Building a Web Site is Like Building a House

Think about building a new web site like building a house. You wouldn't hire one guy to build your whole house would you?

The architect does not do carpentry, the electrician doesn't know how to design a landscape, and the plumber doesn't install your cable TV.

It requires many skills to do everything right. You want to have your new web site for a long time, just like you want to live in your house for a long time. It needs to be done right from the beginning.

Creating A Web Site That Works

A good web site requires all of these components:

• Content architecture

• User interface design

• Graphic design

• Copywriting skills

• Search engine optimization

• Programming skills

• Hosting and content management

• Promotion and marketing

Some Web Designers Live In Fantasyland

Show me someone who claims they can do all these things well and I'll show you a person who lives in a fantasy world. 

A really good web designer can probably do 60% of the list.  I have never met a web designer who knows how to write copy, and very few who know anything about marketing.

Do yourself a favor.  When you are ready to hire a web designer, show them this list and ask them which items they really excel at.  Then make sure they plan on compensating for the rest.  If they say they will be outsourcing these other jobs, it's ok to hire them.  If they say they are good at all of them, ask for references and examples of their work where they fulfilled all of these roles.

The last thing you want is a house, or a web site, that's only 60% good.

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