- Should you build your own website or hire a web pro?
We're talking about it here
on The Journey.
- So being a business owner,
having something online, your website,
that's very important.
It allows you to market your business,
make sure that people can find you
and it adds an extra layer of credibility.
However, if you are a business owner
you may not know how to actually build your own website.
- Right. Unless you're a web designer yourself.
But we've got some tips and tricks to better understand
whether you should go at it yourself
or hire a web pro today.
So let's jump into those tips here.
- So you can actually code your website yourself.
If you want control of the layout
and how things are going to look,
knowing HTML and CSS is a good way to go.
- Yeah. But if you're already running a business,
this can get kinda complicated,
having to know HTML and CSS.
Yes, it does give you full control of the website,
but it's a little bit more difficult.
There are WYSIWYG editors out there, like Dreamweaver,
which make it a little bit easier to design your site
versus doing it from scratch.
- What's WYSIWYG?
- What You See Is What You Get.
And that's pretty common
with a lot of the site builders out there.
You basically see it
and then it'll basically do all the coding
and really cool stuff on the back end, so you don't have to.
- Now, learning how to code is a little too strenuous
and a big time investment.
You can go with a different route
and actually get a site builder,
like GoDaddy's Websites + Marketing.
There's template designs, drag-and-drop.
It makes things super-easy for you.
- Yeah, and I think the biggest part there is the templates.
I know some of us aren't design-oriented.
We can barely draw a stick figure, right,
if you're like me.
But with these templates
it gives you a great starting point
and a great layout to go from,
and then you just kinda plug-and-play from there.
Now, when you're using a site builder and those templates,
whether it's Websites + Marketing
or Squarespace or Weebly or Wix, things like that,
don't get caught up on the actual content on the page.
Just look at what do you like and what fits with your brand.
'Cause all the images, all the content, the text,
all this stuff can be manipulated to be your brand
versus the template that they gave you.
- An added benefit of getting a site builder
is everything is included.
You have the ability of having the technical support.
If anything goes awry, you can reach out to the company.
But you can also have the hosting.
You don't have to worry about
trying to host it yourself as well.
And typically this costs about $30 per month.
- Yeah, and I think the biggest thing there
is the hosting aspect.
When you get a website builder that hosting is included.
You could think of hosting as your house.
It's where you live.
It's where your website lives.
And you don't have to get anything extra,
it's all in one.
It usually has that security in there too with that SSL,
because that's super-important these days.
At the end of the day website builders are the easiest way
for an everyday small business owner to get a website online
without being an expert.
- Now, another option is
if you do wanna actually get your hands in there
and have a little more control over the look and the layout,
you still don't wanna be able to have to code,
WordPress and Joomla can give you a lot more functionality
and options to choose from.
- Yeah. And if you've been following along
with any of the other episodes,
you know that I am an avid WordPress user.
I mean, check out this video right here
if you wanna learn more about WordPress.
But it isn't a great option
for those needing some advanced functionalities
or features on their website.
But again, they don't have the time to be an expert.
There is more of a learning curve
when it comes to WordPress,
just because there are things like plugins and themes.
And with WordPress, it's an open source platform,
meaning anyone and everyone can contribute to it
and make it awesome.
But when you add a new plugin
you have to learn that plugin.
And you have another plugin,
you have to learn that plugin.
There is that learning curve there,
but if you're in it for the long haul and those features,
there are tons of resources out there
to make a website awesome.
- Now, Nealey, what about the hosting and the security?
- Yeah. So unlike site builders, it's not included in one.
WordPress is essentially a software,
so you have to purchase hosting
and typically have to purchase the SSL too,
unless it's bundled in with the hosting.
Things like cPanel or Managed WordPress
will have things to automatically install it for you
to make your life super-easy,
but it's gonna be a little bit extra
to get everything going.
- Now, if you don't wanna do any of this,
hiring a web designer or company to host it for you
and build it for you could be the way to go.
Most freelancers will charge anywhere
from five to 1500 for a website.
- Yeah. And those are averages.
I mean, if you get some super-awesome freelancers
they may charge even more.
I mean, I know myself,
I charge people a little bit more
for higher quality websites.
But then there's also the option of hiring an agency.
Agencies have their benefits,
like they're not going anywhere.
The freelancer, it's just them,
so if anything happens,
you're only relying on them.
With an agency,
you have that company foundation to back you.
Those prices are going to be a bit higher,
just 'cause they have more overhead to run their companies,
so they typically place it on the client,
but for good reason.
The quality is usually a little bit higher,
so you can expect, basically,
those prices to start at 2500 up to maybe 5,000,
but it can go even higher if you need more than a website,
like website presence and branding and social,
and all these different things
that they they can take care of for you.
- So with either option
you will still have that monthly hosting cost
and other menial fees.
But the good thing is it takes this off of your plate.
It gives you more time back into your schedule
and you won't have to worry about it all.
- Yeah. I think it comes down to
what point of your business are you in?
Do you value your time more or do you value your money more?
So if you value your time more,
you really want to think about
how much would you pay yourself per hour,
and then equate that
to how long it's gonna take you to actually do your website
and what task that's taking away that you can be running on
to design your site.
Versus if money is an issue,
doing it yourself is the more frugal option
to get something up and going.
But you need a website
whichever route you end up taking.
Your website, again, adds that credibility,
adds professionalism that your customers and your clients
expect to see.
So whichever route you go, you need one.
- All right, so we hope this has helped you to figure out
whether you wanna build your own website,
or hire a pro to do it.
Be sure to like this video
and comment below on how you built your website.
- Yeah. And if you found this video helpful,
subscribe to this channel and ring that bell
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This is The Journey.
See you next time.