DIY website builder or hire a designer? How to decide

DIY website builders are good products, and for some businesses they are the right call. We would rather tell you that than sell you something you do not need. The question is not which is better. It is which one fits your situation, your time and what you need the site to do.

Building it yourself makes sense when

• You are just starting and the site only needs to say who you are and how to reach you.
• You enjoy this kind of work and have a few free evenings.
• You do not need booking, payments or anything that has to connect to other tools.
• A simple look is fine, because customers mostly find you by word of mouth.

Hiring a designer makes sense when

• Your time is worth more than the build. Most owners underestimate how long a site takes: writing the copy, choosing photos, fixing the mobile layout, setting up forms and testing.
• The site has a job to do, such as filling a calendar, taking deposits or selling products.
• You compete with businesses that look established and you need to look as good as they do.
• You want it done once, and then to have someone to call.

The hidden cost of DIY is time, and finishing

The subscription is cheap. The cost is the evenings. A lot of owners start a DIY site, get 80% of the way, and never launch it, or launch it and never touch it again. An unfinished site earns nothing, and an out-of-date one can cost you customers.

The hidden cost of hiring is the wrong designer

A designer who does not understand your type of customer will give you something attractive that does not convert. Before you hire, ask:

1. Have you built sites for businesses like mine?
2. Is the price fixed, and what is included?
3. Who owns the site and the domain?
4. What happens after launch, and what does it cost?
5. How long will it take, in days or weeks?

If any answer is vague, keep looking.

A simple way to decide

Answer these three questions:

1. Does the site need to do more than show information (book, sell, collect payments)?
2. Would 20 or more hours of your time cost you more than the build price?
3. Do you want someone to look after it once it is live?

Two or more yeses and hiring will almost always cost you less in the end.

Where Creo Systems fits

We sit between a DIY tool and a big agency. You get a site designed for your industry (dental, gyms and studios, med spas and salons, law firms, restaurants and cafes, real estate), a fixed price, and care after launch included in the monthly fee. You do not manage the technical side.