When considering Web site design for your personal or business use, you have three options - paying a professional Web design firm, hiring a non-professional company or designing one yourself.

For a business, hiring a professional firm specializing in Web site design is the only way to go. One of the biggest reasons for this is image. And, on the Web, image is the only thing potential shoppers or clients have to judge your company.

People surfing the Web know the difference between good and bad, but only a small percentage of all the Web development companies have the resources to produce the quality sites that stand out and have what it takes to be successful on the Web.

It is vital to make educated decisions on color choice, layout and ease of navigation, interactivity and other concepts like how the site will work on different systems or even wireless environments.

Most professional firms will have backgrounds and capabilities such as photography, traditional graphic design, programming, multimedia, CD rom production and audio and video production. It is the combination of these skills and years of experience that you should look for when choosing a design company.

The bottom line is there are millions of Web sites out there and most of them are extremely bad. Two or three years ago, there was a rush to just get on the Web. If you don't have one of the few good sites, it will fail.

However, as with any booming product or service, there has been a huge number of people trying to jump on the Internet Design bandwagon. It is important to be weary of such companies.

It is common for inexperienced Web designers trying to compete in the commercial market to use programs designed to speed and automate the site creation process in order to cut costs and offer the cheapest solution possible. But, these solutions rarely will allow for advanced features such as customized message boards, calculators, databases and other items that will make your site useful to your visitors.

You should also watch out for companies eager to stuff a site with every latest feature or gadget available to designers. It is tempting for inexperienced designers to want to show off all the latest technology when an experienced firm will always keep the final goal of the client in mind when developing a site.

Anyone can go out and buy a template-based software package that will let you throw together sites and, technically, you could call yourself a Web designer. But, the point is, if you are going to start with this level of Web site, you could do it yourself, for free.

Plus, there is an abundance of resources on the Web if you are thinking of designing a Web site for your business or for your personal use.

First, a great place to start is Download.com (http://www.download.com). Here, you can find software that will help you build html pages and organize your site.

Next, I suggest visiting techtv (http://www.techtv.com) and doing a search for Web Workshop. Once you find the opening page of this section, you will see step by step information and links for creating and designing your site.

If you are looking for something a little more complete with additional advanced information, click over to Wired Digital Inc. Web Monkey (http://www.webmonkey.com). This site is respected among novices and advanced designers as a great resource.

Begin by clicking on the design link in the left margin. This will act as a great guide covering everything from fundamentals and concepts to technical descriptions on how to build graphics.

Like with any project, planning and organization are key to its success. Before beginning your Web design project, it is important to consider what you expect your site to do for you when complete.

For some people and most businesses, a professional solution is essential to the projects success. And, for others, researching and designing your own site is the right option.

Sunday, October 22nd, this series will continue with a detailed discussion about Web site hosting.