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A great many of us in the craft community rely on free tools to give us a web presence. We use stuff like Blogger, WordPress, Etsy, and in some cases, Facebook Pages. This is a great solution for a business just starting out. But there may come a point where we need a more customized, more professional web presence – one that integrates our product information with an online store we control. And that’s where a lot of creative small-business owners get stuck.
Should we hire someone to build a website for us? Won’t that cost a million dollars? Should we throw ourselves into learning HTML and CSS and try to DIY it? Won’t that take a ton of time? …And if we do try to hire someone, what if we aren’t sure how to talk to a programmer? What if we hate the website when it’s done?
Well, as it happens, I know a smart web developer who’s very good at discussing all this stuff. Katin Imes has been a programmer for over 35 years, and has earned the nickname “The Geek Who Can Speak” for his ability to translate programmer jargon to clear language. We’ll address all the above questions in this interview, and then some. I think it’ll help you clarify where you want to go with your online presence.
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Some Helpful Links:
• In the interview, Katin and I talk about the Four Stages of Customer Relationship, and how they relate to building your website. That link takes you to an article he wrote that goes deeper into this subject.
• Another key idea from the show: deciding what your website’s ROI (“return on investment”) needs to be. Here’s another article of Katin’s about that concept, and why it’s important to website design.
• Katin mentioned Drupal, which is a content management system similar to WordPress. You can learn more about Drupal here. Incidentally, my online shop is Drupal-based.
• If you’re planning your dream website, you might find Jumpchart useful.
• Another good resource: Designmodo’s collection of free HTML and CSS templates.
• Did you know that the internet accounts for 4.7% of the U.S. economy?
Thank you, Diane and Katin, for a great podcast. It was very helpful, and those links to Katin’s articles will help me bear ROI and metrics in mind as I plan the next stage of my website. :-)
Thank you, Elly! I’m so glad you found this one useful. And Katin will be glad as well! I know I’ve learned a ton from him over the years.