By Stephen Grisham, Sr.

"Hire a Professional" sounds a lot like "write a check." The truth is, if you are busy running your business then you don't have time to learn how to do someone else's job. It might seem like it's saving you money to do it yourself, but it will cost you later.

A business owner should take a moment to consider how much his time is really worth, and whether the time you're willing to spend putting together a website will produce a good website. It's important for a business owner to consider the cost of neglecting other parts of running the business in order to make a website. After considering this information, it's clear that the money invested in a website design professional can be quickly recovered in sales and savings.

HTML looks easy enough to do, but unfortunately, most business owners aren't aware that many other programming languages are necessary in order to build a secure business website. A business owner should consider whether he really has the time to build an attractive, professional, and secure website like his company deserves.

At the most basic level, a web site designer should know the basic web programming languages, of which theire are four: HTML, SHTML, Java, and CSS. Professional designers can work with even more languages. However, the better training a professional has, the more they will cost, but you will also see a better website as a result.

If you are on a tight financial rope, your business can always consider hiring a student as a designer. Most 2 and 4 year colleges have programs for web design, and there are many skilled students looking to build their portfolios who will build your website for free or very cheap

The next big thing is the site itself. What does it need to do? The more bells and whistles your site has, the more room it will require on your server. You will have to pay for the space you use, so be sure your designer knows your limitations.

Some website designs need programs to run. Since a programmer is often expensive, it might be best to buy a pre-made software program that meets your needs, which can be found for items such as your store's online shopping cart. It's important to create a secure shopping cart without scripting errors so your website's customers will be safe.

The most important consideration is hacker safety. Neither you nor your customers want your site or the private information on it to be stolen. Be sure that your webmaster offers support, and be sure that your budget allows for those emergency calls that are sure to come. - 18098

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