• Is it comprehensive and helpful? 
• User-friendly? 
• Appealing to the eyes? 
• Well organized? 
• Up to date? 

You need your site to communicate the right message, but maintaining your website can be time consuming and tedious. Having it all taken care of by a professional Web designer is expensive, but doing it yourself, if you've tried it, borders on the impossible. 

Try Open-Source

Open-source software is a great option for those who want the best of both worlds. With programs like Joomla, you can have a clean, professional, and detailed website with all the bells and whistles, a system that allows you to update and edit your own content, and no Web coding experience necessary.

Joomla also has a large community, forums, and a library of extensions that make this a great choice for business owners. It's the reason Hathway Tech uses it to design its websites. And because most open-source software is free and constantly updated and developed by volunteers, you get a lot of bang for no extra bucks.

Standish Group reported in 2008 that open-source software models saves consumers about $60 billion a year. 

What is Joomla?

Joomla is an open-source Content Management Sysetme (CMS). That means you can go to the back end of your website and edit all of the pages using an easy interface.

You can have a blog and update it daily, write articles for your news section every few weeks, and post recent photos or announcements. Outdated information can be changed in a snap. And the many extensions available for Joomla can allow you to have a storefront on your website or send e-newsletters to mailing lists that viewers sign up for on your home page.

Usually these features cost a lot of extra money and require learning new programs. Many of Joomla's extensions, however, are also free, and they all work inside your Joomla website framework. Easy to learn, easy to update, almost an immediate impact. The site you're looking at right now was designed by Hathway Tech using Joomla open-source software. 

Prepare to Take Over 

To ensure your site is the best it can be, start with help from a Web designer with Joomla training. His or her job is to professionally and attractively design the site, tying in with your current branding and marketing strategies.

The site's organization and navigation should be built in a way that makes it consistent across the pages and user-friendly. Your Web designer will then build your site into Joomla's structure, preparing it for when you take over.

After the site is launched, instead of sending weekly requests for updated content and new features and receiving a pricey bill, you'll be able to manage your site yourself – saving money and increasing efficiency.

Your website should be bringing in customers and making you money, not consuming time and draining your pockets. Open-source software gives both web designers and business owners a wonderful opportunity to increase the quality of a website while being both cost and time efficient.

If bills and pushed deadlines have been causing your website to be neglected, outdated, or just plain ugly, give open-source software a look, particularly  Joomla. The message you're communicating on your website is a powerful one. What does your website say?

Jesse Dundon is CEO of Hathway, a creative digital agency based in San Luis Obispo, Calif. and developer of SLO-Business.com. Hathway specializes in improving brand awareness through digital media. With services ranging from Web development to design, social media to search-engine marketing, and a full range of digital media and corporate identity packages, Hathway is an excellent option for small- and medium-sized businesses looking to leverage the Web for more business. For more information, visit hathwaytech.com, call (805) 265-6863, or drop by Hathway Tech's offices 4251 S. Higuera St., Ste. 800.