DO I HAVE TO USE HTML?

Since the web is such a new medium and constantly changing, many aspects of web marketing are not well developed. Sadly, HTML is one the these areas. Now, that's the bad news. The good news is that a few kind souls have taken pity on those of us who are "programming deficient" and created some easy to use HTML web tools.

Web Wizard and other web building tools for example, is an easy to install and easy to use tool for making web pages. It walks the novice through step by step in making a nice, clean web page. You won't be able to do anything super fancy, but it really doesn't look too bad when you are all finished.

Web building programs are not only easy-to-use web page building tools, but some are still free.

Will a simple, clean home page like the ones you can create with programs like Web Wizard be good enough to get your program launched on the web? You bet it will; in fact, it might be the best thing you could do. The ultimate success of marketing on the web is based on the quality of the goods and/or service being offered. A fancy home page might temporarily makes a poor offering, but it will never overcome whatever else is lacking in your business.

There are actually advantages to having a simple home page---fast download time for example. Take a look at the Silicon Graphics home page (http://www.sgi.com). This is a beautiful page, but it takes awhile to download. Since SGI is selling high end graphics, they can justify this condition, but most other web marketers can't. Many surfers will bail out if the download takes too long, so a simple page has its advantages. A simple page is also easier to change. No matter how careful you are in setting up a home page, there will always be something you find which will need to be altered. If you start with a simple home page, you can make the changes yourself and save time, aggravation and sales.

OK, you've run your home page for a time and you really want a better looking page. What about hiring a professional to make your page really sparkle? At this point it is a great idea. You know what you really need, what you want, and what it is worth to you. Hire a professional and pay him/her what he/she is really worth.

The bottom line, you don't HAVE to learn HTML to market on the web successfully.