Should I Build My Own Website?

No matter what size your company is, having a website is an essential part of running a business in today’s market. When done correctly, a website can provide a helpful resource for current clients, market your services to new clients, create brand awareness that stands above your competition, and accomplish many of your business goals. When a website is built incorrectly, however, it can create a world of frustration for both the business owner and potential clients. When considering if you should build a website yourself or hire a professional, keep in mind the old saying, “You get what you pay for.”

Here are 6 reasons why hiring a professional is the optimal choice for your business:

1. Strategy: A digital agency does so much more than just “build a site.” At Ironistic, for example, we have a development team and marketing team collaborating to make sure that the site we build for you meets your online business goals. That includes creating a unified strategy and design. Establishing calls-to-action so that visitors interact with your site. Monitoring your site both pre- and post-launch.  Setting up web analytics so that you’ll be able to see just how effective your new site is – and make adjustments as needed.
2. Flexibility: While build-your-own-site platforms supply you with templates, a professional digital agency can offer you so much more flexibility. You can create a website from the ground up that not only looks like the perfect website, but functions as the perfect website, as well. A site you build yourself might look good initially, but will it stand the test of time and visitor usability? A professional agency will give your site customization capabilities to further evolve your online presence. So your website can keep growing and evolving as your business does.
3. Usability and Design:  While website builders might give you a “unique” or “out-of-the-box” template, eventually visitors will come across a website just like yours. The user experience is crucial; and good designers at digital agencies follow best practices to present the best experience possible. Usability and design should point back to your company goals and character. Each website has a story to tell. No template-driven platform can do that for you.
4. Expertise:  Ultimately, you don’t know what you don’t know. Think of your own business.  You’ve spent years perfecting and honing your skills. Web developers do the same. They know the best way to optimize a website across the board. They’ll have great ideas that you may not have even thought about. A digital agency lives and breathes this stuff every day, just like business owners, who live and breath their own industries every day.
5. Search Engine Optimization: What’s the point of having a beautiful website, if no one will be able to find it? Search engines such as Google and Bing rate your site against all the other sites on the web. Things like broken links, duplicate pages, or faulty coding can prevent your site from making it to the first page of search results. These are all things that you won’t be able to see on your website builder. However, they affect your rankings in detrimental ways. The beauty of hiring a professional is that they will know how to properly build your site and optimize it.  It should appear organically when a potential client searches for your services. Many “free” website companies cannot offer the SEO capabilities that sites need. For SEO tips of the trade, here is a rambling for 7 Simple SEO Techniques.
6. Relationship: Once you have a professional site up and running, a good digital agency will want it to succeed just as much as you do. If you experience any technical problems, you have a team of professionals ready and willing to fix it. No frustrated crying over your computer. There is no stress. If you think you might be ready to start building a relationship, feel free to contact Ironistic! We’d love to hear about your business.

While choosing a professional agency is more expensive than a build-it-yourself option, it pays for itself when your website works the way it was designed to and helps you accomplish your online goals.