Building your own website

If you can’t afford a web design company it is possible to get what you want by building your own website, but consider the options carefully. You may well save money, but be realistic about the skills needed to get started and the time needed to set it up and keep it running.

Your options

The options for building your own site include:

• Build it from scratch
  Learn the skills of a professional web designer, using a programme such as DreamWeaver, become familiar with html, set up domain names, transfer files to the website, build each part of the site ‘by hand’ or upload components and link them together. It’s like learning how to produce a newsletter using a desktop publishing (DTP) programme such as Microsoft Publisher.
• Use an online site builder
  Systems such as Blogger and Wordpress let you build a site using a system accessed through a website. Many are free, some ask for a monthly fee. Follow instructions and build pages using the menus and templates provided; insert your own words and upload images using abrowser, such as Internet Explorer. This is similar to creating a newsletter using the templates built into Microsoft Publisher.
• Use a website template
  Use Open Source tools such as Drupal, Joomla or Wordpress to set up a website using a template, into which you insert the graphics and learn to manage the site and keep it up to date. It’s similar to having someone design a newsletter template which you then update for each edition.

Involve colleagues and users

Get staff, volunteers and users to help design your site:

• Identify someone to lead the website project and produce the brief.
• Build a list of who will use the site and what they will want to know.
• Build a list of sites that people do or don’t like, with comments about why.
• Identify key resources that need to be available on the site.
• Discuss who will update the site and what help they’ll need.
• Consider setting up a small working group.

Staff or volunteer?

The best person to learn website design is someone who wants to do it, has the time to do it and already has most of the skills needed. It could be the person who produces your newsletter or annual report – ideally someone who knows a lot about your organisation, is a confident communicator and is familiar with the internet.

If you’re using a volunteer, give them space to bring in their own ideas but remember that the end result must match the expectations of the organisation. Manage the process as carefully as you can, set realistic timescales and stick to them.

Working with any volunteer requires you to be clear about what you want them to do and realistic about how you manage their work. The same is true about web design. Make sure you see some of their work before proceeding too far – do they know what they’re doing, or are you going to be their guinea pig?

Training

There are web design courses at many local colleges or community training centres, covering the basic ingredients of professional web design, e.g.:

• a web design package, such as DreamWeaver or Microsoft Front Page
• graphic programmes, such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro
• web design processes, from initial consultation to testing and launch of a site.

These courses can vary in length from short tasters to year-long accredited courses. Whoever is taking on the DIY task will have to factor in this time, as well as the time needed to practise new skills.

What help do you need?

Ideally you’ll have access to technical advice and a patient web designer to review what you’re doing. In the absence of this, use the internet for tips, get an up-to-date web design book for reference and try to cultivate a friendly techie to explain terms you don’t understand.

Produce a brief

Treat the process the same as if you were paying someone. Use the guidance to produce a brief and use the process of producing the brief to get others involved as the work progresses.