In these uncertain financial times, it may seem like a great idea to start a home business or second job by marketing yourself (or company) or creating an e-commerce site on the Internet. However, I am still amazed at how often I run across people who have overspent and over planned on their website in the excitement of getting started. As amazing as spending way too much money upfront seems, it’s a common pitfall in web work—simply because most people have no idea what they’re getting into.
Quite often, the client’s inexperience with websites, terminology, and other pitfalls gets them into trouble. So, let’s look at some of the questions you should be asking yourself and your potential designer:
Do I need e-commerce and, if so, how much?
If you are selling a lot of items and you know you are going to have an amazing first month, you have advertising lined up and customers beating down your door to buy online then “yes.” Otherwise, my motto is to take baby steps.
Put a few items up and have them call or email you to order, then add PayPal buttons. When you know your revenue will be enough to support it, put up a shopping cart. Not before then. I have had many customers come to me who have put thousands into sites that never get used. Start slow and build. Websites can always be changed but you’ll never get back money that was poorly spent.
Do I need flash?
Flash is a favorite tool of Internet users and designers. It’s a fabulous tool - turning basic images into something, well, “flashy”!
However, there are some huge pitfalls to Flash. Flash is basically a dynamic image file, so there are no quick and easy text edits. The cost of having your Web site developed in Flash easily doubles the cost of the website. It’s costly and time consuming to update; you almost always have to go to the designer to redo a page when you need an update. Some Internet users still refuse to install the plug-in, which renders your website useless if it’s all in Flash.
