Building a Web site is not like building a home. There are abstract similarities, but Web sites are virtual, not physical. With Web sites you can tear down a wall by touching a key. Even better, with a similar touch of the key, most applications enable you to replace what you just tore down.

But if you are new to Web-site design, the analogy of building a house can be useful. Like a home, you have plenty of decisions to make. You have to find a reliable Internet service provider (ISP). You probably already have a sense of what your Web site should cover, but soon you'll have to begin setting down the exact verbiage, look, and feel.

And therein enters the all-important design considerations: colors, shapes, sizes, frames, fonts, links, and content tables, to name only a few. And the number of collateral issues can also be overwhelming. For example, what about e-commerce, registering with search engines, measuring your audience, and advertising?

Building a Web site, particularly for a business, involves just as many considerations as building a house. But the analogy begins to diverge from reality when you consider the first, most fundamental Web-site design question you'll face: Build it yourself, or hire it out? Most of us would never attempt building our own homes. And yet building your own Web sites--even for something as important as a small or medium-sized business--is well within the realm of feasibility.

You've probably already watched some of your business associates do it, most likely with mixed success. Maybe you even saw your cousin Al set up his own site to share family photos across America Online. If Al can do it, you reason, anyone can.

The truth is, more and more people are setting up their own Web sites, particularly if it's for a small-to-medium-sized business. But doing it yourself is not for everyone. In Jaclyn Easton's book, "Striking It Rich.com" (Commercenet Press, 1999) she details "23 incredibly successful Web sites you've probably never heard of." Although it's true that most of these sites were created whole or in part by their owners, it's also true most of them depended on outside assistance.

Don't expect to do everything yourself, and don't give your age a second thought. The 23 sites reviewed in Easton's book were created by people from ages 25 to 63, with the average age being 40.

It's getting simpler to build your own Web site, particularly if all you're doing is setting up a few marketing pages. Some of the new tools you can acquire and learn how to use are truly amazing, and they're getting better. But while the capabilities of the tools are increasingly sophisticated, don't kid yourself-they're not for everyone.

Determining whether to build your own site depends upon several factors, none are easy to pin down, and all must be addressed by you, usually after copious soul-searching.

First, how much time do you have?

The single greatest reason an attempt to build your own Web site fails is because it takes too damn long. Even Web-site professionals consistently underestimate the amount of time it takes to build a Web site and do it right.

The preceding reference to the unparalleled ease with which Web sites can be built today is true, but it still takes time, sweat, and money. How much time? It depends. What kind of site do you want to build? If the first step involves nothing more than putting up marketing information from existing brochures, your task is relatively easy. Notice the word relatively.

The amount of time required to acquire Web-site tools, learn how to use them, and then build your site depends on how you respond to the other considerations outlined below.

How technical are you?

Just about everyone today drafts his or her own memos and e-mail. And if nothing else, that simple process introduces you to the nuances of a mouse, a keyboard, and, in most cases, the Windows operating system. But let's face it: Working on your own Web site is going to require a little more technical expertise and background than the typical user has.

For example, if you've decided to learn how to use PowerPoint to design your own presentations, then you've taken a step in the right direction. If you've not only figured out how to draft your own memos, but also how to use templates, the spell checker, bullets, and insert page headers, footers, and numbers, you're on the right track. And finally, it should go without saying that you must surf the Web, and often. Don't even think about creating your own Web site until you've taken up the mouse and begun browsing the Web on practically a daily basis. It's the only way to learn the fundamentals.

How technical are you willing to become?

Learning how to set up your own PowerPoint presentations is a simple first step. In fact, the interesting thing about learning all of the Microsoft Office applications is that these days, almost everything is created with the Web in mind.

If you create a nice PowerPoint presentation, you can easily save it to HTML, and set it up on your Web site. Ditto with Word, Excel, and Access, to name only a few.

The real issue is not what you have experience creating, but what you've done with it. For example, when you were working on your PowerPoint presentation, did you learn how to add graphics, or have the text cascade across the screen? Or when you were using Word to draft your memo, did you figure out how to use one of the standard Memo formats?

Your past willingness to learn even the most mundane computer applications is one way to gauge your willingness to learn what's required to set up your own Web site.

What kind of aptitude do you have for computing?

Not everyone cares for (or has an aptitude for) computers. Some people are naturally interested in playing with things that move across your screen, and some would rather go golfing. If golfing is your thing, and you have little or no interest in making your computer screen jump, your decision is easy: Stick to the greensward.

Are you planning to build the entire site by yourself?

Remember the home analogy? It might be better to think of your first Web site as a cabin. Most of us have friends who can assist us in some of the basic tasks required to build a cabin: mixing cement, digging holes, and hammering nails. Building your own Web site can involve a similar process.

We all know people who know how to work the Web. Some of these people might be willing to give of their time and expertise to help you, though not necessarily for free. As with building a cabin, you can hire outside help for some of the essential tasks.

For example, let's consider design. The most frequent mistake made by people building a new Web site is to rely on their own sense of design (or lack thereof). Most of us have no great sense of graphic design, particularly for something as important as a business Web site, and particularly for the Web. For some Web-site tasks, like design, it makes sense to hire outside assistance.

The preceding are just some of the things to consider in your quest to get online. The Web is for everyone, but the building of it might not be. We haven't discussed any of the wonderful tools available to assist you in your efforts, should you decide to build your own Web site. But trust us, there are more than imagination can conjure, and they're only getting better. The considerations we've outlined here are some of the more intangible, but ultimately important, ones you'll face in deciding whether or not to build your own Web site. Good luck!

Cary Griffith is president of The Electronic Book Co., a Minneapolis-based new media company.