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9. Consider your means and goals

When considering the effort and investment you should put into your website, it's important to look not only at your means but also at your goals for the site.

Do you have the financial ability to hire a design firm and is it worth it considering the plans you have for your website?

"If my financial picture was the same, but I knew about the free, ready-made platforms, I would have gone that route instead," said Denise Aday, who created a website herself using a common Microsoft application.

If your intention is simply to give your business a presence on the World Wide Web, spending a lot of time and money is probably a waste of resources.

Denise knew the Internet would be critical to her business longterm and felt she couldn't scrimp on effort, even if she didn't have much money to invest.

"No one I know has even looked in a phone book for years. And as a virtual assistant I have to have an online presence. It's my work arena and I have to demonstrate my knowledge and use of it," she said.

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