In a word. . .YES!!!

If you plan on designing your own small business website, even if you use WYSIWYG tools like Dreamweaver or Frontpage, you still need to know HTML. It's the basic language of the web. Before I go into my rant listing the reasons why, here are a couple of links to basic HTML tutorials: Davesite.com, W3Schools.com. These will get you started.

Here's my list of reasons why you need to learn HTML (Feel free to add your own in the comments.). . .

1. Enables you to have much greater control over the design of your site.

Even tools like Dreamweaver (which is my WYSIWYG editor of choice) don't always write the cleanest source code, or precisely obey your every command. Being able to edit the source code helps you to troubleshoot problems you may encounter.

2. WYSIWYG is really WYSIWYHTG!

In other words, what you see is what you HOPE to get. Again, things don't always work like you want them too, and having knowledge of HTML gives you the ability to ensure your site has the look you desire.

3. It's not that difficult to learn.

As programming languages go, HTML is kindergarten. I'm not a programmer. Languages like ASP, PHP, and Perl are Eygptian hieroglyphics to me. HTML is not. Once you understand the basic syntax, you can ramp up quickly, believe me. I've taught many non-technical people how to use basic markup tags.

4. Because I said so!

OK, that's perhaps not the best reason, but it worked on my kids (until they turned age 12), so I thought I'd try it on you! Trust me. You really do need to learn. Once you commit to it, you'll find your own reasons why.

If you're a small businessperson attempting to build or edit your own site, feel free to email me with questions you may have about HTML. I'll be more than happy to help.