047. Should I be Designing my Own Website? (Opinion)

Design your own website, or hire a web designer to do it for you?

This happens to be one of our favourite topics when it comes to initial client meetings. Having sat on both sides of the fence, being specialists in the design sector and also being start-up business owners, we find the debate is one that we can offer a lot of insight in to. So, if you have been looking into sitting down and putting the hard graft into your design work, here are our positives and negatives of doing so.

We understand that cash-flow is pivotal to your business, especially in its infancy and sometimes a business that doesn’t have a lot of financial backing will need to cut corners. Web design is certainly one of the ways, a more technologically savvy entrepreneur can squeeze every pound, dollar, euro or whatever currency you may be dealing with. So, first and foremost you have some extra money for marketing or product, which is a great position to start.

Skill development is such an integral part of business, yet it is almost always overlooked. Your business, in the long run, is only as strong and diverse as those driving it, therefore adding another string to your bow on a personal level is just as beneficial for the business. Learning how to develop a website will offer you more insight into the workings of your business and the site itself. However, it must be noted that it’s how you use your skillset to benefit the business that really improves the core strength of the business.

So, you’ve started your own business. You are forward-thinking and positive about your venture. So do you want to relinquish the control of exactly how you want things to look? The answer we find is often, no. This is where the multiple build-your-own website companies will offer you that control. The vast amount of different options available across the various platforms continues to improve and therefore as too does your scope of control, and indeed your sense of accomplishment once you have created something you are happy with.

Positives of hiring a Web Design Company

What we love about this debate is that the negatives aren’t really negatives as such. They are simply positives of hiring someone else to do the job for you! So firstly, getting your business off the ground is never an easy task, and as we know very well, there are simply not enough hours in the day. So can you afford to sacrifice what little time you have to spend large portions of time developing your website? As a business owner, this is one of the big questions you must ask yourself initially, before worrying about the cost of an expert…How much do you value your own time?

As the online platforms that offer web design expand their options, they really become better tools for budding business owners. However, this means that by selecting a platform, even in making the slickest looking website, it won’t always be as original as you’d hope. We know what you’re thinking… if you select a certain look from the thousands available, it will. No, trust us. It won’t. Despite the various templates, those that are the most attractive aesthetically will often be used time and time again. Therefore, do you want to look like your competition? Or is it worth spending those extra pounds on standing out from the crowd?

Each and every time we sit down with a potential client, we champion the identity of the company in front of us. Who you are is what makes people buy from you, the way you operate in the public eye and the way your company is structured is pivotal to your success. So, when it comes to having the best website, we work on levels beyond the way things look. How does your website run and more importantly how is it managed? In our opinion, this is the most important factor when paying a web design agency to build your website. Using an agency allows you to know the person who is responsible for your companies portal to the world. Therefore should any problems arise they can be rectified efficiently and professionally. No one wants to be sat on the phone waiting for someone to be free at a call centre when you could have an individual you trust waiting for your call.

This debate will always make for a compelling discussion in our office, should you need any advice or even if you want to get involved, simply give us a call, contact us or pop into our office, the kettle is always ready to go.