It’s time to create your new website or upgrade your DIY site. You’ve thought it through. You have ideas about the pages you need and the colors you want. You know you want it to feel fresh and fun or feminine or edgy.
With the right plug-ins you can integrate with your email service and your shopping cart and Paypal. WordPress offers a choice of themes that you can customize. With templates and drag and drop tools, anybody can create a decent website.
The question is: When should you DIY your site and when is it time to bring in a pro to create your site for you?
Should You Hire a Web Designer or DIY?
As a web designer, you might expect that I’m going to sell you on the designer route, but honestly, it depends. Time, money, skills, what you need your website to do & where you are in your business all matter when it comes to deciding how to create your site.
When It’s Time to DIY Your Site
Honestly, for a lot of people just starting out, the DIY route is fine. It actually makes sense. When you are just getting started, you usually don’t have a lot of money to spend on your business. Likely, you’re still getting clear on who you serve and what they need, and how you interact with them. Your brand isn’t established and maybe you’re still feeling your way.
If getting your business out there and looking legit is what you need, you can do that yourself without too much trouble. Talk to business groups about the tools they use to build an email list, process payments, book appointments & onboard new clients. Use free tutorials to figure out how to get it all working on your site.
[Pro tip: test it all. Get friends to look at your site and sign up using different browsers and devices. Does it look right? Does it work?]
If you literally have no budget for your website, you’ll need to DIY, but a starter site might not be as spendy as you think. (And so many fewer headaches.)
But what if you already have a site, but know it’s time for an update? Maybe you’ve settled into your brand (or are ready for a major rebranding). If you’re looking at minor tweaks—new copy and pictures, maybe a new color palette—you can probably still DIY. But if you’re ready to uplevel or your site just isn’t working, it may be time to invest in a pro. Not sure? Maybe you just want to get input from a web designer and then DIY. That’s possible too!
When It’s Time to Hire a Web Designer
Entrepreneurs get used to wearing a lot of hats. Copywriter, bookkeeper, admin assistant, web designer & tech support—in addition to whatever it is that they are a pro at. I know, because I’ve done all those things. And it can get exhausting. That old saying, “You have to spend money to make money”? It’s true, or as I like to say “You have to spend money to make money … without going crazy.”
It’s time to hire a web designer when:
- Your business is growing and your website needs to keep up.
- You’re tired of fiddling with technology that you don’t understand.
- You know how to adjust the site, but you just can’t seem to find the time to sit down and get it done.
- You want a new look, but you don’t know how to get it.
- You don’t know what tools to use to get the results you want. (How do I let people book an appointment and pay for it all at once without connecting 6 services?)
- Parts of your site just don’t work and you don’t have time to figure out why (or fix it).
- You have zero interest in DIYing it.
A good designer will give your site a facelift—and get under the hood. She’ll have advice on color palettes, fonts, and images to fit your brand. Just as importantly, she’ll help you create a functional site that works hard for your business.
Web designers work with tools all the time—ones you wonder about or perhaps never heard of. They can help make sure your site meets current standards. They’re on top of this stuff because they do it every day, just like you’re on top of the latest trends in your industry—law or yoga or dentistry or whatever it is you love to do.
Thinking it’s time to call in a pro to get your site where you want it to be? Whether you’re looking to improve your current website or get a new, custom website created just for you, check out these incredible web designers and see what they have to offer:
- StartSolid Websites by Rachel Vane (Rachel helps create beautiful, solid websites for new(er) small business owners
- Product Powerhouse (They’ll give you customized Shopify web design)
- Launch In A Day (Eleanor will create a website and branding package for you in a DAY!)
- Fast Fit Websites by Pixality (Connie Halen helps yoga and fitness studios get their studios online with a 10-page Squarespace website.
- Simple Start, from Do Well Websites (With their self-paced program, you’ll learn how to get your WordPress site up and running in a way that will attract your dream client!)
- Shannon Mattern’s Free 5-Day Website Challenge (If you don’t know what you don’t know about building your website – check out this free challenge!)