Building your own web site with a WYSIWYG:

Many web hosting providers provide a simple WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") software application either free or for a small additional fee. If you are thinking about building your own web site and want to use a WYSIWYG, then first review a few web hosting companies that offer these applications and try out their demo. Not all WYSIWYG applications are alike! Some are more difficult to use than others and some offer more features. Once you decide which web hosting company offers a WYSIWYG you feel comfortable, then go ahead and purchase your web hosting service from that company. 

Advantages of using a WYSIWYG

1.  A WYSIWYG is probably the least expensive way to build a web site.

2.  You do not have to know any HTML code or other web programming language.

3.  You are in control of adding the web content (text, images, etc) and maintaining all edits and updates.

4.  Since web changes are done on your time, the new content can go live as soon as you publish the site.

A WYSIWYG program lets you build a web site quickly, inexpensively and without having to know any code.  Although some programs only provide the basics, many of them offer basic web templates and allow you to add a few advanced capabilities to your site. Overall, a WYSIWYG is a good place to start for those "do-it-yourself" small business owners that want to get their web site built and published in a day.

 

Disadvantages of using a WYSIWYG

1. You are limited to a specific choice of Web Templates

2. You are limited in programmable capabilities since you don't have control over the code.

3. Customization of your site can be somewhat limited.

Although WYSIWYGs are great for getting a website built quickly, they are not suitable for all web projects. Just keep in mind, the more "features" you want your web site to have, more programming this will require. If there is not already an available pre-written script, you will need to create one. If you are very technically savvy and feel comfortable with adding scripts or editing programming code you might enjoy this project. But be warned, learning how to program can be a very tedious adventure and does require a high level of patience. You just might decide the program doesn't let you do what you want to. That's when you need to just decide to hire a web developer to create the site for you.