DIY Web Building & Web Design: Tips on Time Management
You have a lot going on as a business owner, so the thought of adding building, designing, and maintaining a website (also known as DIY web) on top of all your other tasks may feel insurmountable. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With a few helpful tools and some time management tips, you can build the website your business needs without adding too much to your plate.
Here are some ways to a successful DIY Web Building:
Make a Plan
Just like with any project you take on, taking the time to make a plan helps you stay organized, schedule your time, and make sure you don’t forget any steps that will cause more work in the future. In a step-by-step guide to DIY Web building, The Muse suggests delegating days to the beginning tasks of building your website. The first step is to figure out your message and look at the big picture. This will help you determine how the rest of the process will go, so don’t rush through it. Decide what you want your customers to get out of your site, what impression you want them to have of your business, and how you will stand out from your competitors.
From there, you can make a plan on how you want to structure your site, how you want your design to look, and what you want your copy to say. It will save you a lot of time to make these decisions ahead of time so you don’t waste a lot of time going back and forth with different versions of your design, graphics, and copy.
Take Advantage of Tools
You don’t have time to mess around with HTML code and designing a 100 percent custom site, and that’s OK. There are plenty of tools out there to help you with DIY Web building and save you a bunch of time. Best 10 Website Builders reviews some of the best site makers, such as Wix, SiteBuilder, eHost, and Go Daddy, that are all available to help you build your site. These website builders provide you with easy-to-use functions, templates, responsive design, and many of the other items you need to get up and running.
Just as a warning: Don’t go overboard with templates. You want your site to look and feel like your business. If you rely only on templates and don’t spend the time to customize some of your most notable features, such as your logo or colors, your site may not fully connect with your audience. It’s worth it to spend a little extra time to customize features here and there to make your site reflect your business attitude.
Get Professional Help
Even though you’re DIY Web building your site, you don’t have to do it all on your own. If you’re hopeless at writing, hire a copywriter to write your product descriptions, front-page copy, and any articles you need. Or if you can’t get your logo to look quite right, hire a graphic designer for a few hours to help you make the finishing touches. Use companies like Upwork or Guru to find freelance workers in your budget. You have enough to do, so don’t waste time trying to figure out something that’s just not working.