Attention all business owners! Do you know the answer to this question: Who gets to keep the website after you divorce your webmaster?

Just like in a marriage, it all depends on the pre-nuptial agreement (contract). Do you have one?

My personal disclaimer: Some of this information may be about legal issues; however this article is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. I am not an attorney nor do I play one on webTV therefore you should consult with an attorney familiar with the laws concerning internet and intellectual property.

Ok, now on with the story, the short version. . .

Here's the situation, for whatever reason the client decided not to pay their annual bill for web hosting services. Even though there were several attempts to reach the client the bill went unpaid for more than 90 days. As a result, the hosting was cancelled and the site was removed from the server.

Several months later the client sent this exact message: "you have my website and I need you to let me know how to get it back, like I said before I paid you money to build it so....? that money had nothing to do with hosting or anything".

Just because you paid for the development of your website does not mean you own it. There are Intellectual Property laws designed to protect the creator and to encourage the creator to create. If you hired a company they own the software development and website design produced by its employees. If you hired an independent contractor you must obtain a written "assignment" of the copyright in the commissioned work from them.

Most business owners unknowingly give their webmaster complete control over their business website. Even if you don't have a pre-nuptial agreement (contract) or own your website you can still maintain some control. While you and your webmaster are honeymooning be sure you can document the answer to these questions:

1. What software was used to develop the website?

• Exact name
• Version
• Software website

2. How to access the code?

3. Where is the code located on the server?

4. How to change the content?

• Graphics
• Text

5. How to create a weekly back up?

6. How to grant access to additional users?

7. How to obtain the master copies of your website design?

As a business owner, how many people realize their webmaster is like their spouse? Voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce), not many! Just like in marriage a prenuptial agreement (contract) is a practical solution to dealing with the risks and problematic topic of who gets to keep the website after your divorce.

Web site builders are online tools which anyone can use to build a professional looking Web site without programming and have it hosted instantly. No software to buy, no code to learn, all you need is to be a little Internet savvy and know how to click your mouse.

Most business owners today know that having a web site is an essential component of marketing. In the past, the choices were to hire a professional web designer, hire a local teenager to create a site for mall money, or learn to do it yourself. Often the last two options, which were the least expensive, were how small businesses had to go. The results are often not what businesses need to grow, reach, and impress new potential customers.

If you operate, manage or are the owner of a business, you surely must realize the increase in e-commerce taking place today. Many businesses find themselves searching for the best way to increase their exposure on the internet, and for most a website is the first course of action. As most businesses operate on firm budgets, finding cost effective solutions are usually one of the first thoughts when looking to make new purchases. When it comes to creating a website there are many affordable software programs that can produce professional results. Business software should be capable of handling your needs today and in the future. Business are always changing, adding new products, changing or removing old products, offering specials, having sales, etc. By choosing a business website builder over a professional web designer you will be able to make changes to your website whenever you want to. Another benefit is that you will be avoiding the high costs associated with developing the website and costs for making any necessary changes.

Website Builder tools advantages to you are increased revenue, cost control, caters to the large demand existing for web designing in the SME sector and can increase the client base without adding to your overhead. The advantage that your customers gets is a professional quality website, up and running in minutes and a User friendly and easily customizable interfaces and gives a complete website with all its frills and features and Sleek and attractive professional designs.

As more and more people are starting their own small/home business many are finding that having a website is an important factor to consider. When one starts to consider building a website, especially the novice, many questions arise including.... can I create a website myself or should I hire a professional?

Hiring a professional is a great way to go if you can afford to. Although there are several things to keep in mind: how much will it cost; how much will ongoing maintenance cost; what will changes cost; how long will changes take, etc. As a result, many people opt to build their own website and begin searching for software that can easily help them.

As you start searching for an easy web site builder, there are some factors that you should take into consideration so that your new software will serve you now and the future.

One of the first things to consider is your computer ability. If you despise computers and software and find them confusing and frustrating then building your own website can be quite a task, one that you may not want to finish. However, if you enjoy working with computers and learning new things or if you just have the patience to stick with it, then building a website is within your grasp. If you still feel that you want to build your own site you should choose software that is easy to use and user friendly.

There is quite a variety of easy web site building software on the market today. In addition, some of the software available today is very expensive, geared more for the professional web designer, and come with a huge learning curve.

A very important factor to consider, one that will vastly improve the ease of the program, is whether or not it includes a WYSIWYG editor. WYSIWYG stands for "what you see is what you get" and if you purchase a product with this feature you will be creating your website in an environment similar to a word processor - so if you are comfortable using a word processor creating a website shouldn't be too much for you.

In the past, the options for small businesses to get a site developed have changed dramatically. There are now sophisticated "site builder" tools available to small business owners, bundled with many web hosting packages. By using templates, and a content management system to manage updates to the site, it became easier to set up and maintain a web site, and many development companies have canned this functionality, for a fee. Hosting providers are increasingly offering tools to automate the web site building process, and with good reason. This new option has many benefits, as long as the business owner recognizes that there are trade offs and limitations to getting a web site this way.

One of the biggest attractions for site building tools is the cost. It won't necessarily cost less to get your site this way, but it does provide a way to spread the cost over time.

Many people are concerned with building their own website, fearing boring designs and complexity. However, it is now becoming apparent that there are many custom web site builder software products on the market that promise dynamic layouts, professional templates, and user friendly web design tools. The professional web designers know there are a few more things to know, but sometimes they find some irony in the fact that web developers, in their quest to improve and better the web, have made themselves "optional". Most site building tools today are very robust, making it simple to add forms, searching, maps, guest books, calendars, and a whole variety of elements to a web site. Even better, the hosting company sometimes offers an entire suite of services - the site builder, email marketing, search engine optimization and statistics, all in one package along with the hosting.

