Having your own website is very important these days. It is, at the very least, a sign that you are offering a professional service in the case of individuals, and a way for people to discover your small business. So, do you really need to hire a professional designer for this kind of thing, or can you do it yourself using one of the web builder services available online? This guide will help you to explore your choices.

Price

Perhaps the most important consideration for small businesses and individuals looking to create a web presence is how much it will cost. In that regard, a web builder is absolutely going to be cheaper than hiring a designer. There really is no debate on that. As with anything else in life that you have to assemble yourself, it will be cheaper but in turn you must do all of that work yourself. Luckily, website builders have come a long way in recent years, both in terms of user-friendliness and how the final product turns out.

The cost of your website does not only include the initial price you paid, whether in the form of a website builder subscription or a professional designer’s invoice. You also need to think about the long-term costs such as updates and maintenance. If you go with a professional designer, they are going to charge you each time you want something changed. This can really add up in price over the long run and, depending on the designer, may be out of your budget altogether. On the other hand, with a web builder you will be able to easily do this regular maintenance by yourself, at no extra cost.

Creative Control

Much the same as if you built your own home rather than hiring outside contractors to do it, you have more creative control over your website when you build it yourself. This means that you can get everything looking just the way you wanted it, without having to go back and forth with a design team that will be charging you more money based on the time they spend.

Of course, with this full creative control comes more responsibility and time on your part. Depending on the type of website you need, and what kind of functionality it requires, you could be spending hours, days, or weeks, to get it setup just the way you want it. For the most part though, a simple website for a small business or individual should not take up too much of your time if you use a web builder.

Learn New Skills

As with just about anything else in life, if you pay someone else to do it then you will most likely never learn how to do it yourself. This may not sound like such a big deal to some, who think they don’t need to learn about web design, but again it comes down to being cost-effective. Website builders are simple enough for beginners to use, but even through that simplicity you will start to pick up on little things that you may use later.

You will also be able to update your website much easier by yourself if you use a website builder service. For example: adding new products and/or services, and discounting existing ones, is a fairly simple process that you will be able to manage yourself from home or even on your mobile device.

Plugins and Tutorials

All of the major web builders available today allow you to install plugins that add the required functionality to your website. For example: if you are selling products, then you can find the appropriate plugins that turn your basic website in to an online store. These plugins are sometimes free, or relatively inexpensive compared to getting a professional designer to implement it for you.

Due to the sudden rise in popularity of website builders, there are a lot of people out there who are asking the same questions that you may have. This also means that there are hundreds – possibly even thousands – of free tutorials available online to help you through the process of designing and maintaining your website. Again, this means you will have to take some time to search out answers, but you will not be stuck paying whatever your designer demands when you just want to make a few simple changes.

Avoid Free Services

Everyone likes free stuff, but you get what you pay for. This is particularly true of website builders. The free versions of these services should only be seen as a trial, and then quickly upgraded as soon as you have decided to continue using it. It does not cost a lot of money to upgrade from the free version, and your online presence will do much better without the limitations in place.

In the end, the choice between a web builder and a professional designer is something that you will have to make for yourself. These services are much cheaper than hiring a professional, but you will have to take the time to set everything up to your liking. There are plenty of free tutorials available though, so don’t be scared to jump in.