The Pros and Cons of Building Your Website from Scratch And When To Hire A Professional Web Designer

Anyone can build their own website from scratch, but it's not always the best option. In some cases, hiring a professional web designer is your best bet. Let's take a closer look at the pros and cons of building your website and when to hire an experienced web design professional to help you.

Creating your own website can be expensive, particularly if you don't know what you're doing. Hiring a programmer or web developer to create it for you is often the best way to go, since they have the right tools and skills to ensure your site looks great and works well.  If you try to do it yourself, you may end up spending more money in the long run on things like hosting fees, domain names, and other Web-related costs.

On the other hand, if you're not worried about spending a little extra money upfront, then creating your own website can be a great way to save in the long run. Plus, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you built it yourself! Just be sure to do your research before getting started so that you know what you're doing.

The Pros of Building Your Own Website

1. You Have Full Control Over the Design and Functionality of Your Site

If you're familiar with coding languages like PHP, HTML5, or JavaScript, then there are many design elements that you can control yourself. For example, you can change background images in your header or footer, adjust font sizes or colors on certain pages of your site, or add custom menu bars to different sections of your site.

2. You Can Customize Your Site to Give it a Unique Look and Feel

Depending on your specific needs, you can make certain features stand out more than others, or even create an entirely custom design for your site that reflects your brand's personality. This can be especially important if you're creating a portfolio website to showcase highly distinctive artwork or photos.

3. It's Easy to Update Regularly

Updating a website yourself is easier than hiring someone else to help with updates (unless they have access to the backend). Since there are so many tools available online today, getting new content onto your site is easy – whether that means adding blog posts, uploading videos, images, or other media, or simply changing the web copy and layout to reflect new trends.

One of the reasons I chose to have full control is because I don't ever want to be stuck in a situation where a dev locks me out of my own site or wants to charge up the ass for minor changes. I've come across at least two instances where my friends handed over control to one person and they paid dearly in the end. 

Luckily for me, I can manage it and have never had to deal with that.

4. You Can Use the Latest Technology

Since you're building your site from scratch, you have complete control over which technology you use to create it. This means that there's no need to worry about compatibility issues with older platforms that don't support newer features such as video embeds, image galleries, or custom fonts. It also means you can add features like chatbots or AI-powered customer service responses if they make sense for your business model.

5. Building a Site Yourself Can Be Less Expensive Than Hiring Someone Else

Even if you do end up hiring a professional web designer for some parts of your site (such as creating custom graphics or certain types of functionality), it may still cost less than paying someone to build your entire site for you.

The Cons of Building Your Own Site

1. It Takes Time and Resources

If you have some web design experience, it will take time to learn how to use the required software. Beyond that, you'll also need to invest in things like hosting, domains, and other tools needed to run a website. None of this is necessarily expensive, but it can be costly if those resources aren't available when you want them to be – especially because in many cases, these services need to be purchased on an ongoing basis so that your site stays up and running.

2. It Can Be Difficult to Keep Up with Changes

The web design landscape is constantly changing, which means that there are always new trends and technologies to keep up with. If you're not regularly updating your skills, it can be difficult to maintain a website that looks modern and functions properly. This can become even more challenging if you have other commitments that take up your time, such as a full-time job or family obligations.

3. You Might Not Be Familiar with All the Features Available

There are thousands of different website features available today, and it's impossible to be familiar with all of them. This means you might not know how to add certain types of functionality to your site, or you might not be aware of all the design possibilities available.  This can cause issues when you're trying to create a unique look for your site, or when you want to add something important that isn't available.

I was crystal clear about what my site needed to do and how I could achieve it gradually. The bells and whistles sound great, but you can't have all of that at once.

4. You Could Make Mistakes

Because it's easy to make mistakes when building a website yourself, errors can be present on your site without you knowing. This could affect search engine optimization (SEO; and now AEO and GEO), user experience, page speed, and other factors that impact your site's performance. If visitors have trouble viewing certain elements or navigating your site, they may become frustrated and leave, which ultimately impacts your revenue potential.

5. There's a Learning Curve

Even if you've done some web design in the past, having full control over the process can be daunting. There are many software programs and tools available, and it can be difficult to know which ones to use or where to find them. This is especially true if you're not familiar with the basics of web design, such as PHP, HTML, or CSS (or whatever we are using now). And don’t even get me started on the backend server shit!