So, why would anyone hire a professional? First, the site building tools, though increasingly robust, often lack in design and layout flexibility. For example, they might depend on a standard layout that has a banner across the top, menu down the side. If you want to have your navigation across the top and perhaps a sub banner under it, you might not have that option. Many businesses have already outgrown their first or second site, and want something customized to their business. Since all site builders differ, it is possible that you could want features and functionality within your site which is not available within the system. Still, some site builders support development languages like PHP, making it possible to customize the site with the help of a programmer. Some site builders include ecommerce, but they do not all do it the same way. A few utilize PayPal® - but not credit cards. Some use a proprietary payment processing service and won't accommodate anything else. The bottom line is that it is important to look at sites that were built using the tool you're considering and research all of the features that are included; to be sure that everything you want to do is possible.

There is also a possibility that the service will require you to keep some branding on the site telling people that you used their tool. This is more common with the free site builders - which pay for themselves by putting ads on your site. If your goal is to build a business web site, it's really not worth sacrificing your professional image by getting something free, which screams CHEAP.

A tool can make things happen - but if you don't know what to make happen, it is either a useless tool or a dangerous one. There is a learning curve to knowing how to present information online (called information architecture in the profession), as well as for using the site builder. In other word, the fuller featured the tool; the more there is to learn. If you aren't familiar with color theory, use of typography, information architecture, navigation and interface design, page layout and design, you can potentially make something that will hurt your business more than help it. So, unless you are already computer and web savvy, figuring out all the features within your web hosting and site builder package can be time consuming and frustrating.

Fortunately, there are ways that a small business can take advantage of these new options and still create a functional and professional web site. One way is simply to take the time to research the available tools, and find the one that has the most features and flexibility, meeting your functional requirements. In other words, spend the time to learn the things a seasoned pro would bring to the table. The internet is a massive library of "how to" information, where you can literally teach yourself anything - and with enough time spent, you could potentially learn how to layout information, what colors and fonts work well together, how to conduct your marketing online and optimize the site for search engines.

Another approach would be to hire a professional designer simply to get you "off the ground" by handling the administrative set up of your new site package, creating the look of the site and developing the initial structure. That person could also teach you how to manage the content and make changes by yourself going forward. This middle ground approach ensures that your site benefits your business and makes a good impression. Depending on whether you use an editing tool or a site builder, you may still be able to take advantage of "pay as you go" pricing and the easy content management features of a site builder.

The first step for a small business owner thinking about having a web site needs to be an honest assessment of how much time, money, talent, patience and computer savvy he or she has, with a clear understanding of the available options. Once this is determined, any small business which needs to be online can be.

In addition, most dynamic website building software programs incorporate other useful tools that aid in the construction of a impressive site layout. Many programs include an html editor, text editor, and a WYSIWYG editor, making it easy for the novice or professional to achieve great results. There are many important factors to consider when purchasing an html editor / website builder. On of the most important benefits, in my opinion, is selecting software that can handle your ever growing business, today and in the future.

Personal websites and business may not go hand-in-hand as far as you are concerned, but I urge you to think again. If you want to sell something, you may need to "sell yourself" first. People enjoy doing business with someone they know and like. More importantly, they want to know that they can trust you.

We are actually able to transact business all over the world due to today's technology. The problem with that can be a lack of personal service. However, with the internet, and especially with personal websites, we can feel as if we know someone that we have never actually met. We can know what a person looks like, we can know the sound of their voice, we can know all about their family, hobbies, dreams, future goals, etc.

When someone is surfing the web looking for a way to work from home, they are also looking for someone to partner with. Someone to mentor them and show them the way. They want to feel comfortable with a prospective future business partner.

If you want them to consider joining your opportunity, you have to be visible on the internet. You have to be willing to get personal and reveal yourself to them. Your site should be warm and inviting. It should provide information about you and your business opportunity. Give them a way to contact you.

This really is the way to gain business partners from all over the world, or from just the good old U.S. if your company is not international. Think about what you were looking for when you were searching for a home business. I don't know about you, but I felt a connection with my sponsor. I felt as if I knew her just by looking at her website.

That is what you want to create. You want to seem warm, friendly, and approachable. You want your reader to feel as if they already know you. A lady contacted me via email recently who was interested in my candle business. She practically told me her life story in that email, and it is probably because she felt like she knew me. She had seen my site and already knew all about me.

That is a good thing. It means that she felt as if I was someone she could talk to candidly. She must have thought that I would be approachable and would be receptive to her. Not everybody who contacts you will be so open. They may be wary of you and your business, but they contacted you because they found something of interest. This is when you provide them with honest answers to all their questions. It is also where you give them that personal attention that they are seeking.

Their state of mind when they contact you is not important. The fact that they made a connection is what matters. The reason for the connection was that they found your personal website and liked something they saw there. They were able to contact you because you provided them with either a phone number, email address, or both.

Do you see how this works? Prospects come to you. You do not have to "beat the streets" or chase your friends and family in order to build your business. This is not yesterday's network marketing, it is the new way. Believe me, it is also the best way. Many of yesterday's methods gave us a bad rap because they were so annoying.

Personal websites and business work well together. Get your own site up soon. It doesn't have to be fancy; just informative. Keep it simple and see what happens. I am sure that you will be pleased with the results. Remember to advertise your website and tell your friends about it. You cannot just build it and hope they will come.