Is Your Website Being Held Captive by Your Web Developer Or Web Host?
All websites have to live on a web server.
Usually, that web server belongs to someone else.
That someone else is your web host.
If your web host goes bad or goes out of business, could you easily pick up your site and move it to another web host? If not, you have a captive website.
Website Captor #1 - Online Template Sites: First, there is a good (and temporary) reason why your site might be "captive.
" It can take a long time to design and build a website from scratch.
There are many online template systems with pre-designed pieces available in (relatively) easy-to-use menus, which allow you to build your website in an afternoon.
Well, that's the idea anyway; it's not as simple as their promo materials say.
For many folks, the one afternoon bit is less likely than winning the lottery because no one told them how long it will take them to get their text and words together; register for a domain name, figure out the template system, etc.
However, if you have your text and images all ready and your page content planned out, the online templates can give you a great temporary site.
Having a temporary site allows you to 1) learn about having a web site, 2) try different ideas, 3) have the time you need to design your "real" web site.
Some examples of online template systems are: - volusion.
com, - yahoo.
com and - networksolutions.
com.
For the very new person, you may still need some professional help to use one of these systems, but it's generally a quicker learning curve for you.
Downside: Your website is captive.
You can't just pick up your web files and move them to another web server.
The website structure and all the images you chose from their system belong to them; you were just "renting" them for as long as you use their system.
If you want the design changed, you are stuck within the options they have chosen for you.
Website Captor #2 - Web Servers with Proprietary Software: these usually have some special functionality designed around a certain industry or market, such as real estate.
They may or may not have templates included, but they assume that you are working with some predefined type of information, such as houses for sale.
My first web job was with International Newspaper Network, which specializes in websites for community newspapers.
The folks who started the company were newspaper folks and knew what these sites needed.
So, they built software to make it easy for writers, photographers and ad sales staff to send their work to their websites.
Downside (s): Your website is captive.
You can't just pick up your web files and move them to another web server.
The functionality that you depend on has to stay on that server, although you might be able to move the design.
If you want the functionality changed, they may or may not have a flexible system that allows the programming changes you want.
Website Captor #3: Companies that plan to nickel and dime you.
Captors 1 & 2 are at least trying to provide a service that makes it easier for you to take control of your content.
This Captor won't allow you to make any of your own website changes.
These companies often design great looking sites.
But, keeping you dependent on them to do anything on your site is their meal ticket.
That really hurts if you are trying to make regular changes to have a great site for your clients and for search engine optimization.
The other side: it takes a lot of preparation, training and regular work to create and maintain a website.
Some of these captor companies have worked with companies that aren't maintaining a professional web presence, and so, have developed a philosophy that the non-technical person isn't capable of learning how to maintain a website.
This is just plain not true.
I started out, as a mom with 5 kids who had to go to work and not a single computer skill, working for a small community newspaper.
I now have a masters in Computer Science.
The real test on whether you can do your own website is 1) do you have the time to learn the work and do the work, 2) do you have the "want to"? A Final Note: There are very few websites that can be picked up and moved to absolutely any web server.
Before you move your site, you need to have a list of the technologies used on your website.
For example, if you have a slideshow or a shopping cart on your website, what technology makes that slideshow or shopping cart work? Before you make a decision to use a new host, tell them what type of software you are using on your site and ask whether their servers have the right programming to make it work.
If your website is strictly HTML or CSS, with no programming features, it is called a "static" site and can work on most web host servers.
Usually, that web server belongs to someone else.
That someone else is your web host.
If your web host goes bad or goes out of business, could you easily pick up your site and move it to another web host? If not, you have a captive website.
Website Captor #1 - Online Template Sites: First, there is a good (and temporary) reason why your site might be "captive.
" It can take a long time to design and build a website from scratch.
There are many online template systems with pre-designed pieces available in (relatively) easy-to-use menus, which allow you to build your website in an afternoon.
Well, that's the idea anyway; it's not as simple as their promo materials say.
For many folks, the one afternoon bit is less likely than winning the lottery because no one told them how long it will take them to get their text and words together; register for a domain name, figure out the template system, etc.
However, if you have your text and images all ready and your page content planned out, the online templates can give you a great temporary site.
Having a temporary site allows you to 1) learn about having a web site, 2) try different ideas, 3) have the time you need to design your "real" web site.
Some examples of online template systems are: - volusion.
com, - yahoo.
com and - networksolutions.
com.
For the very new person, you may still need some professional help to use one of these systems, but it's generally a quicker learning curve for you.
Downside: Your website is captive.
You can't just pick up your web files and move them to another web server.
The website structure and all the images you chose from their system belong to them; you were just "renting" them for as long as you use their system.
If you want the design changed, you are stuck within the options they have chosen for you.
Website Captor #2 - Web Servers with Proprietary Software: these usually have some special functionality designed around a certain industry or market, such as real estate.
They may or may not have templates included, but they assume that you are working with some predefined type of information, such as houses for sale.
My first web job was with International Newspaper Network, which specializes in websites for community newspapers.
The folks who started the company were newspaper folks and knew what these sites needed.
So, they built software to make it easy for writers, photographers and ad sales staff to send their work to their websites.
Downside (s): Your website is captive.
You can't just pick up your web files and move them to another web server.
The functionality that you depend on has to stay on that server, although you might be able to move the design.
If you want the functionality changed, they may or may not have a flexible system that allows the programming changes you want.
Website Captor #3: Companies that plan to nickel and dime you.
Captors 1 & 2 are at least trying to provide a service that makes it easier for you to take control of your content.
This Captor won't allow you to make any of your own website changes.
These companies often design great looking sites.
But, keeping you dependent on them to do anything on your site is their meal ticket.
That really hurts if you are trying to make regular changes to have a great site for your clients and for search engine optimization.
The other side: it takes a lot of preparation, training and regular work to create and maintain a website.
Some of these captor companies have worked with companies that aren't maintaining a professional web presence, and so, have developed a philosophy that the non-technical person isn't capable of learning how to maintain a website.
This is just plain not true.
I started out, as a mom with 5 kids who had to go to work and not a single computer skill, working for a small community newspaper.
I now have a masters in Computer Science.
The real test on whether you can do your own website is 1) do you have the time to learn the work and do the work, 2) do you have the "want to"? A Final Note: There are very few websites that can be picked up and moved to absolutely any web server.
Before you move your site, you need to have a list of the technologies used on your website.
For example, if you have a slideshow or a shopping cart on your website, what technology makes that slideshow or shopping cart work? Before you make a decision to use a new host, tell them what type of software you are using on your site and ask whether their servers have the right programming to make it work.
If your website is strictly HTML or CSS, with no programming features, it is called a "static" site and can work on most web host servers.