I have taken the time to put together some information that will hopefully help you with the decision. I am going to make this as simple to follow as possible and to do this I am going to break it down into three smaller questions.
- Time or Money? Which is more important to you?
- Are you really that tech-savvy?
- Are you building a website to increase business or as a reference point?
Once you work your way through the answers to these, you will have a bit more of an idea if you can do it yourself, or will you need the help of a professional.
Okay, let's kick it off with the fun one. Honestly – ask yourself, what is more important – time or money? This all comes down to where you are at within your business… Are you in start-up mode or are you established and going through a brand refresh or similar? Most business owners have their own value on time, for me, time is valuable than money, so I chose to use a designer to get the bones of my website built and then I added in the rest.
Other business owners might decide that they value money over time and therefore take the effort to build their own website to save some dollars. Whatever your motive, make sure you are committed from the beginning otherwise it will end up not working out.
Money aside, you will then need to consider if you know enough about building a website and directing traffic to your new website. It’s one thing being tech-savvy enough to lay out some web pages with some pretty pictures and text. It’s a completely different thing understanding things like hosting, SEO, coding, and such to ensure your website not only looks great but speaks to your potential customers too. Remember, the aim of the game is to bring you revenue through your door.
There are so many content management systems (CMS’s) out there it can be confusing to know which way to go. Sure, you could opt for a simple do it yourself option like Wix or Squarespace; but are you really getting the bang for your buck with these? If you are hellbent on doing it yourself, I would recommend taking the time to learn WordPress with a good theme like Astra or Astra Pro – this way your website will be able to be customised for all your needs in the future. If you can learn WordPress, I dare say you probably won’t need a designer or developer.
On the other hand, a professional will give you the ability to sit down with them and chat about everything you could possibly need for your website. You will talk through things like functionality, content, and styles to make sure everything is perfect for what you need. From there, they’ll come back with a recommendation (and a price) to get it all set up on a professional platform like WordPress – and may even offer you a managed hosting plan like we do which would normally include some added extras.
Along with the above mentioned, you should also consider why you are building your website. Are you needing to increase online sales or boost traffic through your door? What about generate new leads or grow revenue in other ways? A website plays a vital role in the customer buying process and is often the first contact a new customer will have with your business.
One thing a professional will know that you probably won’t is how to target your content to your potential new customers. This is one thing you want to get right, otherwise, your website will end up being a static landing page that people spend about 30 seconds on before moving to the next business. If you are just after a landing page to tell people you exist, then sure you can probably build it yourself.
All that aside, the choice is yours. If you want to use a professional, make sure you do your research and choose one who is going to fit with your business values – Ideally, I like to chat to them first about their own business to make sure they can offer everything I need for mine. If you want to do it yourself, that’s no problem but be prepared that you may need to engage a professional in the future if things don’t work out.
Oh, and one last thing, if you want to keep your website up to date I would highly recommend looking into a professional firm that also offer managed hosting or website management packages – that way you can be sure that if you need updates, you will get them and your website will always be up to date for the current time.
As always, if you are still not sure – book a free consultation with Corey or I and we can chat with you about your options.
