Should I build a website myself, or hire someone to do it?
IBF Entrepreneur Online
Building a website for your small business can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re trying to build one for the first time, whether on your own or with a professional developer. How do you know whether to go it solo or hire a pro?
The good news is that building a website yourself has never been easier. With today’s tools, you can create your own website without writing a single line of code—and they’re relatively cheap.
But before you try to make your own website, you’ll need to ask yourself a few key questions:
1. How complex does your website need to be?
If all you need is a basic one-page website with an email address, phone number and maybe your business address, you can absolutely do that yourself. There are many website builders that offer one-page templates to get you running quickly.
Now consider advanced functionality that you commonly see on businesses websites, like:
- e-commerce
- appointment scheduling
- complex forms
- a support library
You may find a suitable plug-in (basically an app that sets it up for you) but hiring someone is another solution.
2. How much time do you have?
This is a critical factor that can actually work both ways. On one hand, if you’re in a rush and only need a basic one-page site, your best bet is probably just to do it yourself. On the other hand, if you need your website up quickly and it needs a lot of features you should probably pay someone.
Having more time basically gives you two things. First, the ability to take it slow and build it yourself, allowing you to create a more complex site without the rush. The second factor is that even if you are going to pay someone, time will make it cheaper since anything that needs to be done quickly tends to cost more.
3. How much do you want to spend?
There’s a misconception that building a website is expensive. The fact is, it has never been cheaper or easier to get online with a website that will put your MySpace page to shame. Website builders such as Squarespace, Wix or Weebly, can cost as little as five dollars a month. More expensive platforms such as Shopify start at $30 USD a month or more but also provide a lot more e-commerce functionality.
That said, even if you plan to hire a developer to build your website, most now use templates as a base to get started, significantly reducing the cost compared to building something from scratch. There are thousands of templates available for platforms like WordPress, Shopify or Drupal, so there’s really no need to build something from scratch (unless you have money to burn).
Depending on how much content you’re adding or customization you need, a good ballpark is about $5,000 to have a website built by a developer. Still, it is a good investment for something so fundamental to your business.
4. What is your appetite for learning?
Do you like to learn new things or does the thought of computer code make you queasy?
Truth is, learning to code, even a little bit, is a handy skill to have. If you’re at all curious, learning basic HTML and CSS is a fun side project, and can open up some other options for you such as customizing templates available on website builders, creating a simple HTML website from scratch (great for a personal website) or messing around with smaller platforms like Ghost.
5. How critical is your website to your business?
Every business should have a website. However, what kind of business you run might determine just how mission-critical your website is.
If your website is more for marketing purposes, and you don’t sell anything directly from it, building it yourself is not as risky.
If your website must be a finely tuned conversion machine with 100 per cent uptime, you should probably hire someone. Amateurs often miss things like slow loading times, 404 errors, security issues, certificates and other vulnerabilities that can impact the performance of your website.
One thing to remember if you’re building your own website: don’t forget your SSL certificate.
6. How picky are you?
This is an important one for all you perfectionists out there. If you are the kind of person who would be upset if things didn’t line up perfectly on the page; if the colour was one shade off from what you really want; or if the menu navigation isn’t as slick as you’d like, you should probably hire someone.
Even website builders, although their templates are great, can cause headaches if you’re a perfectionist. Templates are not as flexible as some people would like, and unless you know HTML and CSS, there isn’t always an easy way to make them do what you want.
Why should you hire a website developer?
Sometimes, you need to hire someone to build your website—and there’s absolutely no shame in that game. You may want to hire a website developer if :
- You require a more complex website: let’s say your website needs very specific functionality or custom features. Or—you might be building an e-commerce site that supports things like user accounts and multiple payment systems. Whatever the case, hiring a website developer can be a major asset in terms of getting your website project done properly and in a reasonable timeframe.
- You want a branding and SEO boost: when you hire a website developer, your website will be (or should be) built with best practices in mind. By that, we mean optimized image formats, speedy page loading speeds, accessible design and more that all help improve your standing with search engines like Google.
Plus, from a branding perspective, a professionally designed, properly functioning site just oozes reliability and credibility. - You haven’t got the time to create a website: hey—we hear you. Time is a precious and fleeting commodity. Your average website build can take anywhere from 40 to 100 hours, which is a commitment, especially if you’re handling it on your own.
So, why not reclaim all that time and spend it instead doing things that are within your wheelhouse or that, y’know, you like doing.
Building your own website: a quick overview
Let’s say you’re willing and able to build your own website from scratch. Great! Let’s lay out a few basic steps to success:
1. Buy your domain and hosting plan: this should be your first order of business, full stop. You’ll need to come up with a domain name. It doesn’t need to be anything too elaborate, either. Aim for a name that’s short (5 to 14 characters) Once you’ve arrived at a domain name you like, check to see if it’s available below, then pick a registrar to purchase your domain.
The first step to getting online? Registering your domain.
The second component here is your hosting. Think of it as internet “storage space” that holds all your website’s imagery, files and data. Depending on where you register your domain, you might be able to score a bundle deal on web hosting as well!
2. Consider a user-friendly content management system (CMS):why make your web building experience harder than it needs to be? Pick a user-friendly content management system (CMS) or web builder platform with the easiest possible learning curve. Platforms like Wix, GoDaddy and Squarespace are great places to start, as they offer professional-looking, customizable templates and intuitive drag n’ drop building tools that don’t require any coding expertise whatsoever.
3. Consider an AI website builder: fun fact—it’s entirely possible to turn your website build over to the machines! In fact, using an AI website builder might be the single fastest way to get online! Wix, for example, can generate an entire website for you from chat-based prompts. By that, we mean Wix will do everything, from writing copy and generating images to structuring your pages.
4. Iterate until perfect: what’s the best way to create a great website? Keep working on it. Your website should grow and change with time – because you’re not going to get everything 100 per cent right on the first try. Unless, of course, you’re some kind of web-building prodigy. One thing you can do right off the bat is use tools like Google Analytics to understand how users are navigating and interacting with your site. You could even go a step further and ask for detailed user feedback—all with an eye towards creating a website that meets both you and your audience’s needs.
Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and build your own website? Or are you going to leave it to the experts? Asking yourself a few key questions can help make the decision that’s best for your business.
While we’re here, we’d like to drop one tip as the .CA domain registry—if you plan to hire someone to build a website make sure you register the domain name yourself, using your own contact and login information. This keeps your domain settings secure and accessible, even if you’re partnership with your web developer doesn’t last.
Source: Cira
