As a rule of thumb, one of the best ways to save money on anything is to do-it-yourself. Whether you’re trying to install new tiles, change a muffler, or file your taxes, you’re going to pay a premium if you turn to a professional.
But, is there a point where deciding to be hands-on can actually cost you more than it saves? We certainly think so. Without any experience in this area, designing your own business website tends to be penny smart and pound foolish. That’s because, although it might seem as if you’re saving your budget by not spending anything on web design fees, there are hidden costs to consider.
To help you understand why, here are a few things any business owner or executive should keep in mind before deciding to take a DIY approach to web design…
Cookie Cutter Websites Do Not Impress Potential Customers
Creating a do-it-yourself website means starting with a template. Of course, any template you can buy online is available to your competitors, as well. Do you want your direct competitors using the same cookie-cutter website template as you do? And, in order to maximize sales, the developers are going to make it as generic as possible.
The result is going to be a web design that has a cookie-cutter feel. A template might be easy to adapt, but it’s not really going to help your business stand out on the web, is it? Generic websites don’t impress customers, and a poor first impression could end up costing you dearly and missing sales and conversions.
Saving Money Doesn’t Always Help Make Money
Time is money, as the old saying goes. The more of your time you spend building a DIY website, the less of it you are devoting to your company growth. It’s not uncommon for business owners to spend dozens of hours trying to get a template website “just right.” Often, those hours would have been more profitable if they were devoted to employee management, product development, customer service, or other pressing issues.
And of course, if you’re hurting your own sales in the process by neglecting to get professional help, that just compounds the issue. It’s great to save money, but not if it costs you precious time or new revenue.
DIY Websites Have Performance Issues
Because a website template creator doesn’t know (or care) about your specific needs, they are likely to include lots of extra elements, plug-ins, and bits of code that aren’t necessary for the website you’ll end up with. Those extras might not seem like a big deal, but it can cause headaches and performance issues behind the scenes.
For instance, unnecessary coding can cause your pages to load slowly. Or, if you add new features or plugins later, you might experience conflicts that lead to crashes. It’s also worth noting that Google and the other search engines hate seeing pages with extra code, so your search engine visibility could be affected. And with only 8 seconds to grab the website visitors attention, you don’t want to waste that time only loading a homepage.
The Value of Knowledge & Experience
While we’ve talked about efficiency and performance, we haven’t mentioned the biggest problem of all with DIY websites: they just aren’t as good as they could be.
Presumably, your web presence is going to be important part of your business. Doesn’t it make sense to involve professional web designer who can ask the right questions, find the appropriate solutions, and spot problems or challenges before they cost you sales? Knowledge and experience are valuable. It does not make good bottom-line sense to go without the advice you need.
If you absolutely can’t afford a custom web design, then using a template to build your pages is probably better than having no online presence at all. With that being said, you should beware of treating web design and development like an odd job that anyone can do with the right tools. While you might be able to build and launch your own started website, it’s usually not the right decision for your business in the long run.
If you are ready to take that next step for your business, contact our local, professional NYC Web Design company to discuss your options.