As a new or growing small business every investment decision is a big deal. I’ve been there - I understand the back and forth we go through in our heads - the opportunity cost of investing here and not there, the research that goes into ensuring our investments are going to give us bang for buck, the guilt once the money leaves the account…makes me feel anxious just thinking about it !

I think we all agree though that a website is a necessary investment for a business these days - with 5.6bn google searches a day #mindblown, and over 4.5bn internet users in the world it’s not a question of whether you need a website anymore, but how you go about getting one up and out there in the world of the web.

Specifically “Should I hire someone to build my website or DIY?” remains a tricky question, and that’s what I’m going over in this blog.

Disclaimer - I’m a webdesigner, so of course have a vested interest in folks choosing to invest in web design ! Having said that, I, and most webdesigners only want to do work for clients for whom the work is the right investment and is going to have an impact. Therefore, despite my position as a webdesigner I advise some people who I have discovery calls with to DIY their site rather than work with me - because I think it’s right for them. This article, similar to my discovery call, aims to equip you with the information you need to make the right decision for you and your business (I believe you’re the best placed person to make that call) So to get equipped and take the next step toward your dream website… read on!

Want the short version? Click here for the quick pros and cons of hiring a webdesigner vs the DIY route.

Benefits of DIYing your website

Let’s start with what’s great about DIYing your own website…

Building your own website helps you to define your business approach and strategy in the process

Going through the website building process when you DIY throws up lots of great questions and decision points that can help you refine your business processes, approach and even strategy if you approach it in a systematic way. By DIYing your website you’re as close as possible to the process and so can make these decisions and refinements as you go.

Building your own website gives you the opportunity to learn a new skill

Or seven! The website creation process is fascinating and involves loads of skills from copywriting to design, user experience, conversion strategy, not to mention the technical skills like coding - CSS (which is actually a form of markup that allows you to style your new website), to advanced Javascript which adds interactivity. Learning new skills can be fun and building your website gives you a great opportunity to do this!

When you DIY your website you keep autonomy over that part of your business

One of the most common complaints I hear from clients who already have a website is that they don’t understand or know how to use their site - they find it scary, or out of date with their business but they don’t know how to change that. Sometimes they don’t even have access to make changes. When you’ve built your website yourself at least you know how it works and how to make changes because you built it in the first place. This is important for small businesses as things evolve fast and your website needs to keep up with you and be relevant and up to date.

DIYing your website can save money (but take time)

Hiring a webdesigner can cost anything from €750 up to the €10,000 - €20,000s depending on the project brief, their process and experience. (And also how the webdeisgner chooses to price themselves which isn’t always directly linked to skills and experience nor the value they will add to your business - choosing a webdesigner at the moment? Read this first.) But whatever the price point it’s more expensive than not hiring one, at least in terms of cash exchanging hands… the opportunity cost of your time - i.e. the things you cannot do in your business and in your life because you’re investing that time in building your website - can be huge however and that leads us to exploring the benefits of hiring a webdesigner.

Benefits of hiring a web designer

Hire a webdesigner to ensure you end up with a website built on strategy

It’s pretty easy to build a website these days with website builders such as Squarespace, Wix and Wordpress providing WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing through their CMS (content management systems) meaning you don’t need to understand anything about code to create and publish a site. Thats great, but …

The problem is that a poorly conceived site, or a site built without strategy is about as much use to your business as a chocolate teapot, making the investment in your time, and the money for your platform of choice a waste.

If you choose a good webdesigner your website strategy should be considered as part of the process with them applying their expertise to create not just a website that looks great but one that works hard for your business - not an easy skill, but an important thing to do if you want your website investment to pay off.

Benefit from your webdesigner’s design expertise which is a complex skill set

As much as it might seem like it from the outside sometimes, design is not as simple as selecting some colours and fonts and going for it on Canva. Good design is a skill, and an art that people train for many years to perfect. Given that it takes just 50milliseconds for a website to make a first impression on visitors and that first impressions are 94% design related it’s important for your website to look great. Strategic design as we mentioned just before is an even more prized skillset and something that takes time, training and experience. Hiring a webdesigner allows you to benefit from their expertise and training in design, a skill that takes time, education and experience to develop.

Two brains are better than one - creative friction helps develop your website (and sometimes even business strategy too)

One of my favourite things about working collaboratively with clients is the creative friction which means we create something that is better than the sum of our parts. The client brings a deep knowledge of their business, clients (or customers) and sector and I bring knowledge and experience of design theory, website strategy and online marketing. Together we create an awesome website, and something that often supports the evolution of their business and not simply their online approach but their business strategy as a whole.

