Title: Web Design For The Do-it-yourselfer Word Count: 514 Summary: Many potential online business owners want to develop a powerful website that is a blending of their own personality and a potent visual presentation that will be attractive to visitors. Interestingly, these same business developers often have very little in the way of solid direction for their site. They know they want to sell products to customers, but may not be sure how to translate that desire into a web design. This is where a web designer can come into the picture t... Keywords: web design,site design,website development,web development,make a website,build website Article Body: Many potential online business owners want to develop a powerful website that is a blending of their own personality and a potent visual presentation that will be attractive to visitors. Interestingly, these same business developers often have very little in the way of solid direction for their site. They know they want to sell products to customers, but may not be sure how to translate that desire into a web design. This is where a web designer can come into the picture to help identify what you may actually need in the form of a web development and design. The biggest problem with hiring a web designer is you are likely to pay a significant outlay of capital to get the site up and running and the cost continues as you essentially pay a retainer fee each month to keep the designer on hand in case of any major changes. The straightforward answer to your dilemma is your lack of planning will ultimately cost you significantly in present and future web design application and redesigning. Is there a way to make design and development easier? Yes. Think about a website in terms of a family tree. Instead of the patriarch of the family at the top of the tree, you have your homepage. Under that homepage you list primary pages (instead of children). These pages may consist of features such as “About Us”, “Contact Us”, “Shopping”, “FAQ”, etc. Then you should identify how many pages you will need under each of these pages. For instance in the shopping section you should determine how many pages you need to list individual products and descriptions. If you can work to develop a site map (something like a family tree) for your web business then you can develop the website yourself at significant savings. What’s more you can also make any changes to your website on your own without needing to work through a web host or designer (who may or may not have time to help you once the original design is finished and they have found a new client to work with). Template rich site builders can allow you to develop your own web design. The primary difference is you will need to take some time to plan the site and then work to implement the ideas on your own. Most of us have some idea about how a family tree works. With that same principle a new website can take shape that conforms to your own personality and offers the opportunities to use the latest in web tools to help you make your site unique and distinguishable to site visitors. Think about it another way. If you are looking to complete a home repair you might likely look at a website designed to provide details on managing a home repair project. This information can allow you to gain the satisfaction and pride that comes with saving money and gaining a new skill. Online tutorials can help you learn what you need to learn about web building tools for a positive, self-directed web design.