Or, more properly, Web site whoas--the things that make creating a new Web site such an agonizingly slow process. At the start of a client project last year, Kim Hickok, Solutions Consultant for Web Instinct, said "It will take longer than you think it will."

Like Zeno's dichotomy paradox, if you accept this thought, you then think it will take longer. But now, because you think it will take longer, it will take even longer. Kim is right, but why?

Core Business

A thoughtful Web site design or redesign should cause you to grapple with the very soul of your business. What exactly are you doing? What is your product? Your service? Your target market? And, most important of all, what sets you apart from your competition?

When you've answered these questions, you can begin to think about the look and feel of the site--the design and content. Should it be edgy and trendy? Beautiful? Conservative? Then you must confront the structural essence of your site--the navigation. Get this right, and the rest is relatively easy. But getting the navigation right is challenging.

A current client took this lesson to heart and painstakingly revised the navigation to detail every element of their business. It slowed the process for sure, but in the end they will have a useful tool to market their services. In addition to attracting new customers, they are well positioned to offer additional services to new and existing clients.

Life Intervenes

My clients, who are all solopreneurs or very small businesses, don't have a lot of spare cycles in their work days. So their own promotional work slips to the bottom of the pile. I know this well as I have the same problem. I've been working on a new Web site for a year. Then, over the holidays, I decided that I actually have two different businesses and am currently considering two Web sites. I would normally try to talk a client out of this solution, so I need to think long and hard about my options.

But the struggle is worth the effort. Your Web site is the hub of your online presence. Everything else from blogs to Facebook is designed to push traffic to your Web site and secure loyal fans. Like living in a custom home you've built, a Web site that truly represents your business is a joy.

If you think it's time to take on a new Web site, be in touch. As your Web site midwife, I'll take you through the process to a happy outcome, but I can't promise how long it will take.

To start your year off right, The New York Times published "10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology." It's definitely worth a read. 

My Take

The first recommendation is to get a smartphone. As loyal readers know, I took the plunge last July and wrote a follow-up article in September. The learning curve was truly huge, and now I've plateaued. There's more I should learn, but comfort breeds inaction.

I'm with The New York Times here. If you don't have a smartphone, you should get one. Be sure to check the data plans available from your carrier. My $15 per month arrangement with AT&T works really well. I get 200 megabytes each month and the most I've ever used is 60. Why? There's free WiFi everywhere, leaving my megabytes in the AT&T bank. And since it's smart, my phone knows when there's WiFi nearby and notifies me. So most of the time, I do email and Web surfing via WiFi--at home or away.

The article also bashes Microsoft's Internet Explorer. I haven't used it in years. If you haven't already switched, check out Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. They are both free. I use Firefox. Google's Chrome is the new kid on the block. But, like all things Google, it may end up taking the lead. But it's not there yet.

The Cloud

Several of the article's recommendations deal with cloud computing. We went to online backup last year. The Times article recommends sosonlinebackup.com at $80 per year. We use Carbonite at $55. Likely there are other good ones as well. The process is somewhat painful to start with as the system needs to crawl around and copy everything. But after the first 48 hours, you're back to normal. If the system decides to backup when you're working (and it will, since that's its job), just hit pause and it will politely go away.

Besides your work files, you have other things to protect. Just think how devastated you would be if you lost all the holiday photos and videos you took with the new camera you got for Christmas.

Please share your observations on this topic, and I'll pass your insights on to readers in the February issue of Web Words.

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