A professional website does a lot of heavy lifting for a business. It increases the company's credibility, makes it more competitive in a crowded market, makes showcasing your brand to prospects easier, increases brand awareness, and enhances the customer experience when well-designed.
Unfortunately, some businesses don’t see the value in having a website professionally created and opt for DIY website building. But the truth is building your own website can lead to a ton of pitfalls, which can result in missed opportunities and costly mistakes. So, what's the best way forward?
This article elaborates on why you should avoid building your own website.
The Allure of DIY Website Building
Some entrepreneurs prefer DIY website building because they think it's cheaper to do it yourself. However, what started off as a cheaper solution oftentimes turns into a time-sucking nightmare.
If you don’t have any development know-how, you can expect to experience some challenges that require you to call for professional intervention. In fact, you may spend more time rectifying problems that pop up than building the actual website.
Going the free template route can also limit your creative control and ability to customize your site to suit your company’s needs.
The Price of DIY
Avoid DIY web design frustrations by seeking out a professional web designer and understanding the following:
Don’t Build Your Own House
A website is like a house as it also has common DIY mistakes you should avoid when designing it. You wouldn’t jump out there and try to build a house without professional contractors, architects, engineers, or all of the above. So, please don’t try to build something as important as your company’s website, on your own.
Importance of Outside Help
Seek outside help from professionals who know what they're doing and regularly design high-quality sites.
The other professional web development benefits are:
- Better user experience.
- Mobile-first design.
- Conversion-rate optimized websites.
A well-designed site optimized for conversion can help your business grow.
The Value of Fresh Perspective
Another benefit of working with professionals is a different take. Oftentimes, you’ll get a fresh perspective when you ask an “outsider” how they think you should solve a problem. What should this headline say? Is this page clear? What do you think we sell? Trust me when I say, your business will benefit from external insights.
Staying Ahead of the Competition
Working with a team with web development expertise is advisable to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition. When you’ve built hundreds or even thousands of websites, you get to know what works and what doesn’t work. You also pick up on industry standards and can speak to what’s next based on what you see trending.
Partnering with Professionals
Rectifying web design pitfalls can be a pain in the butt. That’s why we recommend partnering with a professional web design agency. Web design agencies have built hundreds of sites (at a minimum) and typically offer a range of web design solutions.
Some of the reasons you should partner with a web development agency include:
Build a strategic plan for your website
Agencies have expertise in building beautiful websites that get results. They can work with you to create a strategic plan that ensures your company’s goals for the website are met.
Create a fast-loading website
When people make decisions in seconds, you can’t afford to have a website that doesn’t load. Web development agencies design fast-loading websites that reduce page speed which can help increase your Google ranking.
Stay updated with emerging trends
A web development agency knows the emerging trends that can make sure your website functions as it should for today’s website visitors.
Increase ROI
The most important role of the agency is to help you get more from your website. Get more leads by optimizing your site for conversion and setting up online estimates, demos, or meetings. If your website has a higher page ranking, it can attract more potential customers, resulting in increased revenue.
Accepting Accountability
Most business owners have a thousand things on their to-do list to get done today. If you add building your own website to that list, how long do you think it will take to get it done? Let’s just say - longer than it needs to. When you are in charge of this project and are solely responsible, you won’t want to be held accountable for not getting it done or making mistakes. When you hire a web design agency to build your website, they are accountable for getting it done within the agreed timeframe.
Maximizing Time and Focus
As a business owner, you need all the time you can get to focus on building your company and making it successful. Focus on your strengths and the things you can control to move the needle. Let the professional web developers focus on building your website.
DIY website building can be more costly, and result in poor conversion rates, low page ranking, and a bad user experience. Consider working with an agency with web development expertise to create a website that generates leads and revenue. To get a clearer picture of the importance of a professionally-designed website, check out our guide, '4 Reasons Your Website Isn't Generating Sales.'
