Designing Web Sites

This can be a lucrative undertaking for those who have the desire and expertise.  I've built a Web site for a client before, and I can verify that there is money to be made in this area.  However, this online business is not for he faint of heart, and there are some things that it is helpful to know, before courting prospective clients.

Web sites used to be rather different animals than they are today.  It used to be the case that if you whipped together the right HTML tags, and inserted the right JAVA script code in the right places in your *htm files, you could product a decent site.  However, Web sites are far more sophisticated now.  Chances are that you are not going to produce a site that looks professional with HTML code alone.  No, in order to stand out and attract attention to your clientele, you need sophisticated tools. 

At minimum, you would need access to a Web site creation application like Web Page Maker.  I am not suggested that this is the best tool to use, it is just one that I used to make one of my own Web sites.   I was pleased with the ease of use, and it was adequate for my needs at the time.  The look and feel of the site that I designed was definitely to my liking.

The problem with the applications that I just mentioned (from a money-making standpoint) are that they are so user friendly that your services may not be needed.  The sites that people used to slave away for hours to produce, can now be created within a matter of clicks.  Gone are the days when people had to type in that mysterious code to crank out basic Web pages.

Now, if you really want to build a serious business doing this, you must have access some sophisticated applications, which are capable of producing award-winning quality.  To my knowledge, the Adobe products are among the best.  I am not familiar with Corel's products, although I would advise looking into them.  Dreamweaver still appears to have a loyal following.  I think that someone once mentioned that Microsoft's follow-up to FrontPage was a good product. 

You will want to do your homework in determining which Web site creation software that you choose to use.  The ones that I just mentioned are not equal necessarily in quality or in price. 

Another thing that you will want to keep in mind is that Web sites are a marketing tool.  So, when you design them, you will want to be imaginative and make them look attractive to your audience.  People sometimes associate Web design with programmers and techs.  How about this?  The best looking Web sites that I've seen were designed by Marketing groups - armed with the right software applications!   Yes, it is great to know back-end programming that produces really nice functionality.  However, these days you can download a plug-in that provides that functionality for you.

The bottom line is that as long as the Internet continues to enjoy that popularity that it does today, there will be a demand for people with savvy Web design skills.  If you have the skill, the software, and if you market to the right clientele, you should have no problem doing well in this business.

-Worker B