Hiring a web designer saves time (which is equivalent to money)

Building your own website, especially if it’s the first one you’ve DIYed is a huge investment in time. Days, weeks and months can be spent pulling your site together, not to mention that if you’re doing it for the first time there are many cul-de-sacs on the google everything journey - all of this is time that could be spent in other areas of your business.

Hiring a webdesigner doesn’t mean you need to invest zero time on your website - normally you will still provide imagery, copywriting and plenty of creative input - but it will take a lot less of your time than DIYing would, freeing you up to do more of the things that will really move the needle on your business.

Hiring a webdesigner allows you to learn from someone else

One of the reasons it’s so important to ask lots of questions of your webdesigner is to understand how they will handover your website to you and train you on how to use it. It’s also important to get a feel for their process - is it collaborative, or will they hand you over a finished site at the end with all of the magic behind the scenes hidden away? Do they offer maintenance or ongoing support packages and can these be used for training?

In my webdesign process for example I see the empowerment of my clients as being fundamental to the approach. The more I can up-skill, support and empower them as a by-product of the process, the better. And everyone has an in-depth handover and training session at the end so they’re equipped to maximise the impact on their business from their website.

Helen has been absolutely incredible during the design of my first ever website. Her attention to details is outstanding and I have learnt so much. Helen took so much time and care during the entire process and it felt like a very special journey. I can honestly say that I couldn't have done it without her.

Tina Roepcke, Earth Tribe Yoga

How much time does it take to DIY your website?

If you put this question into google you will find blogs telling you you can DIY a website in an afternoon. And they’re not exactly lying… you CAN pull together a site very quickly. Will it be good? Probably not. Will it be a waste of the time you did invest? Probably!

More realistically you’re talking about several weeks to a couple of months of work depending on the platform you chose to build on, how quickly you make decisions, how complex your website design is, how easy copywriting comes to you and how much knowledge you had before. A good website takes time to create, and for DIYers without a background in webdesign, it will of course take longer than for a professional who knows their way around and can accomplish all of the steps more efficiently.

As I mentioned the website platform you choose is a huge factor in the time investment - read this to weigh up the differences between Squarespace and Wordpress, and this just on Squarespace for some more context.

How much does it cost to hire a webdesigner in 2022?

This is a how long is a piece of string question. You can hop onto Fiverr or Upwork and get a webdesigner for $100. Do i recommend this … no. You can equally find a fancy schmanzy agency who will charge upwards of $20,000 and the rest for a fairly simple website. Do I recommend this… again, generally no (at least not for the majority of small businesses).

The reality is that you can find good webdesigners offering their services from between $1000 for a simple 1 page type site to around $10,000 for something more complex.

Although I know budget is important, I would usually advise not being swayed by $100 here or there, and instead choose based on the value of the offering the designer communicates, how much you like their previous work and past clients reviews (where possible look for verified sources of these like google my business rather than testimonials on a website that haven’t been verified by a 3rd party).

More on choosing the best webdesigner for you and your business here.

How do I choose a webdesigner ?

Choosing a webdesigner is probably the most important step in the process if you’re going to hire someone to build your website for you, and doing your research both with them and their previous clients will help you avoid any unexpected surprises or disappointments. I’ve written a whole blog about how to choose a webdesigner, but In short:

Review their previous work
Check out their industry experience
Speak to past clients
Jump on a discovery call and ask lots of questions - some good questions to ask your potential webdesigner here.
Get a sense of how they work through their actions - emails, how responsive they are etc
Check out what platform they use
See what their packages include - check the small print too!

How do I choose a website platform if I’m DIYing?

When you’re DIYing your website the choice of platform is crucial (it’s also important when working with a designer - but i’d say even more important when you build your own website).

Choosing a website platform relies on a number of factors:

How tech savvy you are
How comfortable you are with visual design - fonts, colour palettes etc
How much time you have
What functionality you need for your visitors (and for you to manage your business in a streamlined way)
Your budget

If you’re interested in finding out more - check this comparison of two of the big hitters - Squarespace and wordpress. Many website platforms also allow you to trial their website builder for free so you can have a play with a few and see which one feels like a good fit.

Should I hire a webdesigner - Overview - the short version

Build your own site - Pros & Cons

Pros

Save money
Learn new skills
Don’t rely on anyone else

Cons

Takes a lot of your time & attention away from other areas of your business / life
Can be stressful with confusing wrong turns and mis-information
Lack of skills may result in a low quality site

Hire a webdesigner - Pros and cons