3 Ways to build a Website – Self-Build Vs Friend Vs Web Designer

If you are thinking about building your own site then you will understand how difficult it can be to get it all sorted out. On top of this, you also need to think about how you are going to pay for it and if the site is going to be fully functional after the project has been completed. For this reason, you may want to think about hiring a website designer. They can help you by making sure that your site is the best that it can be and they can also make sure that you are completely satisfied with the service they have provided you with. If you aren’t sure if you can build your own site or not, or if you think you can but you have some reservations then all you need to do is take a look below to see some of the top things you need to think about.

Do You Have A Budget?

If you don’t have much of a budget then you may want to think about doing the site yourself. WordPress is a great option in this instance and as your skills develop past the basics and you move to a self-hosted version of the site you can really start to open up all the possibilities. This is great if you are very confident when it comes to the administration interface and it is also great if you want to customise your site a little bit more. Of course, it is important to understand that you need to have experience in this before you go ahead and try and do it yourself but at the end of the day, it is a great way for you to save money.

If you’re interested in building your own website and would like some help or advice then get in touch – we have training sessions available for all abilities whether you need on-site or remote one-to-one training or you would like to attend a workshop.

Maybe You Have A Friend Who Can Do It For You?

If you have a friend who says that they can handle your website design for you and they seem like they are up for the job then you may be tempted to go with this as an option. This has it’s advantages as they probably won’t charge very much (sometimes only as little as £100) and you know them so you feel like you can trust them. Of course, this trust (and your friendship) can also put a significant strain on both of you if problems occur, both personally and professionally. They may not have the experience you need to get the job done to the level you need (especially if web design is not their profession) and whereas they might consider that they are doing you a favour regardless – you might end up in a worse position than you started. After all, this website will be your company front – the first thing a lot of people will see and that representation has to reflect accurately. On top of this, the main reason you are building a site is probably to get found and to make money so if you want it to be a real success then your only realistic option would be to invest.

We’re not here to tell you what to do but if you don’t have the budget for a website right now, our advice would be to postpone it – seriously, you’ll be glad you did.

But What If You Have A Budget?

If you have a budget then great! You’ll probably want to go with one of our turnkey solutions or similar as the basic building block for your site – this keeps costs down and gets up and running quickly plus you can be confident the website will work seamlessly across multiple devices. For the initial price, you will be able to change things like the menu, where the images are and even the colours. If you want more than this then you may need to pay for the additional development time, but at the end of the day, you really are getting the site of your dreams at a significant discount compared to a custom build.

Although a static site is cheaper, if you want a dynamic site with significant SEO benefits built-in then you will want to go with WordPress. This is the best way to go if you want to build a great site with news articles, blogs and fantastic features. If you want to go with a static site that you don’t really need to update, then HMTL is simply effective and we can often have you online within a couple of weeks.

Although there are several options available you might be surprised at how much an experienced website designer can help you to get the initial design down as well as other elements of the site both in terms of layout, content and the flow of the website that you might not have thought about. Ultimately the website is for your clients – it is a tool for them to use to easily get in touch and place new orders for your goods and services. Even if you are somewhat experienced, it is a risk designing your site yourself and you need to do everything you can to make sure that all of the codes and links are in working order as well as understanding the psychology of how people navigate a website – even the way people read online articles is completely different than if they are reading a newspaper or magazine. If you miss on any of these then you can’t expect your customers to stay on your site for very long and this is just one of the many things that your web designer can help you with.

A decent web design company should be able to find a package for you even if you are on a budget and if you choose to talk to us then we will always be upfront if we think that there is a better value option available. Why don’t you give it a go for yourself today to see how you could benefit? It has never been easier for you to get started and you could have a great site in no time.

If you’d like to talk to us about the development of your new website then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.