After a couple of weeks new site was ready for my first appraisal. With great curiosity I opened it up. First impression? Nice!

The colors of blue and grey were just right for complementing site theme of goal achievement and personal development. Serious and business-like - that's effect I wanted.

The menu system and categorization were brilliant. It made navigation so easy and piqued a visitor's interest to investigate further from any page. Instead of previous mish mash of doorway pages, ads and serious articles mixed into an undefinable soup, there was now purpose and order to site.

Now began an intensive period of communication with Micah as we worked together on small details. His input was invaluable.

Out went some 'cheesy' looking bullet graphics to be replaced by plain but professional list items.

The body text color was changed to black.

A small paragraph introduction was added to top of each category section.

The color and formatting of hyperlinks and article boxes was fine tuned.

At end of day do I miss my very own do it yourself web site? Quite honestly NO. I now have a professional web site I am pleased with and one which is now set up to accomplish my business goals.

Have I got any results to boast about yet? Yes. My visitors' behavior has changed radically. The tracking records show visitors are now hitting an average of 4 pages per visit as opposed to 1 before. The navigation system with categories has made sure of that.

If you've got a minute, just take a look for yourself and make your own appraisal. http://www.vitalstop.com/index.htm.

What is my recommendation? Do it yourself web site design is good to a point. It may satisfy your desire to get under hood and tinker with engine. It can give you a working knowledge so you can fine tune things later. But quite honestly you can save yourself days and weeks of sweat, frustration and grief. It took me about six months to learn this lesson. You can learn it in five minutes from reading this article.

THE LESSON: If you want to get a professional web site up and running quickly which will be a spring board for your business, do yourself a favor - Get help of a web site designer and GET SERIOUS!

ADDENDUM

99% of responses to this article so far related to experience and agreed with conclusion.

One reader however related her nightmare experience after employing a so-called professional web site designer. In her own words, "The design that was presented to me looked like work of a 5 year old." She is now attempting to get her money back.

If you decide to use a professional web site design service, check it out first!

You will now see your text with, what looks like, marching ants around it. If you'd like to move your text, click and hold your left mouse button to drag your text to your desired position.

With your text still selected (with marching ants), at top of screen, go to "Image" then "Effects" then "Drop Shadow." This will launch "Drop Shadow" window. Your image will be viewable with drop shadow in little window at right. You can try different settings until you achieve shadow effect you desire.

Another text effect that is popular will display your text in a graduated color effect. Your text can be displayed with a dark color at top and gradually get lighter or just opposite.

To achieve this effect, foreground (top box) color must first be set to white. Next, click on text tool and follow same procedure for displaying your text. You should now see your text displayed as "marching ants," only with no color. Now you'll need to select a dark color for your foreground color and a light color for your background color.

Once you've selected your colors, click on "Flood Fill" icon on left. To change effects of Flood Fill tool, locate little box on your screen that says, "Controls" then click on "Tool Controls." Under "Fill Style" select "Linear Gradient" and then click on "Options" at bottom. The "Blend Mode" should be set to normal. In order to select which color will be at top of your text, where it says, "Degrees" type in either 0 or 180 depending on your desired effect, then click OK. Now place your mouse over each letter and fill it by clicking on your mouse.

After you've filled your text, you can either create shadow effect or "right click" on your mouse to deselect your text.

If you'd like to decrease your graphics window size, click on "Selection tool" on left (dotted rectangle) and select portion of your graphic that you'd like to display within your new sized image. Click on "Edit" then "Copy" then "Edit" - "Paste as a new image."

After you've completed your graphic, go to "File" then "Save As" and select a folder. Type in a name for your graphic and save your new file in .GIF format. The program will prompt you and ask you if it's all right to reduce your file to 256 colors. Click on yes. Your new graphic is now saved.

Now that you've mastered these new techniques, try them with some of your other images. The drop shadow effect can be used with photographs or just about any image you'd like. Try graduated color effect with your banners or image backgrounds and give your graphics a professional look.