Is it possible to develop your own great looking, functional website that will get you found on the internet? Yes! There are generally two options for developing your own website – Template systems and Content Management Systems.
However, before running off to develop your own website, there are two things to remember:
- When developing your own website there will be a steep learning curve to understand the terminology and how websites work, even with tools like those described next. The typical type of person that does well with this are those that pick up new technologies quickly, visual learners or mathematical types.
- Developing and maintaining a website requires commitment. Frequently updating content and keeping your website secure are two crucial and ongoing maintenance tasks. Never think that because you have a small website and are broadly unknown to the world, that you may not get hacked at some point. This isn't meant to scare you though – it is simply an acknowledgement of maintaining security on your site.
Choosing a website delivery model
Template systems
These are often free or included with your domain hosting account but some include advertising and you usually have to promote the template system in the website footer.
They usually have limited options for formatting and you may have limited colour customisation. You just add your logo or banner at the top, add your content and in a very short period of time you have a small website – usually up to 5 pages but it can be more.
Template systems could also be a blog template – so instead of having your blog hosted on one of the free sites (e.g. Wordpress.com, Blogger.com), you can have it hosted on your own domain name (e.g. www.acmefakeco.com). This is a great option if you want to start with just a blog and then later migrate to a website because you will keep the same domain name and not have to re-print business cards, letterheads, redirect customers etc.
Content Management Systems
Content Management Systems (CMS) are much more flexible than a basic template system. Enterprise content management systems like Microsoft SharePoint can cost thousands of dollars and require extensive custom development; however, they are quite flexible and very scalable and would suit medium-large businesses.
In the small-medium business space, there are two particular free, open-source systems that are very popular and well-supported should you need outside assistance:
- Moodle – this system was actually developed in Australia and has its roots in learning environments e.g. universities, although many people are now customising it to generic website use. It has built-in features such as calendars, Q&A, chat rooms and eLearning administration.
- Joomla – this is fast becoming one of the most popular CMS in the world. Joomla has hundreds of features and capabilities that you can 'add-on' through either free or low-cost tools that plug into the website easily. You can do everything from have a basic website with information about your company/products/services through to allowing customers to book into your events online, hosting beautiful picture galleries, to having a full scale eCommerce website.
Joomla in particular allows you great flexibility with the design of your website.