You've completed the research and are now ready to get started. For both projects, how much time do you have to learn how to use each tool correctly and in the proper sequence before you start?
If you have questions while you're building the bookcase, you can drive to the local Home Depot or Lowes to get expert answers or you may rent a "how to" video tape to get pointers.
Unlike the bookcase, there aren't any places to drive to get expert answers and there aren't any "how to" video tapes to get pointers. If you have questions while building your website, you'll need to consult the reference book(s), run the software tutorials, and figure it out on a trial-and-error basis. How much time will you need to spend following the software tutorial? Will you need to learn a scripting language? How often will you need to use the reference book(s)? How much time will be lost on a trial-and-error learning process?
With the bookcase, the tools you purchase may be used on other home repair or do-it-yourself projects or you may already own some of these tools.
For the website, the tools you purchase will only be used for just one project. With a website, you'll need to invest quite a bit of money (about $500 for the web design software, the graphics design software, and reference books) to acquire the necessary tools. If your website will only consist of 5 or 6 web pages, the cost for the tools alone will probably be more than it would cost to hire a professional web designer!
It's easy to determine the materials you'll need in order to build your bookcase as you can ask the expert at Home Depot or Lowes. With the website, it's not as easy to determine which firm you should use to register your domain name or to host your website. The do-it-yourself web designer may make a costly mistake by not knowing how important it is to research who owns the domain name after registration or to research whether the hosting provider has been blacklisted. A professional web designer has many resources available to find out this information to save its clientele from this type of costly mistake.
With a do-it-yourself project, you can schedule the work to meet your own timeline. On the other hand, your time is a valuable commodity and may be better spent on other business projects.
Once you've finished building your bookcase, you're done and can put your tools away.
With a website, the novice may think that, if all the links work and there is content on all of the web pages, then the website is complete. The professional web designer knows there are several more steps yet to be completed before the website is finished.
Skip to the steps the professional designer will take.
