Quick Guide to Having Your Own Website

There are plenty of reasons to have your own website these days. Maybe you have a business and you want to promote your services or reach a worldwide client base. Maybe you'd like to showcase your photography, literature, art, or other work. Or maybe you're drawn by the thought of generating quick profit with a website through advertising and internet marketing strategies. Whatever your individual reasons may be, one question remains: how should you go about getting your own website? The answer to this will vary for everyone. We'll take a look at the options you have available to you and the questions you'll need to ask yourself in order to make the best decision to fit your personal website needs.

Your Options

There are 3 optional routes you can take to having your own website. The first of these takes the longest amount of time and is to learn how to create and maintain your website yourself. This path is suitable for anyone attracted to the idea of eventually starting your own web development business or possibly performing freelance work as a web developer. The downside is, it could take years.

The second route available, a much shorter process, is to use a web design/development company’s services. Engaging professional web design expertise opens the door for more advanced design to fit your exact wants. You could have your website completed and launched in a matter of months. The disadvantage here would be the price, which would escalate as the design gets more sophisticated and can often range from $500 to $6,000+. If you want to know more or less what the costs might be for your personal web needs, you can always request a free quote from several web design/development companies.

The third and final optional route, the quickest and cheapest, is to use an “easy as 1-2-3” website builder. These kind of service providers may charge as little as $5 a month. The way this "1-2-3" approach works is you start by choosing a pre-made, professionally designed template. Subsequently, you make changes to the website by adding your text, graphics, and logo, if you have one. Finally, you publish it, and there you have it—your very own website in a matter of minutes. However, options and features of a website builder are limited and is mainly catered for users with a novice level of web design skills.

Which Option Is For You?

The next step in figuring out which choice best suits you is to ask yourself a few questions that will help guide your decision.

You should be aware of your financial allowance and ask yourself how much money you are willing to spend and thus, what range of creative control on your website design you would be able to forgo in exchange for saving time and money.

If you have a limited budget, you may want to use the easy and economical "1-2-3" website builder approach. lthough, if you are not willing to negotiate complete design control, the only option you are left with is to take the time to hunt down the more suitable deal with numerous web design/development companies.

You'll have to consider what kind of functionality your website will need. For instance, do you need to provide an e-mail sign-up form or need to sell products? To reiterate, if costs are of little or no significance, then you are better off taking the option to go with a web design/development company's services. But, if you're concerned with cutting costs, you can first decide whether or not a "1-2-3" website builder can meet your web needs. These days it is even possible to handle an online store using a simple website builder. Be sure to investigate what the actual limitations of a website builder would be and whether or not your website would be affected by these limitations.

As with anything, you always have the option to learn how to make a website on your own. The time and effort that you would put into achieving this would prove to have a great return. Obtaining these skills can allow you to turn into a freelance web developer, get signed on to work with a web design/development company, give you that technical advantage that any company is looking for in a potential employee, receive money with advertising on your websites, and more.

Whether you want to learn new skills, give your business a web presence to boost sales, or just have the freedom to post your content, having a website can open up many opportunities for your cause. Take the time to examine your needs and choose the best approach to serve your website's purpose.