When you first get online, every site you go to is wondrous and filled with new experiences - flashing this, moving that. A virtual amusement park of sight and sound experiences. All that you see is neat and cool as you make mental notes about the most impressive flashing moving "thingamajigs" for when you get your very own Web site.

Personal "home pages" abound. Everyone has one, wants one or at the very least knows bunches-o-people who have them. Once online for awhile however, those incessantly flashing graphics quickly become passé and downright annoying after you have seen them 100's of times. So, let's start by differentiating between "home pages" and Web sites.

Home pages are for folks who want to show off their hobbies, share family photos with those across the country, post their resumes, have a calendar of the club and group activities they are involved in. Basically, noncommercial fun and informational. That is one of the great things about technology is the ease of access and use to anyone who makes even minimal efforts to get the basic knowledge. With Web page building software that literally requires no knowledge of code - anyone can post a page on the Web. That is one of the nifty things about technology - ease of access. If you believe some of the commercials on TV even your pet dog with the click of a mouse is putting up his very own "home page". With home pages, perception of credibility and legitimacy are simply not a concern. Your friends and family who know and love you will look at your home page and think how great it is simply because you made it.

Then, there are real Web sites. Those useful tools that entrepreneurs and businesses of every size, type and industry can use to build brand awareness, market their products and services, service current customers and attract new ones. However, you never hear anyone tell you about all those unknown pitfalls that are just waiting for you to fall into if you do not approach your Web site as you would any other form of marketing. From business cards to brochures (Admit it, we all notice when someone hands you a home made business card or brochure. Even with the best of effort and intentions they are, well, a bit cheesy.) and advertising for print media, most smart business owners realize they need to partner with those that have the skill and experience to create materials that allow their business to be portrayed the way they need to be to be successful. To ensure they are perceived the way their business must be to build confidence and draw in those looking for their expertise to contact them.

Why is it that when it comes to a Web site some otherwise smart businesses choose the H.S. kid next door who is a "Web designer" or the software on sale at Wal-Mart to do it themselves? Because most simply do not realize all the nuances and variables that can cause even the best efforts to be perceived as unprofessional and low-end - and the cost is more attractive, little to none. The horror stories I hear about these scenarios on a daily basis are quite disheartening. We'll, save that for another article. This leads to one other important factor you need to know about before you jump online for commercial gain - it takes money to make money - no way around it. Make your decisions based on a sales pitch or claims of "economical" or "affordable" (secret code words for cheap) and that is exactly how you will be perceived, like it or not.

Online - perception IS reality! That statement cannot, should not be minimized one iota. Whether you agree or disagree with other points in this article, this one has no fudge factor. To do so, to assume that one can with a software program create that cash-cow Web site you hear about so often in the media, either means you haven't been online long or will believe anything that can convince you to not spend the necessary money to do things the right way. Believe me, there is a entire industry online solely in existence to take advantage of what you don't know to sell you something that will not provide the results that you would like. This lack of knowledge is also what many "Web designers" count on you to not have (mostly because most have never run a business before themselves), because if you had even a little bit more information, you most likely would not trust them with the responsibility of your online image.

Heck, I see advertising all the time touting a software program and some free Web space so that you too can slap together a Web site and go IPO is six months! Don't count on it. Whether or not you or your pocketbook likes it, a home-brewed site will look home-brewed and will produce minimal results. Compared to traditional media - newspaper display ads, Magazine, TV or Cable advertising, the Web still is the most cost effective bangs for the buck when done properly over any other marketing venue available to businesses and entrepreneurs. However, do not just assume some software combined with a lack of knowledge will ever compensate for:

• The fact that every version of the two most popular browsers, Microsoft IE and Netscape, versions 2,3,4,5 and 6, will display the very same code your software creates differently with varying degrees of effect on the layout and appearance of your site. In some cases breaking the site entirely making it unusable. You don't even want to get into all the other lesser-known but used browsers that are out there and how they display your site! Then add how AOL’s various versions, WebTV and other operating systems will wreck havoc with your design.

  Let’s not forget monitor resolutions (You can always tell when a site was designed on a 17"+ monitor when you are relegated to having to horizontally scroll back and forth just to read the site. NEWS FLASH: the whole world is NOT on mongo monitors set at 1024 resolution!). Only knowing code intimately, because you wrote it, will allow you to code to ensure the site degrades gracefully taking into consideration all the various browser’s interpretation of your code. Even those of us who have been hard coding for years learn a new trick or two every now and then that helps us to deal with the multitude of browsers and the evolving standards we need to at the very least make an honest effort to meet.

  Many times redundant coding is required to accomplish the same look consistently across platforms. And, while you are troubleshooting and taking the time to learn all this stuff - who is running your business? Professionals like myself who do this as a serious profession are literally learning and honing our skills 10-12 hours every day - it IS our business. If you truly have a healthy growing business, you are too busy to learn a completely new profession, keep up with the technology as it changes and run your business effectively.

• The fact that many of those online do not have access to fast connectivity. That nifty DSL or cable hook up you just received is a luxury. Users would sell their first born here in northern Illinois to have those speeds (well 2 of the 5 of them who are online anyway). I am relegated to 56K (at home the older phone lines only connect @ 26.4K) and the users right over the border in Wisconsin in some cases only have 28K connections to choose from. Designing with this information in mind ensures you will not loose those potential customers who will not wait for your 100K (100,000 bytes file size) logo to download to decide if they want to do business with you.

