QUESTION: I want to build my own website, what tool should I use to build my website?
PROBLEM: Most people are either research or are told to create a website with Dreamweaver.
SOLUTION: Stay away from tools that require in depth skills and a steep learning curve. As a business owner or non web designer, you should create your website using WordPress instead.
Let me preface this article by saying that Dreamweaver is an excellent tool and should be used by web designers and web developers. In fact I use it every day and it is one of the tools I have open on my computer 75% of the time. But for the Average Joe business owner, entrepreneur or hobbyist, Dreamweaver should not be your tool of choice – not unless you are changing careers and want to be a web designer.
1) You Are Not a Web Designer
This tool is an excellent tool for someone who writes HTML and CSS. It also lets you add code, functionality and publish content. But you don’t just get a copy of Dreamweaver and build a website. That’s kind of like saying you have an hammer and saw and now you’re ready to build a house.
2) Dreamweaver is Only Part of the Web Design Process
Building off of the last point, there are so many other facet necessary for a well designed website. Too many people assume it is the only tool or skill needed to build a website. This is not true. For an overview of the process, check out How to Create a Website with Dreamweaver.
3) It’s Difficult to Manage Your Website
What happens when your header, sidebar, footer, navigation bar changes? Depending on how your website is built, this could mean that every time one of these types of changes occurs you may have to republish all of your web pages in your website which is a total pain and leaves you open to problems.
4) Severely Limits Content Management
When you choose to build your website with Dreamweaver, it makes it difficult to collaborate with content managers and publishers. In other words, how will content get updated on your website? Does this make you the one person in your organization with enough skills to create new pages and post content? How long will it take you to add a new page, add it to the navigation menus and publish the content? Don’t be the bottleneck. Just say no…it is critical that you use a content management system to create your website that makes it easy to publish content.
5) It’s Expensive
While Dreamweaver only costs about $100, It is time that is the major expense here. Think about the amount of time it takes to learn Dreamweaver, learn Photoshop to build your graphics, and to learn enough coding skills to add functionality, now put it all together and it is quite expensive. The time you’ll invest to do will easily take you about 80 hours, probably way more time that that. But think about your time, let’s say your time is worth a measly $20hr and you spend as little as 40 hours on your website. That’s $800 plus the cost of Dreamweaver and Photoshop, and you’ll probably still end up with something thats pretty basic.
Image credits by ϟnapshot 19 and eyeSPIVE
The man behind SiteBuilder.ws His goal is to help you build, manage and promote your online business by leveraging Social Media and the proper web design. He provides training, consulting, resources and coaching to help your business reach its full online potential! Be sure to connect with Scott Barnes+
