DIY versus Pros Website Design

Almost every company these days can benefit from a properly executed online presence, in fact, consumers expect it. For a new, small or struggling business, though, the big decision is whether to take a do-it-yourself approach, handling the planning, graphic design, coding, SEO and implantation on your own, or to invest in the services of a professional website design firm.

It's more than just a question of finances though. It's also a question of time, your skill level and desired outcome, and numerous other issues. Before making a decision on which choice is right for you, be sure to evaluate all of the issues that should impact your decision.

Cost

At first glance, it might look like that the do-it-yourself option is free; it's not. Even if you do know how to design a website, you still have to sit down and do it, which takes time. If you choose this option, estimate how long you feel it will take and compare that to the value of your time. If you know that you can earn $75/hour by focusing on your core business, and you feel it will take you 40 hours to finish your own website, you will be using up $2,960 worth of your time. Something else to consider - even those of us who design websites for a living sometimes underestimate how long a specific project should take. Since you don't design websites for a living it will probably take you longer than you first estimate.

The cost of hiring a web design firm can vary widely. You may find some firms offering to design a website for a few hundred dollars, and you'll likely come across an equal number of firms charging several thousand dollars. As with anything else, you get what you pay for, so if you do hire a web design firm, you should avoid those with rock-bottom prices. You shouldn't take that to mean that you should necessarily look for the highest priced firms either. A truly professional and experienced firm will take the time to learn about your needs and goals before beginning any work on your website.

Capability

Is designing your own website is just as simple as buying a copy of Photoshop and Dreamweaver, right? The short answer is no. Ownership of, or even mastery of these robust applications doesn't mean that your website will work properly. There are many more factors that if ignored, can have a significant and detrimental impact on the effectiveness of your website. For example, a WYSIWYG code editor, such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage will usually output sloppy, invalid code. While this may not seem like a big deal, especially when everything looks fine in your web browser, there can be a vast quantity of problems going on {{{under the hood|behind the scenes. A poorly coded website can display improperly in other web browsers, prevent search engines from finding your content, or load slowly, to name just a few potential pitfalls.

One of the key advantages of hiring a web design firm is that they already know the potential roadblocks that may come up and how to solve them. This means that in addition to a better end-result, your website will be finished more quickly. They can also advise you if an idea that you have may be ineffective, or even detrimental to your online goals.

Support

If something goes wrong with a website that you've designed yourself, you may find yourself in a position where you have to quickly find a web design firm to fix it right away – which usually means rush fees! This can occur more frequently than you think; websites that worked perfectly when they were first designed can suddenly stop working or display incorrectly when a new version of a browser is released. If you've designed your own website, you won't have anyone to call if this happens.

Your website itself is only one part of your online presence, and if you don't know what else you need, you might find that you don't know what questions to ask or who to ask them of. It doesn't take long to get confused, frustrated and even overwhelmed.

Working with a web design firm, however, means that you have expert guidance by your side at every step along the way. They can recommend a stable, cost-effective web host and domain registrar. They know if you need a dedicated IP or an SSL certificate. They will be able to help you set up a merchant account.

The bottom line is that there are pros and cons to either decision. You'll need to evaluate your circumstances, finances and available time to determine which is the best for you.
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