With everyone from Wix and Weebly to WordPress (why do they all start with “W”?) telling you how simple it is to do it yourself, it’s easy to assume that’s the obvious choice, but whether you’re starting your own business or looking to re-vamp an existing one, getting a professional web designer to set things up initially and help you on your way really can save time and money, as well as helping to ensure that you get the beautiful web design you really want rather than having to settle for second best.
Design
There’s no denying that many of the companies which claim to “get your business website online in 5 minutes” have some beautiful looking templates from which to choose but, unless you’re very careful/lucky, somehow once you start customising to your own requirements, adding your own images, colours, logo etc., the effect can often be rather less impressive. The problem here is that the template designers know exactly what they’re doing and they very carefully select elements which they know will work together to show off their design to its best effect, but vary that combination even slightly and the end result can very quickly lose its impact.
A good web designer will be aware of what works and what doesn’t, and can advise on the best way of presenting your business information in a style that not only looks good and reflects your own personal brand but also stands out from the crowd.
Time & Money
Contrary to the claims that you can have your website online in a matter of minutes, an attractive, well-designed, fully functional website will take even the best web designer a few days to put together and if you’re starting from a point of zero technical knowledge, it can take a whole lot longer. If you’re working to a tight budget (isn’t everyone?), you may think you’ll be saving yourself some money by doing it yourself but this can quickly prove to be a false economy especially if you’re spending hours over something which could be achieved much more quickly by someone with more experience. After all, your time is precious and investing a few pounds in the services of a professional web designer, will leave you free to get on with doing what you do best… running the actual business.
Flexibility
Most website templates come with a standard set of features which is all well and good if they’re exactly the features you need, but what if you want to add a portfolio of your work, or a slider to showcase your images, or even simply to adjust the layout a little?
A good web designer will have the technical skills to implement whatever elements you require so that the website you end up with is customised exactly to your needs and not overloaded (or slowed down) with features you don’t need.
Support
It’s an unfortunate fact that even with the best designed website in the world, you can’t just launch it and forget it, and keeping your business website up and running can quickly become a time-consuming and frustrating drain on your resources as you try to keep up with hardware and software updates, search engine optimisation and other tweaks and changes you may wish to make along the way.
A good web designer will create a site which is relatively easy to update yourself, but they’ll also be on hand to offer further advice/assistance in case of any problems, and even carry out routine maintenance tasks when required.
Of course, if you’ve already done some initial research and fallen in love with a particular DIY template or design, I’m more than happy to discuss how we can customise and adapt it to suit your particular needs.