No, You Don’t Want to Build Your Own Website (Trust Us)

No, You Don’t Want to Build Your Own Website (Trust Us)

It’s time for a new website, and whether you’re a startup or an existing business with a dated site, there are plenty of platforms that will tell you that a DIY site is easy… so easy that in just a few simple steps, you can be up and running with your new site.

But here’s the thing: it’s not just about IT. Yes, there are buttons you can push and features you can drag from a menu in a particular order to put together a site. But your site is about more than the IT part of the process.

Think about it this way: You need clothing, and it is perfectly reasonable that you could take some extra cloth and a stapler and put together something that is warm and covers your body. But no matter how easy it is to hand-staple your clothes, clothes are worn for more than just coverage. You like to express yourself and have some style. Not to mention, you’d need to be very careful how you sit in stapled seams.

A website is similar. It’s not there just to exist; you need it to express your brand identity and be a part of who you are as a company.

Take a look at these five reasons why a DIY site may not be the best option:

You Need a Design Expert: Design isn’t something you use in a tutorial; it’s a creative discipline with a lot of complexity, and designing your website is a study in building trust. Your site needs to convey who your brand is effectively, and without a good designer, there are missteps that could drive traffic away from your site.

You Need SEO Knowledge: The whole point of a website is to be found, and the rules for how search engines rank websites change constantly. You need website design that is centered on search engine optimization (SEO) so that when people search for your products or services, they end up on your site.

Customization is Not DIY: A website template is not going to offer any kind of customization to your site. Any special features will be off the table because you’re using a set formula. In addition, the same site you’re using probably attracted a lot of other business owners, and now you’ve got a site that looks like everyone else’s.

DIY May Not Offer Mobile-Friendly Design: Everywhere you look, people’s eyes are glued to their phones. While we all tell ourselves we’re doing something that simply can’t wait, most of us are just browsing lists of the best flossing techniques or how to stain a deck.

In other words, from critical business to minutiae, everyone is on their phones. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re losing business. It’s that simple.

Invest Well: A lot of businesses invest in a DIY template, only to find that they aren’t satisfied with the result. Whether it’s buggy or they simply need more customization, they eventually shift to hiring a design team.

You also want to invest in a site, knowing that if something doesn’t go as planned, you’ll have support. Only a custom design team will offer the level of support necessary for a business website.

If you’re not convinced, maybe you like your stapled clothes and you’re kind of proud of your duct tape footwear line, too. But if that’s not really your style, and you prefer a more refined approach to your clothes and your company, there’s a chance you could use some website design consultation. Let’s grab a cup of coffee and talk about your business. We’d love to help you design a website that’s as cool as your brand.

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