• The fact that a decent percentage of Web surfers may not have the latest version browser or plug-in to view that nifty new moving "thingamajig" or scrolling "doohickey" you have on your site. Some online have older computers with limited disk drive space and RAM resources. They couldn't fit the latest browser on their box if they wanted to. Many just don't want to and do not run out to their browser of choice’s Web site the minute a new version is available. This is where knowing your market's user habits and demographics will greatly effect the design of your site. I am always surprised when looking at the statistics of any of the 100's of Web sites I have developed - these users are out there and in numbers that need to be taken into consideration. On the Web, just because you can doesn't mean that you do - especially if it prevents potential customers from using your site.

• The fact that unless you have some experience in creating graphics for the online environment, combined with a good sense of color and design (Did you know there are only 216 completely Web safe colors?) your site will look like it was developed as a class project by Mrs. Crabtree’s 3rd grade. Use of color and creation of quality graphics that not only load quickly but are pleasant to the eye takes lots of skill. If you are not good at knowing what colors go well together or you have been told at any time in your life that your clothes do not match - that’s a clue to not do your own site.

• The fact that because a lot of sites online are not easy to use, are broken, not organized, visually pleasing or kept current raises the bar for "real" businesses to separate themselves from appearing to be part of that crowd. Look like a professional by investing in your business and potential customers assume you know what you are doing - it is called credibility. I have lost count of the sites I have left or even hit the stop button and did not let the site completely load because of my initial impression of their legitimacy. Why would I bother spending my time at a tacky broken site - I wouldn't do business with anyone with a low-end poorly designed site anyway. Sorta makes you wonder what else they don't get or where else they may have cut corners....

• The fact that the type of Web server or host that you choose to store your Web site can and will effect how well your site operates and what tools you will have available to grow, market and evolve your site. Not being aware of these variables can lead to disaster for even the best Web site.

• The fact that once you launch your baby, the really, really hard work begins. 8,000,000,000+ Web pages are currently online . . . hmmmmmm . . .how do you seriously think that those interested in your product or service will find you? Oh yeah, you register with Search Engines once and that will do the trick. When it doesn't, you start registering weekly, daily until you notice that some of the most popular Search Engines penalize sites that do certain things too often (or even in some cases too little) by dropping their sites and banning them entirely. The Search Engines are a "science fair project"! Will be for some time to come. You need to be aware of and study all the variables and changes that occur on a regular basis with each individual search site and the criteria they use to list your site in order to ensure those variables are in place so that you can attain relevant listings. If you don't want to learn all of that and keep up with it as needed to continue to get found, you need to partner with someone who does.

  The pay-for-listing model has become prevalent in the last couple of years. Why should Search Engines be expected to list and categorize every file someone with a computer and phone line puts up on a Web server? The answer is they won’t be much longer! There is too much junk, unreliable, unwanted, uninteresting pages to list. How about listing only quality sites, that are credible businesses or offer useful information of true value? What a concept! Here again, lack of knowledge on how each Search Engine list sites (which each has their own unique algorithm that they change constantly) as well as what you need to do to maintain optimum listings will ensure diminish results.

• The fact that how you personally are perceived from your e-mail address to your written replies will either impress those thinking of doing business with you or send them diving for the back button. If you are on AOL and have actually read this article this far, don’t wait another minute, get yourself a real ISP connection and get off AOL! Now - no better yet - yesterday! To those a little more experienced with the online gig - AOLers are those who tend to be the rudest, most unwilling to actually learn about the technology in which they are participating, assume that they can say, do and expect whatever they want. Anyone dare say, do or point out that an AOLer’s perceptions were incorrect will get sworn at, flamed, hung up on or even disowned. Why doesn’t your site work for them anyway even though they don’t have their system/software configured correctly? How dare you expect them to know or practice E-mail Etiquette and Netiquette? (Netiquette BTW, has been around for well over a decade - way before the majority starting get online due to the WWW.)

  Do you want this perception tacked on to your online image by virtue of your e-mail address? Didn’t think so. Anything is better for business purposes than having aol.com as your e-mail address. Better yet make sure your Web server allows you to alias your ISP address and use your dot com address as your e-mail identity. That’s what I call professional! Someone who isn’t taking the path of least knowledge rather embracing new things so that they can be successful. Regardless of what they have to learn, get used to or the cost involved. Those are the businesses that attain long-term success!

Those who are successful in business both on and off-line know that the image they portray to prospective customers will determine the ongoing health of their enterprise. If you are perceived as cutting corners, not considering the importance of detail, using a tool such as technology incorrectly, inefficiently and haphazardly - would you do business with you? Nope.

So, what do you prefer? Having a "home page" or a real Web site? Your answer to this question, your commitment to making sure everything is in place to be as successful as you can be will determine whether potential customers contact you to do business or shrug their shoulders and hit the back button. How successful do you want to be? The choices are yours to make or not make for that matter and will proportionately effect your outcome. Online, perception is the only reality that counts.

About the Author:
Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse who has played @ www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular Software, Programming and Web Design Cheat Sheets @ www.LearnAndThrive.com

Publication or use of this article on or off-line without written permission from the author is prohibited. If you would like to use my articles on your Web site or in your publication, contact me for details.