The interim, so-so website

Getting a so-so site up quickly is probably worse than not having one. I'm not talking about placeholder pages. I'm talking about those sites that get built with Dreamweaver or Yahoo! in about 3 days until the business owner can find enough time (or money) to build a better site. What ends up happening is that you're setting the standard from the get go. And it's not a very good one. Sure, once the new, professionally created site is up and running, the bar gets raised. But is it too late? I think so. Having a "so-so" site up, especially if it's poorly done, will set the tone for your business' image and brand. If it looks cheap or thrown together, that's the impression you're going to give. Period. The amount of time and resources a quickie site can take can easily be magnified by constant tweaking, inexperience or even ego. That money, effort and time commitment can be much better spent with an experienced, professional web designer. Now, if the interim website is well-designed and, more importantly, **well-optimized for search engines**, then it's not such a bad thing. What it boils down to is the kind of message you want to get across from the get-go. Change isn't easy for a lot of people.