Creating a website is something most college students and even professionals are intimidated to start and don’t want to spend the money to build. We are a generation that follows the motto of “do-it–yourself” where we’d rather spend the time on our own projects rather than spend money. Whether it is renovating a home, fixing our own flat tires, downloading music from the Internet to creating your own workouts instead of spending money on a gym. So why not tackle the building of something that is strictly a projection of yourself.
Before you get started, ask yourself what you need the website for and then get started!
Pros:
Broaden your horizons:Before even starting, you will find that this will be an educational experience as you research what the best sites and practices are for your particular website. You will even have to ponder onto others who have similar themes for their websites and see how they coordinated the information, text, photos, movies, audios, and etc. After mastering website essentials such as HTML, CSS, Flash, and Javascript you can broaden your horizons even more and learn to use advance graphical programs such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. You will become your websites own interior designer.
Making it your own:If you learn how to use website builders such as Adobe Dreamweaver you can make your website completely original. If you need to use an easier website such as WordPress, Blogger or Tumblr you have a variety of themes to pick from that match your own taste and style. If you go as far as learning HTML you will be able to tweak your website any which way you want, for no cost of course.
Save Money:Even though you infested your precious time in researching, learning, designing and tweaking you ultimately could save yourself thousands of dollars. So besides the sense of pride you muster up throughout the process, your wallet will appreciate your hard work and time.
“I did it!” feeling:At the end of the day, if you designed, built and ran it you can be truly satisfied with a unique and innovative creation made solely by you.
Cons:
Time Consuming:Researching and learning can be very time consuming. Even after all that, you must be able to organize your ideas and know where you want to put your information. This usually requires a flow chart starting with your homepage and then extending off of that. This entails thinking about how people will interact with your site not to mention the actual making of the links and navigation buttons.
Not Graphically Inclined:The project may begin with a vision but if you are not a graphic designer, your page may be a little sore to the eyes. This could come off as unprofessional as your page could look scrambled and unorganized. Unfortunately, if your website is unprofessional looking, you may have wasted your time because people will not want to revisit your sight.
Programming can be a b***h: Even if you are graphically inclined or business savvy, your brain may not be wired for programming. The language of HTML and syntax can be totally alien and even with time and patience, you may find yourself ripping your hair out.
Failing:In the end, you may find yourself calling a professional and spending the money for your own sanity. Learning a different type of language and designing something completely foreign especially if you want a professional and advanced site your best bet may be to hire a professional. Just make sure to check their references and portfolios before giving up and spending your money.
