There are many reasons that people want to design their own website. The main reason is to save money. And, I don’t blame you for that. Who doesn’t?
If you want a professionally designed website that brings you leads and sales, it will be expensive.
You may be saying, “But, I’m pretty tech savvy. So, it shouldn’t be that hard.” Ok, I’ll give you that, but just because you have some technical skills doesn’t mean you can create a good, quality website.
I’ve seen many an IT website that did not pass muster and they look terrible. No hard feelings to you IT people out there.
No, it’s about much more than having technical skills.
If you are looking into designing a website on your own, please take a few minutes to read this article.
Here are the 7 reasons why you should not design your own website.
Cost
Ah! Yes… the cost of designing your own website.
Basically, the two main factors to consider for you to design your website are the size and complexity of your site. After that, is how much work is involved.
The cost for you to register a domain, get hosting, pick a platform to build your site on, purchase a premium theme and plugins, and educating yourself can range from $500 and up.
The facts are, if you really want to create a professional quality website, it will take time (read years) and experience. You have to put in the time and resources to build a quality website.
As a business owner, do you have the time to allocate for that?
I would venture to say that you would be best working on those things you are good at and can bring the most ROI.
Building a modern, mobile-responsive, converting website is a lot more work than most realize. Even if you use drag-and-drop platforms like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace or WordPress, you will need to learn that specific platform, how to tweak or customize the theme, size images, write content, etc.
Keep that in mind when you are deciding on creating a website on your own.
Just so you have an idea, the average cost to have a agency or freelancer design your website is between $5,000 and $10,000+. This is for small to medium sized businesses and not large corporations with deep pockets.
My rate is right in line with those numbers.
Lack of technical skills and experience
I’m all for those who want to DIY their website design if you have a hobby, just getting started or just want to practice on how it all works. But, if you want a professionally designed website that converts visitors to leads and then sales, I recommend NOT doing it yourself.
In order to accomplish a professionally designed website for your business, you need specific skills with experience to back those skills up.
Here are some of those skills you would need to know:
Graphic design (Illustrator, PhotoShop)
Coding (php, javascript, SQL)
Markup (HTML5)
Styling (CSS, SASS)
Software Tools (Photoshop, WordPress, FTP)
Writing Website Copy
Hosting (cPanel, DNS, SSL, email accts, phpMyAdmin)
SEO
Email Marketing
As you can see, this is a specialized skill which combines technical, creative and marketing. Many of the tools will cost you money, either one-time, or on a monthly basis. These are necessary tools in order for me to create a high-impact website for your business.
If you don’t have these tools or know how to use them, then you most likely won’t design the website you were hoping for.
Now, having these tools is one thing, but being experienced in using them to build out a fully operational website is another. Most designers, whether working for an agency or as a freelancer, have years of experience designing & developing websites.
I started out in the mid-90’s writing out HTML, and CSS by hand and then progressed into development using ASP (now ASP.NET), JavaScript to push/pull information from a database to display on a page. Since 2010, I’ve been building websites on the WordPress platform for local businesses in my own area and around the nation.
It’s taken me many years to learn these tools, the techniques and nuances of building a website – the RIGHT way! The technology is static neither. You have to keep up with the changes and continue to improve and grow.
Do you have the time and money to do learn and grow web design skills and gain the experience, while you are running your business, providing for your family and also do other things?
If you hire me, you are investing in someone who already has the tools, and experience to design you a professional website that converts.
Lack of content that converts
One of the BIGGEST things that can make an IMPACT on your website is quality content – that converts. Unfortunately, this is one of the things that MOST business owners struggle with and fail in creating when designing a website.
If this is a struggle for owners to provide for those they hire to design a website then it will be even more so for you when trying to put a website together on your own.
Content creation is central to having a professionally designed website. What kind of content am I speaking of?
Content can include:
Text
Images
Photos
Video
Documents (PDF)
This content should be well-written, address the pain points of your customer, provide a solution or answer a question that’s already in their mind. Your content should also be properly formatted, easy to read and/or scan, have some media (photo, image, video) throughout and have clear calls to action.
If you have little to no content, poorly written content or information that is not related to your business, then your customer will see you as unprofessional and question why they are visiting your website.