When To Hire A Professional Web Designer

1. You Don't Have Time to Build a Site Yourself

If you don't have the time to build a website yourself, hiring someone else is probably your best option. They will handle all design, development, and maintenance for you so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

2. You Need a Customized Site

Another reason to hire a professional web designer is if you need a highly customized site. This could include things like specific functionality, or a unique user experience.  A professional designer will be able to create anything you need, so if your site is particularly complex, they are usually the best choice.

3. You're Not Familiar with Web Design

If you're not familiar with web design, then it's probably best to leave it to the professionals. They will know how to create a site that looks good and functions properly, with few errors.  Plus, they can use the latest design trends and features, ensuring your site looks modern and is easy to access.

4. You Want to Focus on Other Aspects of Your Business

If you want to focus on other aspects of your business, then hiring a web designer can also be a good idea. They can take care of everything for you so that you don't have to worry about any technical details or learning how to use complicated software programs. This allows you to devote more time and energy to other important tasks for growing your business.

5. You Want Someone Else to Handle Maintenance and Updates

Once your website is up and running, you'll need to regularly update it with new content, security patches, and other changes.  If you don't have the time or knowledge to do this yourself, then hiring a professional web designer can be a good solution. They will keep your site running smoothly and handle all the technical details for you. If you don't have the time or resources to do this yourself, hiring someone else can be a good option.

6. You Want Your Site to Perform Well in Search Engines

To get the best possible results from your website, you'll also need to optimize it for search engines like Google and Bing (don't forget AEO and GEO). This requires certain technical skills that most people don't have, so hiring a professional web designer can help ensure that your site performs well in search results.

7. You Don't Have the Technical Skills Needed

Finally, if you don't have the technical skills needed for website design, then it's generally best not to try it yourself. Even if you're familiar with other aspects of web development, such as coding or SEO/AEO/GEO, designing a site from scratch can be challenging.  It's usually best to leave it to someone who has the training and experience needed to create a site that looks great and functions properly.

The following are platforms I recommend for ease and not necessarily for cost. It is worth noting that if something is free now, there's always a chance that the free tier changes and you will lose features.

What I Recommend

On more thing to note is that you will inevitably grow out of tools, so there's no point of overthinking it. Pick one that suits your needs now.

“I don't need a full website yet.”

Don't need a full website just yet, try something like Carrd, bio.fm, or bio.link. I'm sure there are plenty of others, but these are the ones I have at least tried. They will give you the basics. You don't have to buy a domain name just yet, either, and you can often start with little to no money. At this point, you just need something other than your social media account.

They are one-page websites meant to direct traffic. That is, you might already have Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, or TidyCal set up for bookings and just need to send people straight to the booking page. Yes, I know you can do that on some social media accounts, but the point is you have to learn how not to rely on these platforms, as their features, terms, and conditions may change.  Whew, ok.

Do not litter your one-page websites with more links than you need. I saw one Linktree page with sixteen links! What the fuck are you doing at that point?

“I need a website, but still low cost.”

If you like the ease of the ones mentioned above, but think you're ready for a full website, Systeme.io can be a great place to start. Their free tier gives you enough to play wiith so you can decide if you want to continue building there or move to another platform. It's more robust than Stan.store, which can get pricey fast.

“I want to start selling products.”

Digital or physical and without building a site from scratch, I'd go with Shopify. Out of the box it is great for beginners or anyone who doesn't want to deal with headaches. A few tweaks here and there and you've got your storefront setup. For digital products, you can set them to not charge shipping fees because that would be weird. 

When it comes to courses, you could do it on Shopify (as your storefront, but your buyers log in somewhere else), but it requires a bit more work. Nothing OttoKit or Zapier can't handle.

Conclusion

There are several pros and cons to building a website from scratch, including the time and resources required, the difficulty of keeping up with changes in the web design landscape, and the risk of making mistakes. However, when you need a highly customized site or don't have time to build your own site, hiring a professional web designer can often be a better option.

So, what's the verdict? Building your own website can be a great way to save money and have complete control over your site. However, it's important to weigh the pros and cons carefully before deciding if it's the right decision for you. If you're not sure, it's always best to consult with a professional who can help you make the best decision for your business.

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