Once the idea is hatched and the decision has been made, executing almost any project takes four basic ingredients: know-how, tools, skill, and time. If you personally have these four ingredients, you may want to attempt the project yourself. If not, or if you lack one or more ingredients, you'll probably want to find someone else to complete the project. Sometimes there are "in between" options, like building something from a kit or pre-made template in which some of the work is already done for you. Building a Web site is one such project that falls into this category - you can build it yourself, build it from pre-made templates, or outsource the project entirely.
This article focuses on the first option - building your Web site yourself. Part 2 will cover the intermediate level, building your site from a "kit" or from ready-made, online templates. Part 3 will focus on outsourcing the site-building project or makeover. Each option for building a Web site has its pros and cons. Depending on the option you choose, the amount of time, money, level of involvement, outcome, and results will vary considerably.
Before looking at particular options, be aware that all Web sites are a combination of business, technical, and creative elements. The business elements, such as strategy, planning, and marketing remain the same regardless of the option chosen. But in evaluating which building option is best for you, it would be helpful to take stock of your understanding of both the technical and creative considerations that go into constructing a Web site (see sidebar). While some agencies have yet to build their first Web site, many more are facing the prospect of upgrading or re-building an existing one. As with most projects, knowing what's involved is an important first step in knowing how to proceed.
If you're a typical agency owner, principal, manager, or employee, your primary focus is on the ownership, management, sales, service, and clerical functions of an insurance agency, not on building a Web site. Unless you are uniquely talented and skilled and have a large amount of free time to undertake the project, you will probably farm out the site-building project to others.
But, let's say you are uniquely qualified, have the time, and have been charged with the task of building the agency Web site. What do you need in terms of know-how, tools, skill, and time?
Know-how
There's much to know about building a Web site: getting things set up and started, finding service providers, developing a site purpose and Web strategy, defining an audience, planning the site, gathering and developing content, knowing HTML, selecting and using authoring software, creating graphics, designing the site, building the navigation and links, getting input and approvals from others, publishing the site, advertising the site, generating and monitoring site traffic, fixing bugs, maintaining the site, and more.
The know-how for building a Web site is not intuitive or self-evident, but learned.
If you already possess such know-how, you've probably acquired it over a period of time outside of your normal agency duties. That's fine. But if you don't have the know-how and want to acquire it, be prepared to become immersed in an intense self-study effort and/or take a number of specialized courses. If you truly want to know how to build a Web site (and do it right), there are no shortcuts to mastering the process. Even seasoned professionals constantly learn new tips and techniques, enhance their knowledge base, and continually hone their skills.
Furthermore, even if you know how to actually build a Web site, there's much more to it than simply working at the computer and creating it. Your agency's Web site is - or should be - the end result of lots of thinking and planning on the front end. Your Web presence should be an extension of your overall business strategy and marketing effort. These are things that take serious thought and development, usually require the input of others, and are often hammered out in committee meetings.
If you, the agency owner or manager, have the know-how and decide to build the site yourself, you can choose to work fairly independently and with little or no interaction with others. If, however, you're lower on the agency totem pole, you'll probably need to spend a certain amount of time coordinating various issues with others. Regard-less of who builds it, the actual Web site the visitor sees should be only the "tip of the iceberg." Beneath it should be a well-conceived Web strategy and plan.
Tools
Building a Web site usually requires a few extra tools that are not normally found on agency computers. True, if you know HTML and have a text editor (and most new computers come with bundled software that contains one), you can build a Web site. But there are other tools that can make the building effort easier, faster, and more satisfying.
Web authoring software (e.g., FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Visual InterDev, Trellix Web, etc.) enables the user to more efficiently build the site, design the pages, create the navigation and links, and publish the site to the Web. Completeness of features, depth of capability, learning curve, ease of use (or frustration level), and price vary from program to program. Determining which authoring software to purchase will likely depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is your willingness to commit to learning a new software program regardless of its price or capability.
Graphics software (e.g., Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Firewire, Corel Draw, etc.) enables the user to create, edit, modify, and prepare graphics and photos for incorporation into Web pages.
A vast quantity of ready-to-use graphics and photos are available on CD-ROM and from other sources, but these can also be modified with appropriate software as desired. A digital camera, a scanner, and any number of utility programs and plug-ins are likely additions to your site building toolbox. While many tools are quite affordable, keep in mind that others are relatively expensive to buy, making it difficult to justify for a single shot effort.
Skill
Even if you have the know-how and the tools, you need to have the skill to effectively put them to use. The key word here is "effectively." Effective use implies much more than merely applying the correct keystrokes. Effective use is not a quality usually found in first time efforts, but is developed over a period of time, through trial and error, and with repetition and practice. Effective use is the product of experience.
Some of the tools mentioned, especially the higher-end, professional level software (e.g., Dream-weaver, Photoshop), are not for novices and dabblers. The learning curve on these programs is quite steep and time consuming. Mastering these tools and developing proficiency requires many hours of regular use. And, like most any other skill, you must "use it or lose it."
Consider also that if your Web site contains a number of e-commerce functions and interactivity with other computers across multiple networks, a whole new level of technical expertise is required to enable the back-end to function properly. This level of Web site development and management usually requires the work of several people or a small IT department.
Time
If you indeed possess the know-how, have access to the tools, and have developed the skills to build your own Web site, you still need to have the time to build it. True, most anybody can eventually do almost anything they set their mind to, if they have sufficient time. But once you've decided to build a Web site, you probably want it up and running in a reasonable amount of time.
If you don't have the know-how, the tools, and the skills to build a Web site, and want to build it yourself anyway, you will need to spend a considerable amount of time acquiring and developing these ingredients before you even begin the site building process.
Again, keep in mind that the actual site-building process is near the end of the whole Web site development cycle. Assuming you've collected and developed all of your content, made basic site organization decisions, and have a good idea about page and site design, then you can start the construction process.
How much time should the effort take? That depends on many factors, not the least of which is the skill level of the site builder. Some tasks take longer than others, some are more complex, and some tend to be the object of endless tweaking. Suffice it to say that the site building process takes as long as necessary to achieve the results you want and are satisfied with. If you're building the site yourself, however, you'll likely be much more forgiving of your own time overruns than those of others you'd hire to do the job.
Should you build it yourself?
Building your own Web site could be a very satisfying and enjoyable project. Or, it could be a nightmare. If you legitimately have the four ingredients discussed above, and really want to build your own site, then building your site might be a realistic and doable option. If, on the other hand, you lack any of these ingredients, have the slightest reservation about doing it yourself, or flatly don't want to attempt such an effort, then you would be better off resorting to other options.
But there is another consideration, which is, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." I've observed that Web site building projects share a number of characteristics with desktop publishing projects. Both activities involve creative and technical processes. Technical processes often take longer to learn and master. Creative processes are highly subjective and personal. Novices, by their lack of experience, tend to get carried away and self-absorbed by their newly acquired freedom and creativity, often to the point that they lose perspective and objectivity. When that happens, the original purpose and intent of the project becomes blurred and the novice creator needs to be brought back to reality. From a personnel and management perspective, such episodes require a level of tact and diplomacy that is often difficult to muster.
Regardless of which site-building option you choose, your decision should be based on sound business, management, and practical reasons. As tempting as the do-it-yourself option might appear to an agency owner, manager, or employee, there are better uses of that person's time. But if you do it yourself, set the same standards and expect the same results from yourself as you would from the professional sources you'd otherwise employ.
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