Derrick Thompson
Of course, reality isn't so simple. More often than not, we encounter clients who have tried this very approach, only to realize that the process isn't as easy as it seems. The good news: if you're stuck trying to build your own website, you don't have to despair! Here are 3 reasons it makes sense for you to hire a professional instead.
1) It Doesn't Look the way you Need It To!
These Do it yourself (DIY) platforms allow you to make a website quickly and often for free. The downside of this is that your website may not have the professional look that you need in order to thrive. These platforms are often difficult to manage when it comes to adding pictures and other high tech elements that you'll need to be successful. Leaving you in a last minute situation where you have to quickly hire a professional website company. We have converted many websites from these platforms into something that will actually bring your business.
1) A Unique Online Presence
Too often, Do it yourself (DIY) website building ends up becoming quite simple: you don't know much about coding and design, so you end up going with a template from a provider like Squarespace or WordPress. But here's the problem: especially as a small business, your competitors are likely going down the same route.
Any marketer knows that differentiating yourself from your competition is absolutely crucial to succeed in your industry. But if you simply 'build your own website' by using readily available online services, you lose that differentiation. On the other hand, hiring a professional lets you customize your website to your heart's content, ensuring that you end up with a truly unique presence that attracts and delights your audience.
2) A Solid Infrastructure
Even if have some coding knowledge and decide to do the project on your own, you might run into issues. As it turns out, merely having a website isn't nearly enough anymore - to achieve audience satisfaction, you need a solid infrastructure that complies with all web design standards. Think about it like the foundation of a home: no matter how great your website looks, a shaky foundation can lead to disaster.
Take site-loading speed as an example: 25% of your potential visitors will leave if your site takes 4 seconds or more to load, leaving you with crucial lost revenue. Site-loading speed is directly connected to both the size of your graphics and the efficiency of the code that holds up the backend.
A website also needs a navigational structure that is thought out and user friendly, ensuring that your users don't get lost on your site before ever having a chance to complete the action you need them to. A professional web developer can help you develop a foundation that loads quickly and ensures user satisfaction.
3) A Lasting Advantage
This point is worth reiterating: merely having a website is not nearly enough to succeed in today's digital environment. What you need instead is a website that can be an asset to your business, which means it needs to be a website that adjusts continuously to changing digital trends.
Earlier this year, marketers everywhere panicked when Google announced its "Mobilegeddon" update - beginning to punish websites in its search rankings that didn't pass its mobile-friendliness test. Suddenly, whether or not your website is responsive became a major factor in how it performed on the search engine giant. And we'd venture a guess that most DIY websites did not pass this test, losing significant search traffic in the process.
Going with a professional instead means creating a website that is prepared for such updates, both in the near and the long term. What you get is a partner who knows the environment and can design your site to fit all current and future trends.
Are you stuck trying to build your own website? Whether the issues that keep you from moving ahead are code or design related, we'd love to help you. Contact us today to see how a professional developer can help you turn your website from a source of worry into a valuable digital marketing asset.
