But when he learned of a new service that would allow him to easily build and refresh a robust site in minutes, even this web veteran saw the value.
"It literally took me two hours to go live," says McGraw, CEO of RealSims LLC, an Orlando-based manufacturer of military and commercial flight simulators. "It took me weeks to get my original site live."
Welcome to the new world of do-it-yourself website design. Realizing that customers have grown frustrated with web masters who hold the keys to site design and management, companies are offering services that allow anyone who can use a keyboard and mouse the ability to create and manage his own site.
"The people who need this technology the most don't surf the internet for a living, and they don't go to Comdex," says Eric B. Delisle, CEO and founder of DigiBelly Inc., the Orlando company McGraw uses for site management. Using customizable templates, even users with no eye for graphic design can cut and paste copy and import their own graphics and pictures. McGraw paid a one-time $500 account setup fee and spends $100 a month for site hosting. Compare that to $5,000 or more for a custom site that, in most cases, forces the business owner to relinquish control of updates and site maintenance to the site designer.
The digital economy will require that businesses turn online for new revenue streams, says Jeff Klein, president and CEO of Boca Raton-based Accrisoft Corp., which provides a service similar to DigiBelly's. Keeping costs down will require handling site maintenance inside -- rather than outsourcing the function, he says.
"Businesses and organizations are really looking for ways to increase revenue, enhance productivity and improve communications with their websites," Klein says. "That's what's driving this technology. Small to medium businesses are able to leverage the internet at a relatively low dollar amount, which is the language of business."
Just because DigiBelly offers do-it-yourself simplicity doesn't mean it's a stripped-down application. Users can hire their own graphic designers to customize the look and feel of their websites. And McGraw fully controls his customer lists, maintains a list of e-mail subscribers, creates an online storefront with a built-in shopping cart tool, even attracts and manages resellers with an affiliate program. He can build an online marketing campaign using a search engine registration tool. The service has real-time credit card authorization, and sales information synchronizes with the QuickBooks bookkeeping application.
"There are a lot of bells and whistles built into the application," McGraw says. "Getting content in and the navigation set up is a no-brainer. Even a greenhorn can do it."
D.I.Y. on the Web
Some business owners are taking website management into their own hands with services that allow them to design and update their sites without knowledge of traditional and confusing web authoring programs or language. Keep the following tips in mind if you're planning to use a D.I.Y. service:
Get a complete package. From site design templates to e-mail list management, shopping carts and credit card authorization, the package should integrate all the services a small business will need.
Plan for growth. What will you want your site to offer tomorrow -- streaming video or lots of content and images? Make sure your service has the capacity to meet your needs.
Evaluate technology support. Customer service can be essential, especially in the early stages of doing your own site. The company should have assistance available and offer fee-based website design service -- in case you're only interested in updating your site and not creating the original version.