Let’s talk about money here for a minute. Yours. Especially if you are a small business owner or professional. And if you don’t already have a web site. Or have one that is in serious need of updating. It seems that everyone has a web site nowadays. Some are slicker than others. Some look like they were designed by your son’s friend across the street with his trusty (and very bootleg) copy of Front Page. Others look like they have been built with care and quite a bit of design theory. Some web sites look plain, but get the job done, have lots of traffic and rake in lots of revenue for their owners. Others, though pretty, just sit there, so much web lint.

So before you shell out those hard-earned shekels for a new web site or a web site overhaul, here are some things to think about.

I’m not against anyone learning new things. I think everyone should. But when you are a professional or small business, and you need a web site, think twice before you roll up your sleeves and attempt to do it yourself.

Our clients run the gamut from hard core geeks who maintain their own sites without incident once we hand them the keys to Internet neophytes who have us add every bit of new content. The secret is to know when you don’t know. If you haven’t a clue about web design, are colorblind, have no sense of style, no inkling about typography and the kind of messages that it and colors can send, if you think that PHP, HTML, CSS and SEO are all just so much alphabet soup, then think before you leap into web design. You might be able to save a few bucks in the beginning, but if you are counting on your shiny new web site to bring you business or income, then that could be a very costly mistake. Penny-wise and pound-foolish, anyone?