Skip to Main Content

A Lil’ Somethin’ For The Non-Technical: Web Development 101

Are you the last person on your block without a web site? Are you looking to have a site developed for you? Are you non-technical and unsure of how exactly to proceed in your website’s re-designing process?

If you answered yes to any of the above, keep reading!

Many people seeking web site development or re-design do not understand all the elements necessary to create a great web site or how to look for a web developer who will meet their needs.

I was one of those people.A few years ago, I was working for an organization that needed a major website overhaul, and I was assigned as the website re-design coordinator.I set out first to get some quotes from various web designers and developers.I chose to call on developers that had been recommended to me via word-of-mouth, as well as some from my local area.The process was very revealing.The quotes ranged from $2,000 to $6,000 – for the same exact project!That was too wide of a gap to ignore, so I had to dig deeper.Was I really getting an apples-to-apples comparison?I didn’t even know what questions to ask in order to have them explain what exactly the pricing was based upon.I hit a wall because I did not understand the essential ingredients that create a great web site.Luckily for me, someone quite trust-worthy and qualified stepped in and helped guide me in the decision making process.

This story exemplifies that the people who most need to be educated on the web site development process are those who are shopping around for a developer and are, quite possibly, the least technical. I have found that, unless one is first willing to become educated in the process, there exists the possibility of choosing a developer that doesn’t best meet your needs.

The irony is that you don’t know what you don’t know until you know it.

Therefore, my hope is that people who are currently seeking website development or re-design are reading this. I believe that the best approach to website development is to:

  • First, become educated on what makes a great website
  • Next to understand what you need to look for in a web developer
  • And finally, to take that knowledge and find the best developer you need for your job.

As addressed in Ron’s Blog Post from April 2008, the process begins with understanding what makes a web site great. “Great web sites take into account the visitor’s perspective. The three most important factors for visitors are:

  1. Content & functionality
  2. Navigation & usability
  3. Design”

Choosing a web site developer that understands these factors is KEY to the successful development or re-design of your web site.

To expand your knowledge of these facets of web site development, there are a few actions you can take:

  1. View up-coming webinars offered by CodeGeek.net founder, Ron Zasadzinski, and Internet Marketing Guru, Laurie Macomber. They have a fantastic one-hour presentation on this very topic! In fact, their webinar inspired me to write this very blog post!
  2. Read through our prior blog posts, which discuss the aforementioned points in more detail.
  3. If you live in the Fort Collins, CO area, sign up for a web site class offered by Ron and Laurie
  4. Finally, if you would like live answers to your web development questions, please contact CodeGeek.net directly.