About 80% of my website design customers have previously made an attempt at building a website using a free or DIY (Do-It-Yourself) website builder.  The typical situation is that they tried the free route and were able to create an amateur looking site that did not function the way they thought.

In most cases they want to be able to compete with other websites that they like, not realizing that those sites where done by a professional for a reason.  Also, they learn that the seemingly simple "copying and pasting" that they thought they were going to do often gives undesirable results with photos and embed codes.

While Do-It-Yourself may be the best route in some situations and budgets, there are times when DIY will not be enough for your needs. In this article, I'll provide an objective review of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.

(a) The DIY solution: Create and maintain your web site yourself by using software such as Microsoft FrontPage or by using an online website builder provided by your web host.

(b) The half-n-half solution: Have professional create the web site. You then do the regular updating of the site yourself.  This works great for sites designed with Content Management Systems like Joomla and Blog systems like Wordpress.

(c) The full outsourcing solution: Have an external party create and update the site.  This is often the best route if you want to maintain a consistent look and feel of the site throughout many updates of information and media.

THE DIY SOLUTION

ADVANTAGES: This is the cheapest solution. You don't need to pay any fees to consultants.  If you enjoy being creative this could be an enjoyable and rewarding activity.  You'll have complete control over your web site's "look and feel."  There's no chance of a consultant handing you a site that isn't what you wanted.

DISADVANTAGES: DIY sites often look amateurish. This can turn away customers.  DIY sites often have poor navigation controls. In a well-designed site, the user should be able to find what they want in seconds. Achieving this is not as easy as it sounds.  You'll need to obtain some suitable software and then spend time learning how to use it -- perhaps a lot of time.  You will need to learn the arcane secrets of effective META tags, JPEG compression, browser compatibility, FTP clients, loading speed and more if you want the site to perform well.

SKILLS NEEDED:  Patience- This will all take time.  Good PC skills; e.g. a familiarity with both text and graphics applications.  Technical skills or the willingness to acquire them.  Graphic design and page-layout skills.

THE HALF-N-HALF SOLUTION

ADVANTAGES: You'll need far less technical knowledge.  The graphic design, page layout and navigation elements of the site will all be done for you thus avoiding many of the pitfalls that strike amateur designs.  A consultant will probably produce the site faster than you can.  If you have the skills (and the desire) to update the site yourself, this may be the best trade-off between price, speed and professionalism.

DISADVANTAGES: You'll still need to have (or learn) some technical skills, but not nearly as many as with the DIY solution.  Consultant's cost may be hundreds of dollars even for a small site. Larger sites will cost more, of course.  You run the risk of the consultant not providing the design that you were looking for.  Major changes or upgrades to the site will probably need to be done by the consultant.  When you update the site yourself you risk "breaking" something or just "messing it up."

SKILLS NEEDED: Some technical skills or a willingness to acquire them.  The ability to liaise with the consultant about how you want the site to look and what you want it to achieve.

THE FULL OUTSOURCING SOLUTION

ADVANTAGES: You are not required to spend time and effort learning technical skills that other folk already know and (let's be honest here) can probably do better.  This requires the least effort on your part.  A consultant will produce the site faster than you can.  This should produce a professional looking site that navigates easily, loads quickly, is compatible with all browsers and works well with search engines.

DISADVANTAGES: This is the most costly solution.  You have less control over the content of the site.

SKILLS NEEDED: The ability to liaise with the consultant about how you want the site to look and what you want it to achieve.

CONCLUSIONS

Choosing between these solutions comes down to three main issues: your budget, your time, and your skills. If you have the skills and time needed, you may save yourself hundreds of dollars in consultants' fees. If not, consider bringing in a consultant to design the site for you and, perhaps, to do the updates as well.

Judge Media offers both Do-It-Yourself and Professional Website Design.  Contact us today to begin creating your attractive and effective website.