Improving, repairing or refurbishing an old website doesn’t have to be hard, even if making a good website is.
The Right Tools Are Key
If you’ve ever tried any serious home improvement, you know that using the right tools for the job is essential. Some needs are obvious. Who would try to re-caulk a bathtub without a caulk gun? Some aren’t so obvious, like a pipe wrench.
A website can be improved with tools in much the same way as a house. Simple tools, that we all have and often take for granted like Spellchecker, can be used to review content. On the other end of the spectrum we find Adobe Photoshop, an image editing tool that is as powerful as they come. If you use a Content Management System (CMS) to create and maintain your website, you most likely have an array of tools called plugins or extensions. These are small additions to the main CMS software. For those of you new to, or unfamiliar with web development, a CMS is an application you use to control how a website is displayed to visitors. Depending on the CMS, you can control everything from the text and images that appear on a page, to how people use and navigate the website. Back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, most websites were coded by hand or made with a specialized application like Dreamweaver.
So how else does web improvement parallel home improvement? Putting in an extra bathroom in the basement is very difficult to do by yourself. It can only be done with a major investment of time, and the proper knowledge, materials and specialized equipment. A well-designed website, constructed by trained web developers working with designers, copy writers, photographers and input from the client, is also difficult to replicate at home.
The Right Job
What pipe wrenches and the CMS have in common is they have made things easier for the do-it-yourself types to fix their sinks or to fix broken links. If all you’re looking for is a new doorknob or a simple brochure-ware website, you don’t have to look any further than the local hardware store and wordpress.org.
On the other hand, if you want to put an awning over your front door or add a master bathroom, you should probably hire a contractor, otherwise you may do more damage than improvement. Likewise, if you need a website that reflects your dynamic business, is frequently updated, can offer different content to registered users and unregistered users, can field surveys or even support e-commerce, then you should step away from your computer, pick up your phone and call a professional web developer. (Not that I’m biased or anything….)
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