Home
>
Web Development
>
Web Sites ? Should I Learn or not?

Web Sites ? Should I Learn or not?

A common dilemma most small and medium businesses face when coming to their web site is if they should take the time to learn how to build a web site or not? Here's my honest thoughts on this topic.

If you read my previous article you would know that a web page is fundamentally written in HTML (let's leave the dynamic stuff out for now). So, if you've got to create a web page you need to learn at the very least, HTML.

Is HTML difficult? Not really. But ask yourself:

What do I need my web site for?

What do I expect to do with my web site?

How much time do I have to spend learning?

How much time will it take away from my regular business?

There's tons of other questions you can ask yourself but this will do.

Learning a new "skill" isn't difficult if you have the right teacher. But then, once again, if you had to learn how to construct a house and that really isn't your background, would you do it? Or take something smaller, like changing your bathtub? How about a light bulb?

Do you see what I'm getting at? It all depends on the task at hand, the degree of your familiarity with the subject and your willingness to learn. Let me give you my own example. Sometime back we wanted to change the faucet off our kitchen sink. Here's the exact steps I took:

We went shopping to three Home and Garden stores.

Evaluated the prices, features etc.

Chose one faucet and brought it home.

Hunted around for the right tools.

Went to my borther-in-law's house and borrowed some more tools.

Came home and removed the old tap.

Fixed the new tap.

Collapsed.

Literally. The entire episode took me an entire day. Now, some of you may laugh and say, "What? I can do it in two hours!". My response would be, "Yes! Certainly. But if you aren't a programmer (and I am) can you write a program in two hours?". Ah ha! Now you get it? You see, I'm not good at fixing taps. I had to "learn" how to fix taps. I knew how to do one in my country of origin (India, by the way) but had to learn the new way of doing it here.

In the end, I asked myself, was it worth it? Definitely not. My time is far more expensive than experimenting around trying to learn something that I really didn't want to do.

On the flip side, we wanted to make some jam during the summer. It was something I truly wanted to do and walked into the whole situation fully knowing I had to learn and that it would take some time from me. However it was worth it. I can think of many situations where this same analogy applies. For example, painting my bathroom (I did it) as against painting my living, dining rooms (I got a professional painter).

The same applies to the web business. Ask yourself, how technical are you? Do you enjoy learning new technology? Most important, if this isn't really your primary business, would you rather spend your time doing something entirely different? Perhaps yes, or no?

The unfortunate problem is that several software vendors today tell you you can build a web site within minutes. And they are right. If you like what their product builds for you. Some even tell you, you don't need to learn HTML. Yes. Once again, if you can conform to their design, great. But the minute you want to change something that does not conform, now you have a risk of blowing it all up. How much time do you want to invest in "fixing" things? Also think of the work that would be involved if someone else takes over from the mess you've left it in? All of this costs.

So, in the end you really need to decide if it is worth it in you learning something new? If you've consistently gone around this article and nodded yes to all of my questions, then go ahead and take the plunge. You will be able to do it and will succeed. However, if you've got that small nagging voice at the back of your head telling you you really don't have the time or the inclination, then don't do it.

Finally, if you've never built a web site or created a web page, and you need one for your business, I personally recommend you get a professional to do one. I'm sure you would have made the right decision.

Till next time.

Elvin Picardo
Delivering Net Results to Small Business
Author of numerous articles on web development and Internet Marketing
10723 159th St, Surrey, BC V4N 3J1 Canada
http://www.netmedian.com
mailto: http://www.netmedian.com

deep house cleaning Glencoe ...

In The News:

A fake Claude AI download scam uses Google ads and Bing redirects to trick Mac users into pasting a hidden malicious command in their Terminal.

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Hackers targeted Danfoss refrigerator controls across French supermarkets, forcing chains like Carrefour and Monoprix to discard massive food stocks.

iOS 27 finally lets iPhone Shared Albums store photos and videos at full resolution in iCloud, but new items count toward the owner's storage.

A fake Facebook Marketplace text scam uses your real name as the seller to trick you into replying, and Malwarebytes warns even one response helps.

The Pentagon data breach exposed 2.76 million Social Security numbers and military records, raising long-term identity theft concerns for veterans.

Kodiak AI plans to haul IKEA freight on Texas highways with no one in the cab, raising urgent cybersecurity and safety questions for drivers.

Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 adds Extend and Reframe tools to Photos, letting iPhones generate new background areas beyond your original borders.

Microsoft's X account was hijacked to promote a crypto pump-and-dump scheme, exposing its more than 13 million followers to a scam campaign.

Scammers can combine your name, phone number and address with data breach details to attempt SIM swaps, phishing and even identity theft schemes.

ChatGPT Work, Meta Muse and Gemini Spark can monitor flight prices, sort your email inbox and track important deadlines, but savvy users start small.

iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel each hide a built-in tool that turns a video frame into a separate photo without any screenshot needed.

Operation KillSwitch dismantled KillSec's ransomware infrastructure, but investigators say a 16-year-old allegedly ran the entire cybercrime operation.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence newsletter covers where voters will decide on AI data center ballot measures and Jeff Bezos' tech vision.

Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 can flag suspicious activity inside apps, but the setting is off by default and must be enabled.

Federal Election Commission records can expose your name, address, employer and donation history once contributions exceed the $200 threshold.

Cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright says human skepticism remains the strongest defense against AI-driven phishing scams and voice cloning fraud schemes.

iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy each handle security updates differently, and one screen saying "up to date" may not tell the whole story.

Deborah Del Mastro heard what sounded like her daughter's terrified voice on the phone, launching a five-hour virtual kidnapping scam ordeal.

Web Sites ? Should I Learn or not?

Web Development