DISADVANTAGES * You'll still need to have (or learn) some technical skills, but not nearly as many as with DIY solution. * Consultant's cost may be hundreds of dollars even for a small site. Larger sites will cost more, of course. * You run risk of consultant not providing design that you were looking for. * Major changes or upgrades to site will probably need to be done by consultant. * When you update site yourself you risk "breaking" something or just "messing it up."

SKILLS NEEDED * Some technical skills or a willingness to acquire them. * The ability to liaise with consultant about how you want site to look and what you want it to achieve.

(c) THE FULL OUTSOURCING SOLUTION

ADVANTAGES * You are not required to spend time and effort learning technical skills that other folk already know and (let's be honest here) can probably do better. * This requires least effort on your part. * A consultant will produce site faster than you can. * This should produce a professional looking site that navigates easily, loads quickly, is compatible with all browsers and works well with search engines.

DISADVANTAGES * This is most costly solution. * You have less control over content of site.

SKILLS NEEDED * The ability to liaise with consultant about how you want site to look and what you want it to achieve.

CONCLUSIONS Choosing between these solutions comes down to two main issues: your budget and your skills. If you have skills needed (and free time), you can save yourself hundreds of dollars in consultants' fees. If not, consider bringing in a consultant to design site for you and, perhaps, to do updates as well.

*Weekly newsletters (naturally) *Discussion boards *Professional tips and advice *Printable "coupons" for goods or services (which rewards users for visiting site) *Calendars *Events related to your website's subject (conferences, speakers, etc.) *Recipes *Free samples of your product/service *polls and surveys *Frequently updated articles (iSyndicate and FreeContent are two good sources of copy. You can find them at www.isyndicate.com and http://www.egoups.com/group/Free-Content) *Q and A columns, using reader's questions (this should also be updated as frequently as possible) *Quick, reliable customer service *Easily located contact information (name, phone, address, email) *A bio page-if people feel like they're dealing with another person (rather than a borg-bot) that's original human version of interactivity. *Easy, clear navigation *An order form/catalog/shopping cart that is easy to find, easy to use (and hopefully secure).

You've probably already implemented some of these, but if not- what are you waiting for? You've got nothing to lose--except bored, confused users.