Should You DIY Your Website?

When you’re setting up your blog or business, one of the biggest things you need is a great website. Websites are your home base and the cornerstone of your marketing plan. Everything runs through your website, so your website needs to be up to the challenge. So, as you do your research, you might be wondering if you should DIY your website or hire someone (like me!) to do it for you. They’re both good options depending on your experience, free time, and budget. Let’s go through some things you should consider if you’re thinking about creating your own website.

How tech-savvy are you?

This is the big one. Even basic website builders take some time and effort to navigate, and if you go with WordPress (which I highly recommend), there’s a decent learning curve. On top of the actual website, there’s making sure your website is secure, installing essential plugins, and setting up your settings.

If working with technology makes you want to throw your computer out the window, it’s probably not a good idea to DIY your website. If you consider yourself decently tech-savvy and you’re confident you can figure it out, then creating your own is definitely an option.

Do you have the time to figure out how to DIY your website?

Even if you are tech-savvy, unless you’ve built or worked with websites before, there’s definitely going to be some learning going on. You’ll probably need to do a lot of research and tinkering to get your website the way you want. If time is a concern for you or even if you simply don’t want to spend your time that way, you might just want to hire someone to handle it for you.

On top of the time spent figuring it out, there’s time spent before you have a finished website. Meaning if you want to launch immediately, taking a few weeks or months to hammer out your website might be a problem for you. Then again, many web designers also take weeks to create your website, which can be hard. This is actually one of the reasons I offer one-week and two-week website setups.

Is budget a concern?

Budget is obviously a huge factor when it comes to DIYing your own website or hiring a web designer. The cheapest way to create a website is to create it yourself. Then, your primary investment is your domain, your hosting, and your theme. Meanwhile, hiring someone to do it can cost thousands, depending on who you hire and what you need. DIYing means you’ll save that cost at the beginning, though you might decide to upgrade later. That being said, hiring someone to do it for you means you’re set up correctly from the get-go.

Do you know what goes into a good website?

This is something we don’t talk about often, but it’s super important when it comes to creating your own website. Being able to look at other blogs and businesses and identify what makes their websites good or not so good is an essential skill for building a website. If you want to DIY your website, you should look at a bunch of other websites, from blogs to businesses. Keep track of what you like, what enhanced or detracted from your experience, and what tools they’re using. Learn what the essentials are for a good website. If you don’t want to do all the research and learning, you might be better off hiring someone else.

Do you want to support and maintain your own site?

Maybe you don’t want to put in the effort to maintain your own site. Maintaining a site means making sure everything is updated and secure. The last thing you want is a site that isn’t working properly because you’re not sure how to maintain it. Web designers and developers can manage your hosting and maintenance for you. This typically comes with a monthly or annual charge, but it’s a good way to avoid the hassle of doing everything yourself. That being said, I recommend maintenance plans over hosting plans. When someone else is hosting your site for you, it can be difficult to change it.

If you’re going to DIY your website, be prepared to spend some serious time and effort making sure everything works and is set up properly. If that doesn’t appeal to you, let me know! I can help you set up your website correctly from the beginning. I also offer website audits if you just need a little help. Can’t wait to hear from you!