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Quite often people don't realize what they're getting into when they set out to make a web site. While it's not hard to get up a simple and professional site, especially with the number of nice templates around, it can be discouraging when your site doesn't have the same nifty features as, say, amazon.com.

The first thing to remember is those big-name sites spend A LOT of money and time on their web sites. If you want similar functionality, you should expect to pay someone else a lot of money to do it. But if you're looking for a basic site that gets your name out there and perhaps even runs a few ecommerce orders, you can definitely do something decent on your own.

If you don't have the time to spend on building your own web site, but have the money to hire someone else to do it, there are plenty of web designers out there looking for work. We've found that it's best to go with someone local enough where you can meet them face to face. A lot of misunderstandings and miscommunication can be cleared up that way. You'll also want to check out their work and make sure that their design style fits what you're looking for.

If there's no one local that you know, here are a few designers that you can contact for custom work (in alphabetical order). We know each of them personally.

• Our friends at A+ TWC Graphic Design provide services in almost all parts of the web design process, including design, database work, and hosting, in both FrontPage and Dreamweaver.
• John Galt's Templates takes limited custom work jobs. For more involved web sites (for example, with a database or integrating ecommerce), you can also contact Advantrics Design.
• Lipstick Monkey Design specializes in FrontPage web sites as well as database and ASP work.

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