When it comes time to build a business website, you might find yourself trying to decide whether you should hire a professional or just do it yourself. Doing it yourself may be the cheaper option now, but how will it impact business in the future? We\’ll compare the good, the bad, and the ugly around both options, so you can make an informed decision that is best for your needs!
Pros of DIY
While building a DIY website still costs money, it is often cheaper than hiring a professional. That being said, if you decide to build your own website, you will have to put a lot of time into research. Many website builders offer options and allow for some creative freedom on your end, but you’ll have to research what flexibility the website building tool offers and be sure that you have an understanding of any limitations. Keep in mind that professional website developers are able to incorporate some customization if you find that you want a certain layout or added functionality. Also consider what kind of customer support is offered when you decide to go with the DIY approach, using Weebly, Wix or Squarespace. Building your own website can be faster than hiring a professional, and if using a builder you do not need to have any experience with coding.
Cons of DIY
When it comes to discussing the cons of a DIY website, remember that you aren’t building a site for free! Website builders can be costly for subscriptions, and the amount of time that goes into building your own website will take you away from other aspects of growing your business. Focusing on keeping your business afloat and thriving takes enough time as it is, and adding the comprehensive process of building a website might be too much. After all, there are only 24 hours in the day!
While building your own website does offer some creative freedom, you don’t get the benefit of having the expertise and advice of a professional. This can also lead to a user interface and aesthetic that could potentially drives customers and clients away. Professionals oftentimes will work with you to discuss the look you are going for to ensure that the final product is reflective of how your brand should be perceived.
Professionals also know a lot about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which drives potential customers to your website. Building your own website is always a risk because customers will be less likely to find your website without proper SEO tactics, which take lots of research and experience to fully comprehend.
Features on website builders are always more limited than those a web design professional can provide, especially since most website builders force you to work from a template. DIY sites can raise security concerns since website builders have so many websites created on a single platform. These platforms will also often push up-charges on you, forcing you to pay more than you originally anticipated. Finally, hiring a professional to build your website assures that the file sizes on your site are kept down to enhance page loading times. This factor is increasingly important in a world where the consumer is looking for a quick, efficient, and streamlined web site experience.
Pros of a Hiring a Web Design Professional
Hiring a web design professional is worth the expense! While it might seem like a lot of money out of your pocket at first, by avoiding common mistakes, it\’s sure to make your business much more successful in the long-run. A professional knows how to build a strong and aesthetically pleasing website that will not only attract clientele but keep them there.
Professionals focus on SEO strategies to ensure that your website is performing at its highest ability ― attracting and keeping customers and clients engaged. Professionals are able to build quick-loading and efficient websites with smaller file sizes that website builders don’t offer or allow for. Using a DIY website builder often limits the growth of your website, which in turn strictly limits the growth of your business. Professionals know what does and does not work and are able to incorporate these factors into your web design project. Plus, you can communicate with a professional to express your creative vision, and they will incorporate your ideas in addition to their own experience and education to create a website that is both inline with your branding and user-friendly. Websites built by a professional developer also tend to be more secure, since they are not on a server with hundreds, or even thousands, of other websites. Another pro of hiring a professional is that customization options are much more expansive because web development professionals are able to alter the underlying code to make unique customizations that will set your site apart from all of the other websites on the internet. While a DIY site built through a website builder will give you just that — a website, a professional website designer provides you with a website that tells your story and provides your users with a simple, streamlined, and pleasant experience.
Cons of a Professional
Hiring a professional can be a bit more expensive up front, and it can sometimes take a bit longer to build a professional website from scratch as opposed to using the basic templates that website builders have you use. While it may take a bit longer to have a professional website built, you will have more time to focus on your business! While the upfront cost may be a big con, there aren’t many negatives associated with a professionally built website!
Is Hiring a Professional Worth It?
We may be a bit biased, but it is clear to see that investing the extra time and money is worth the results you get with a professional. SEO is an extremely important process that can be complex and near impossible to master on a website builder tool, especially if you don’t have a lot of prior experience or education with website marketing. Even if your website is beautiful, a lack of proper SEO tactics will make your website difficult to find among the plethora of sites on the world wide web, and you will undoubtedly lose a massive chunk of potential customers. The hit that your business can take due to a poorly designed website or a website that doesn’t directly focus on your clientele’s needs can turn out to be far more costly than the fees associated with hiring a professional. With no coding experience or knowledge, which most people who aren’t professionals do not possess, customization options are extremely limited and your hard work and time spent could turn out to be for nothing.
Whether you are looking to build your first site or evaluating your current DIY site, we are certain that a professionally built website will get you more bang for your buck!
How Do I Hire a Professional?
Hiring a web design professional doesn’t have to be a painful process! We will work with you to define your goals and clarify your business’s brand in order to build a website that is true to your unique business offerings, while still offering an efficient and effective experience for your customers or clients. Reach out to Innovast Digital Marketing by calling (860) 634-3836 or by emailing [email protected]. You can also reach us directly on our website on our Contact page.
We have the experience, vision, and creativity to facilitate user engagement and build a unique, user-friendly website that is true to your brand to fulfill your business’s needs!