It will take time to research, and optimize this type of content which will give you less time to attend to more important business needs.
Lack of Professional Quality
You have heard the adage “First impressions count,” correct?
Well, this applies to your website that is in front of the public 24/7 on the internet. You see, even if you have the time and money to create your own website, it is most likely that your competitor will have a more professional looking website.
It’s nothing against you, but reality is, many businesses realize the importance of quality and hire a website designer to build a website that stands out.
A professional, quality website will gain you trust, build rapport and will show to your visitor that you put effort into the look and feel of your site.
That benefits both you and your customer.
Lack of SEO Knowledge
SEO, otherwise known as, search engine optimization is a very important aspect of building a website for your business. You see, your website needs traffic, or visitors. But, if your website is not ranking on search engines, how will your potential customers (traffic) find you?
In order for your website to get found by searchers, you will need to understand what SEO is, how to implement it and continue to create assets that rank in order to be “top of mind” to your target audience.
Here are some key questions you need to answer in relation to SEO:
Are you a local, regional or national business?
Do you have more than one location?
Do you know how to do competitor research?
Do you know how to do keyword research?
Do you know what on-page SEO factors are crucial for you to rank in the search results?
Do you know what meta tags are?
Do you understand internal linking?
Do you understand external linking?
SEO is an ever-changing landscape in which Google makes algorithm changes frequently (sometimes, daily). It’s important to have your ear to the ground so you know what is changing and what is staying the same.
If you plan on building your own website, and you don’t understand SEO, you will make some critical mistakes that could cost you visitor’s and sales.
I’ve been helping clients for many years building customer and search engine friendly websites. If you are not comfortable with SEO, I can help do the same for you.
Lack of Help or Support
If you are not familiar or comfortable with web design, you are bound to make mistakes. But, the level or amount of support for a self-built website is often hard to find.
If you experience a problem or have an issue that needs to be resolved, and requires help, you will need to hire someone or at minimum, spend a large portion of your time searching for the problem or issue you need solved in tutorials, YouTube videos or FAQ’s.
This could take you hours at minimum, or days trying to find a solution which could become frustrating quickly.
Is that time, which equals money, more valuable then working on what you are best at?
That’s why it would be well worth it to hire a website designer whom can give you the help and support you need along the way.
I’ve been in the trenches when it comes to the technicalities of building a website and have come across many problems and solutions over that time.
It makes no sense for you to reinvent the wheel.
Lack the Technical Know-How to Maintain Website
If you think once your website is launched you’ve reached the finish line, well… that’s not the case.
Just like owning a house or car, you will have to invest money, time and effort to maintain them and keep them in tip-top shape.
Your website is no different. Here are a few of the things you’ll need to do to keep your website humming along:
Annual domain and hosting fees
Possible annual fees for premium plugins
Offsite backups, in case of a website crash or hack, you can restore your website
Upgrade or expand your website: this could include new images, new content, removing old info., etc.
Install updates and security patches. if an update/patch breaks your site, are you prepared to fix it?
You may need new functionality as your business grows. Will you be able to implement that yourself?
Drive traffic to your site. Do you have the knowledge to make that happen?
If you would rather not deal with all the techy, messy things to maintain and keeep your site going, I have website maintenance plans that take care of all of those things for you. Saving you time, money, frustration, and allowing you to work on what you do best – growing your business.
Should You Design Your Own Website or Not?
In short, hire a professional, such as myself, to design your website.
Yes, I am biased because I am a freelance website designer. But, I am also being very up-front with you.
From reading this article, you should have ascertained that in order to create a professional website that generates leads and sales, it takes much more time and there is a LOT more involved than you may think – even if you are technically savvy.
This especially plays a factor when you want to add some type of functionality that is outside your wheelhouse.
Hiring a professional website designer, who has experience and the skills, will save you a lot of time, money, and frustration when creating (or redesigning) your website – the finished product will be a better quality than what you would accomplish on your own.
If you have limited technical skills or you have a tight budget, and you are up to getting your hands dirty with the DIY approach then do the best you can. If you are just starting a business, are not clear on your product or services or don’t know who your target audience is, the DIY approach would be best.
I’d be excited to hear more about you, your ideas, business and what you’d like to achieve.
Featured image by dgim-studio on Freepik