are doing. I get
paid $1,000 per year from my local to do updates and the union purchases
any software or hardware that I need to maintain the site. Business
sites might be updated only on a yearly basis, or sale items might
be offered weekly. Make sure you know how the expense of doing updates
to your website will be handled.
If you are going to make your own website I suggest
that you start small. If you don't have a person proficient in
making websites it is going to be a steep learning curve. It will be
very time and labor intensive.
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This page was last updated on November
15, 2011
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