We have all undoubtedly heard the references to ‘old wives
tales’. No offense to old wives but there are some beliefs
that get spread around the Internet that are just so tired.
Worse, they may cause someone to completely miss the point
if they think they are being advised by someone who knows.

A ‘pre-fab’ site is a place to start – it gives you the
major functions necessary to display the site on the
Internet, and access to the code. (Note that there is a big
difference if the site is customizable or not) – many
duplicated sites are not accessible and they are not even
included in this discussion, because they are next to
useless for anything but advertising – like on the level of
a digital flyer, sign-up form, brochure, or ‘sales page’.
They would not be considered a ‘website’ unless they are
customizable (you have access to the code).

Not everyone is born technically inclined and even with many
years of computer experience, we may not know how to do
coding in HTML or PHP (the languages that are used to build
websites). So having just this done for us can be a major
step up. It could put years in front of you starting your
own online business if you have to learn programming and
design.

While it may be considered by some to be just terrible to
have a ‘cookie cutter’ site or (gasp!) one that is
‘duplicated’, as long as your site is easily customizable,
you can make it unique. You may have to hide your face for
a few months until you get enough skill to change your site
yourself, but there is light, not only at the end of the
tunnel, but going through it.

Many very savvy people are using WordPress and blog
platforms to create websites ‘on the fly’ – There are
‘themes’ that you can choose to install on the domain that
are free, although they do have some limitations on what can
and can’t be done to change them. The point is though, are
the ‘old wives’ considering these ‘duplicated’ because
thousands of people might be using the same basic theme? If
so then 99.99% of people with blogs are committing this
error of having a cookie cutter site.

In fact in addition to the ease with which you can learn
just enough HTML to add and change things on your site,
(thank heavens for copy and paste which can take you far)
there are also a number of applications that you can get
that may help you navigate the code. These are sometimes
referred to as ‘editors’. Most even have menus that you
can just click and choose a block of HTML code. It is up to
you and what kind of information you respond to more readily
– and if you are the type of person that likes ‘nuts and
bolts’, or just want ease of use – just get it done.

It only takes some imagination and creativity to take a
pre-made site and change it more to your liking – a
different color, larger fonts, pictures, graphics, videos,
etc. It is necessary to mention that we should be thinking
in ‘business-like’ terms when we are visualizing what we
would do. Garish or glaring colors are not conducive to
business, nor are too many things blinking and flashing and
beeping.

Too busy is also not good – simple, clean lines and easy
navigation are much more relevant to business. Imagine
yourself in a store that has ceiling to floor wall space
cluttered with everything under the sun. Where do you begin
to find what you are looking for? More than likely you will
just leave rather than to even try to find anything. So be
sure to have an effective menu or map and a good search
function so that people can cut to the chase and find what
they want to buy.