We know that a website is essential for any business (if you’re struggling to remember why – check out this post), but it is a big investment. Whether you’re investing time, energy or money, you need to be prepared to make that investment.

However, the best part about investing is that you get something in return and, if done well, the value of a website will pay for itself many times over. Always keep in mind that investing in a bad website is much more costly that investing in a good website.

When it comes down to making a website how do you go about it? What options do you have available and how do you get started?

Making the decision between doing it yourself and hiring a web designer can be overwhelming and some businesses put off making that decision so long that they don’t even get around to building their website!

I want to provide you with all the information you need to make the best decision for you and your business.

Below I’ll talk through the pros and cons of a DIY website vs. hiring a professional website designer.

 

DIY website

The DIY website is exactly what it sounds like… You build it yourself! 

You find the platform you want to build your website on. You register your domain and find the right hosting plan. You establish your own site map, construct your sales funnel, write your content and find your images. You design your layout and construct the site on a web design platform. You are in charge of implementing SEO, security, testing and maintaining your website. 

The idea of doing it yourself is certainly enticing to some as it’s “free” since you don’t have to pay a professional. However, DIY builders are not as free as they look at first glance. They often have premium versions, paid options and additional costs you don’t realise initially that wind up adding up.

There are a lot of responsibilities in building a website and you’ll want to finish these tasks completely if you want to establish a successful site that looks fantastic and actually works for you. Before committing to developing your own website, you should consider what your website goals are and how much effort you are willing to put in.

If your goal is simply to get online and potentially provide some extra snippets of information to clients then this option might be for you. You might be able to do it yourself and it may not take you too long to do it depending on your computer skills.

However, if you want to build a stunning website that converts leads into sales and helps you reach goals like booking more clients, attracting customers and generating greater revenue, you should expect to devote more time and effort to it. 

 

Who would benefit from a DIY website?

– A new business owner

You may not have the same budget as a well-established company when you first start out. It’s more important to begin developing a basic website for your business than it is to build something costly and elaborate at first. It’s difficult to forecast where your business will be in a few months so spending all of your money on a website that will need to be modified and updated on a regular basis may not be the best decision.

– Someone who wants to learn a new skill

Your own website is an excellent place to start if you want to learn how to create and maintain a website.  You have no choice but to learn how to edit, update, and manage all aspects of your website when you design your own. As your business changes and expands, you have unlimited design freedom and can make as many revisions as you desire! This way, your website can serve as a portfolio of your work, and you’ll be able to make all of the necessary modifications without having to go through someone else.

– You want to save money upfront

It’s no secret that hiring a web designer costs money! While it is usually always a profitable investment, it is not always feasible for new business owners. You do not have to hire a professional to build a website with the help of DIY website builders. You may not get the quality and functionality that you would get with a professional but even if you don’t consider yourself to be tech-savvy, you can create a website.

Cons of a DIY website

– Limited customisation options

If you want to build a truly personalised design or develop a high-converting website, you may quickly find yourself in over your head.

– Challenging

Building a website requires some level of technical knowledge and skill. It might be challenging to make your website look and perform exactly the way you want it to if you don’t have any design knowledge. You could overlook critical web design methods that can help you convert more visitors into paying customers or help grow your business in other ways.

– Time-consuming

Despite what website builders promise you, it takes time to build a website from scratch. The time that you could be using on other areas of your business. The time you might spend learning design tools, building your website and troubleshooting errors could wind up costing you more in lost business revenue than the cost of someone doing it for you. A website is one of the most important tools for your business, but if building that website distracts you from running and growing your business you should seriously consider outsourcing your web design.

– Hidden costs

While DIY website builders often advertise low upfront costs, there are several factors that can contribute to additional expenses that add up in the long run such as plugins, themes, custom domains, third-party integrations and much more. 

 

Hiring a website designer

Hiring a website designer means that you will be paying a professional (like me) to build a website for you. 

A good website designer will take the time to learn about your company. This is not only the niche you’re in, but also what makes it unique, and then design and construct a website that’s tailored to you.

Professional web design will give your company a distinct and professional appearance, allowing it to stand out from the crowd while remaining functional and user-friendly.

There are some things you should consider when hiring a web designer. 

The first is the project’s scope. Have a clear concept of what you want to be included in your site and whether you’ll need to link to or incorporate any features or elements in your web design. Before hiring a designer, go over this with them in detail to ensure that they have the abilities and tools to accomplish exactly what you want—at a price that fits your budget.

The second thing to consider is the web design package.  What is included in the package?  Can you add things on for an extra cost or do you need to look somewhere else? Not all web designers include all of the features you may want in their packages. Be sure you know what you’ll need for your website launch and double-check that it’s covered before you book.

The last thing to think about is the timeline. When do you plan to launch your website? Do you have a deadline? Some designers are available to begin working on your project straight away, while others are booked for months. Some web designs can be completed in a week, while others can take months.

 

Who would benefit from hiring a professional web designer?

– Any company that has a solid business plan in place

If you have laid a solid foundation and devised a good strategy for the future you are in a good place to hire a website designer. If you’re spending money on a professional website design, you want to make sure you know what you’re doing, have plans for your business and won’t be completely changing direction in a few months.

– Anyone that can afford to invest in their business

Why wait when you have the funds to invest? You’ll almost certainly have a website that you adore, and it will probably look and function better than if you built it yourself! Plus, you’ll most likely be able to share your website with the rest of the world much faster than if you did it yourself!

– If building your own website is taking or will take up way too much of your time.

You know that you don’t have the time to build your own website and you want someone to take the burden from you. You want to focus on your own business duties while someone else builds your website in the background. Or you’ve started building your website but didn’t realise how much time it would take or it’s not turning out how you envisioned.

– A small business that knows its target market, customers and ideal clients and the messaging they want to portray.

If you know who you’re talking to and who you want to attract, a professional website designer can take this information and turn it into a fully functional and aesthetically pleasing website that brings your message to life and attracts your target clients. 

 

Cons of hiring a professional

– Waiting list

Depending on the web designer, it’s possible that you’ll have to wait a few weeks or months before your website is live. However, let’s be honest: how long do you think it’ll take you to DIY it? It’s likely that building something with a web designer will still be quicker than doing it alone. Isn’t it going to be worth the wait?

– Upfront financial commitment

Hiring a web designer is a financial commitment for your company. However, that is an investment in your business and you’ll recoup your money many times over in the time you save, the clients you meet, and the business goals you’ll begin to achieve

 

To summarise, a DIY website may be for you if:

• You have a limited budget but are willing to put in the work to learn how to use WordPress. You have a good sense of design and are technologically savvy.
• You don’t need your website to rank well in Google because your business gets enough visitors from another source (for example, a physical location with a lot of foot traffic).

However, you might want to hire a web designer if:

• You want to have a professional-looking website for your brand, marketing, and sales operations.
• Ranking well in Google is critical for generating quality leads and drawing customers to your company.
• You don’t have the time or tech skills to build your own website
• You have the funds to hire a skilled website designer

I hope this blog has helped. If you decide you’d like to work with me, build a website together or just want to enquire about my services, send me a message or an email and we can have a chat.