Web Design – Pros vs. DIY
When you need website, you may be wondering who’s best to use? The pros or DIY? We’ve got all the information you need on both in this post!
Whether you’re a blogger or just starting your own business, you’ll probably want a website to match using a resource like https://www.expedition.co/use-cases/enterprise for help with designing the website you desire to have. Because if you’re not online, you may as well not exist – it’s the truth. Companies without a website in this day and age are doomed to fail. If you don’t have a website that is amazing, you’ll be missing out on a potential huge amount of business. Your site needs to not only match your brand but needs to work well and look good. But, how do you get an amazing website?
We spoke to Revive.Digital, leading experts in web design in Essex, about designing websites. More and more, people are choosing to use services like Wix and WordPress to build their websites, but is it better than having a custom-built site specifically designed for you? In this article, we’ll be investigating what’s better – DIY or professional design. Of course, you could make yourself a pro by watching a video or two on it, which would save you money and help you learn a skill, but for now, we’ll be looking at pricing, effectiveness, custom design and functionality of both options individually. Here’s all you need to know about web design: the pros vs. DIY.
Round 1: Price
We’ll start with pricing. Obviously, there’s a vast difference between pricing for custom built sites and template websites that Wix offer. But we’ll be looking at them in depth here:
If you seek a web design company out to build you a website, you’ll be paying a significant amount more. This is because of all the man hours that will go into your site, and as they are a business, they’ll need to profit. The thing with custom built sites is they take time and planning to create. The more functions you want on your site, the more time it takes and therefore the more it will cost. Most agencies will bill at hourly rates, so the more that goes into your site, the more it will cost.
When we look at sites like Wix, these are normally free services. Yes, you can create a fairly basic site for free, but if you’re looking for bespoke functions, you won’t find them on here. Sure, website builders like WordPress allow you to have plug-ins on your site, but these come at a cost. They’re available for premium users, who pay monthly for their site and domain. However, this isn’t a high fee, and it allows you access to premium site designs, plug-ins and more!
So, for this round, we have to say DIY price wins. However, it largely dependent on what you’re looking for from your site. Whether you need a completely bespoke website with different functionalities or a basic site to just blog from – it varies from client to client.
Round 2: Effectiveness
Next round is effectiveness of both pro and DIY web design. We’ll be looking at how effective these sites are for the purpose they serve. We’ll start with DIY sites:
DIY sites are great for those looking for online portfolios, such as photographers or bloggers. These sites are usually the most basic form and focus on user ease and somewhat custom design. But, when it comes to businesses looking for a shopping site (for example), it can be tricky to weave these into custom template formats. Especially if you’re looking to incorporate your branding into your website. These template sites work yes, but they may not be as effective as custom-built sites.
As for professional web design, they’ll be able to build the right site for the right client. A web design company will more than likely have a team to not only work on branding, designing your site, and developing the functions behind it. Whilst it may cost more, you’ll have a team dedicated to presenting your website in the best way for you. Most agencies will have built e-commerce sites and more, meaning they can accommodate any business’s website with ease.
However, as with the price, this round largely depends on the client. A DIY site can meet a blogger’s needs but not an online business, and a custom-built site may be too pricey for a blogger but would still work. So, in terms of effectiveness, it’s a draw.
Round 3: Design
In this round, we’ll be looking at the design capabilities between both DIY and pro design. Let’s begin:
Firstly, we’ll be looking at DIY. The template sites like Wix and WordPress are somewhat limited in their design capability. Whilst there’s a whole host of templates and designs open to you, they’re not unique – because these templates are open to everyone. Sure, you can access more on the premium service, but there’s still a limit to the uniqueness of the design. You can do your best to build in your own design, but if you’re not a pro this can be both challenging and time consuming. It is possible to build your own design in, but not easily – unless you have the knowledge.
This is where pros have the upper hand. Like we’ve said, there’s a dedicated team working on your site at web design agencies. You’ll have someone to speak with about your design, and they’ll be able to use their expertise to build you a beautiful and custom-built website. It will be unique, unlike anything available on these DIY services, and be in line with your business and brand too.
So, in terms of unique design, the pros win this one. They can create a unique site for you online, so it can stand out above your competitors. Blogger or business, being original and unique is key.
Round 4: Functionality
In the 4th and final round, it’s time to look at functionality. Who will take the crown? DIY or Pro? Let’s find out:
DIY sites have simple functionality built in. With clear navigation and basic pre-sets, you can create a passable website. However, there is the option to upgrade (as we’ve mentioned), with higher price plans you can add more functions onto your custom-built site. There’s a wide array of plug-ins that can be added to your site, to improve the functionality.
But this is where pro web design takes the cake – again. Yes, we’ve mentioned the team working on your site one or two times, but they have dedicated developers to work on the functionality behind your site and everything that makes up how it works. Because the key to a good website is to look amazing and work well.
Again, this category is largely dependent on what type of site you’re looking for. Bloggers may not need a shopping cart or other functions for example. However, when it comes to functionality, there’s nothing that rivals a developer building functions for your site.
There you have it! We have a clear winner – congrats pro design. However, like we’ve mentioned (a lot) in this article, it’s dependent on what type of site you’re looking for. DIY can benefit those with smaller businesses, less functions and don’t mind using template designs. But, if you’ve got a bigger budget with bigger ambitions, the pros are probably for you. Your website needs to look beautiful and work well – the choice is yours.
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