Web and graphic resources: Suppliers, and DIY

If you're serious about making your business a success, then one of the best ways to invest in your business is with a professional website, look, and logo.

If you get your nephew, friend or local student to knock up a cheap website for you then that is exactly the impression prospective customers will get when they arrive at your website - cheap. And if you cut corners on how your business appears, they'll wonder where else you cut corners on your products or services.

OK, so perhaps you're on a very tight budget - many businesses are, especially if they're a startup.

If you're willing to get your hands dirty, and you have plenty of time to spare, then you'll be able to put together a website yourself. A basic website is fairly straightforward to get going - and depending on what your business does, you may not even need to build a website at all: for example, if you craft jewellery or goods, then setting up a store with one of the below merchant stores can be all you need to sell online.

Please note: Do-it-yourself websites have a lot of flaws. Unless you've spent many years studying and training with website design, you simply won't know or understand the intricacies behind design - why things go in certain places, why things are or aren't used, designing for different experiences (someone on a pc vs someone on their smartphone, for instance), and so on. While having a simple DIY website can do for the short term, you'll notice a significant improvement once you're able to invest the money in hiring a professional designer or design studio to built a strong, attractive website for you.