A Tricky Decision, But This Guide Can Help!
Imagine this: You know that you want or need a website for whatever you can think of, whether it be your newly formed band or your long-running neighborhood deli or just to have a blog to write some thoughts down. Either way, you’ve been looking through many options (including us!) and you’re just not sure at this point whether to have a professional build your website or to build it yourself from scratch. Okay, you probably don’t have to imagine since you’re reading this post, in which case this guide will help you make an informed decision.
DIYing is Fun!
Speaking from personal experience as a professional web designer and developer, it’s very fun to make websites whether for clients or for my own projects. Just like with any other skill, it can be very fun to learn, and even after 5+ years of experience, I still find myself learning new things about websites, and pay attention to what others in the space are doing to learn more.
It’s Difficult
That being said, it’s still very difficult. I don’t think I’d have started this firm if I didn’t know what I was doing from experience in the industry both in terms of personal projects and work I have done for small businesses and nonprofits beforehand. It takes years to be able to create a website in as little as a couple days, and starting out, it absolutely will be frustrating. If you’re willing to put in the effort to learn the skills or already know how to build a website, you might still want to go the DIY route, but it’s probably better to otherwise work with a professional.
Polish!
While it’s possible to build a website yourself and have it be high quality, it might be better to work with a professional, because this way you can have some guarantee of quality. Especially in this day and age, making sure your site stands out will make a massive difference. This can be done more easily by working with a professional designer who has experience in design and SEO, to make your website the best it can be. In addition, while many drag-and-drop website builders such as WordPress, Webflow, Weebly and Squarespace do make it easier to DIY a good looking website, they may not implement the same optimizations a professional is able to with a custom website.
Cost
Now to address the elephant in the room. Yes, it does cost more to hire a professional than to build a website yourself. That being said, if you hire a professional who is more flexible in pricing (for example, we at Personal Tech Help do try our best to meet the needs of your or your company’s budget), it will be less of an issue because it’s possible to work with them to ensure the most effective website within budgetary constraints. But if your budget is something like $0, you might just have to build a website yourself. It’s fun to do, as I mentioned earlier, but if you’d rather not go through the hassle, you might just want to hire a professional and up your budget.