Opelousas Designer Weaves Helpful Web
Online marketer brings world of e-commerce to consumers' mousepads
By William Johnson
wjohnson@dailyworld.com
Daily World - Opelousas,
LA
Photo by Freddie Herpin
Karen Lagrange, owner of Karen Lagrange, specializes in creating Web sites ranging from personal pages to full business e-commerce sites.
While Karen Lagrange, owner of Karen Lagrange, has an office in Opelousas, she spends most of her time in cyberspace.
Lagrange has been a Web site designer for the last five years and has created scores of sites ranging from personal pages to full business e-commerce sites.
While located in Opelousas, living in cyberspace makes the entire world her market.
"Most of my clients are from Louisiana, but I have one customer in the United Kingdom, a couple in California, a couple in Florida. It is so awesome; I can work with people throughout the world," Lagrange said.
That world concept also works in reverse. Web site work - from design to creating graphics and logos to writing hard-hitting copy - is more than any one person can master.
"When I started, I wanted to learn everything. I learned you can't. It is constantly changing," Lagrange said.
What she did learn, though, is that one person doesn't need to know it all.
"If I can't do it, I can subcontract it out. I work with a network of people from throughout the world who have all kinds of Web experience. We all help each other out," she said.
While she can design a Web site for as little as $250, the upper limit depends on the customer.
"It is like building a house. You can have a 1,000-square-foot house or a 10,000-square-foot house, and what goes into it also makes a difference," Lagrange said.
She also provides domain name registration - creating the Web address people will use to find a site - for $25 a year; and Web hosting - providing a high-speed computer home for the actual Web site - starting at $100 a year.
"It is less than the cost of a one-time newspaper ad, and it is there on the Web seven days a week, 24 hours a day," Lagrange said.
While she can design sites with all the bells and whistles, she said she likes to keep it simple - it keeps your "load time" down and also helps with people being able to find you on a search engine. While most people come to her for business-related Web sites, there is no end to the possibilities.
"The biggest misconception is that you have to be about selling," Lagrange said. "It can be about providing information, you can take applications, make electronic payments. There is so much you can do."
She said she has some customers who are running blogs - interactive diaries on the Web. Others have created sites simply to share information.
"They use it to post new baby photos. Baseball teams use them to post their schedules and take applications," Lagrange said.
As with costs, the time it takes to create a site is up to the customer. A simple site can be up and running within a week.
At the low end is what she calls business card sites. "Basically it contains what you have on a business card - name, address, contact information," Lagrange said. These usually involve only a single screen page.
Up from that are brochure sites, something similar to a paper brochure that's usually from one to three pages.
Then there are the top-of-the-line sites - the e-commerce sites.
"They can be as small as two to three pages or as big as 50 or more," Lagrange said.
One of her passions is working with disability organizations. In fact, that is how she got started.
"My daughter has a development disorder. I've been an advocate since she was born," Lagrange said. "Now, I'm bringing advocacy into cyberspace."
She said Web design has given her a way to work at home so she can be there for her daughter.
"It has worked out well for me," Lagrange said.
Used with Permission - Daily World
Originally published February 6, 2005
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