DIY Website vs Professional

“Should I hire a professional to make my business website or should you create my business site DIY?” 

That’s the question many new business owners ask themselves. In the proceeding post we’ll look at some important things to consider which will hopefully provide you with some clarity on the best option for you. 

The option you choose will be based upon the purpose of your site and your willingness or lack thereof to learn the skills yourself.

SEO can be tricky 

If you want a website to rank well in the Google search results, generate lots of new leads and provide a constant flow of customers you’ll need to consider the skills required to get a website to rank highly in Google, also known as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

It’s one thing to create a pretty website, it’s another thing to get a website to rank well in Google.

While many DIY website builders are fairly intuitive and easy to use, the technical SEO skills cannot be quickly and easily acquired. Unless you have a particular interest in the field I’d imagine it’s probably not worth the time and frustration involved in learning a brand new skillset.

Consider the importance of SEO to your website 

If the main purpose of your website is to acquire new customers who are searching for your products and services on Google then SEO should form a major part of your decision of whether to hire a professional or go down the DIY route. If, however, the purpose of the site is to be an online brochure for your existing customers to find more information about your products or services and you are not concerned about new customers finding your site on Google, then SEO may not be important for you. Given that SEO is not necessary for your site and if you’re inclined to build your own website, perhaps a DIY approach would suit your needs.

Case Studies

To further help you grasp an understanding of which option is best for you we’ve created two typical case studies which illustrate when going the DIY website route might be favourable compared to the professional website route.  

Case Study 1:

George is a wedding photographer in Northern Sydney. He gets most of his customers through word of mouth referrals from his happy clients and through a wedding planner that he works closely with. George wants a website to showcase his portfolio of work for prospective clients that gets referred to him through the wedding planner he works with and his client’s referrals.

In this case, George could create a website on a DIY platform that would suit his needs. He could create a platform for people to see his work and contact him.

Professional SEO would be required if he wanted his website to rank on Google for ‘wedding photographer Sydney’ because it is such a competitive niche. However, since he is a sole trader and gets sufficient leads from his current strategy and is not capable of taking on more clients by himself, it may not be necessary for him to hire a professional to create the website or to implement SEO.

In this case study, a DIY website builder would meets the needs of the business.

Case Study 2:

Wendy is an Orthodontist in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Her clinic needs a website to grow her client base. There are several other orthodontic clinics in her region and even 2 on the same street. It’s fair to say that it’s a competitive market. She gets most of her clients through referrals from Dentists and people that walk by her clinic which is located on a busy street. Wendy is busy working as the head orthodontist and doing the many day to day tasks required to run a successful small clinic.  

In this instance, a DIY website would not be ideal for Wendy because she has limited time on her hands and also wants her business website to bring in new customers (which means the website will need SEO) in addition to showcase the great work they do in the clinic. Hiring a professional web designer and an SEO company would be a sensible solution for Wendy.

A professional lead generating website will enable her clinic to continue to grow and over time allow her to step away from the business and spend more time with her family which is her ultimate goal.

In this case study Wendy would get a better ROI (return on investment) from hiring a professional web designer or better yet an SEO agency to create her businesses website. Hiring a professional gives Wendy a greater chance that the business website will start generating leads sooner meaning the initial costs of website design, development and SEO will begin to pay off sooner. 

Consider your time:

If you’re not at all technologically inclined, then consider that your time might be better spent working on your business and delegating the task to a professional. If you are proficient with technology and have the patience and desire to learn the skill of website creation, you could consider using a DIY website builder to build your own website for your business.

Whatever you decide, consider:

• The amount of time that you are able and willing to invest in the creation of your website
• The quality of the site that you intend to build
• What you need the website to do for you to be able to reach your ideal customer

After carefully considering these factors you’ll have a better understanding of whether or not you want a do it yourself website or one which has been deigned and developed by a professional. 

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