A response we get sometimes when we’re discussing the building of websites with clients is that they have a relative (usually a teenaged boy) who’s made a website in IT at school. So surely they can build the company website, right? Usually not!

Is your 15-year-old son a qualified web developer? If so, brilliant – get him cracking with planning and make sure there’s a deadline set for the completion of the site. If not – er….! Either way, you may want to consider several points.

We get several new clients each year who have gone down this route and found that frustratingly progress has ground to a halt. The development of a site is a two-way street; the developer needs input from the client, and the client needs to make sure the project is moving in the right direction. Both of these elements are generally developer-driven; the client needs to be requested to supply information and imagery (quite often this can prove to be a bit of a battle), and the client needs to be prompted to offer feedback at key stages throughout the progression of the project. This is quite often beyond the concept of a teenager, or for someone who isn’t being paid a great deal in order to make it worth their while.

There’s also a great deal of “hidden” content involved. A site needs to load quickly. It needs to be visible to the search engines, and therefore rank higher when people are looking for similar site content. And it needs to look professional. If your 15-year-old son can do all this then get him on the job – otherwise…