Do I Really Need You To Design My Website?
I'm not a good self-promoter of my services. Sometimes an acquaintance or referral will ask me that title question - Do I Really Need You To Design My Website? - and my answer is No. In some cases, you can Do It Yourself.
DIY website builders have come a long way since the days of early free offerings (Remember Geocities?) that allowed you to build your own place online.
If I advise someone to try it on their own, I would consider:
Sometimes my solution is hybrid. I build the site and they maintain it. Or they build the basic site and I make it a bit nicer and update for them.
I find most rookies are really confused by the tasks of buying a domain and launching a site, so they may need help with those aspects at the beginning.
Should they use a free platform like WordPress or Blogger, or go with a paid platform like Squarespace? Obviously, free website builder platforms are excellent on a budget, but they have limitations and may require that you have to keep the company’s ads on each webpage. (Although most offer a premium version that gets rid of the ads.
Paid builders are worth considering, but it all depends on your budget. This will mean ongoing costs, but you get more storage, bandwidth, and tools.
Here are some additional factors to consider when deciding between free and paid website builders.
This site lists some of the most popular website builders.
DIY website builders have come a long way since the days of early free offerings (Remember Geocities?) that allowed you to build your own place online.
If I advise someone to try it on their own, I would consider:
- What are their general computer and web skills? If they have a blog already, that's a good sign. If they have trouble using Word or their email, that's a bad sign.
- Will they have the time and management qualities to keep a website updated?
- Do they have any sense of design? What are some sites online that they want to emulate? Sometimes their goals are lofty ones and there is no way they can do something similar on their own.
Sometimes my solution is hybrid. I build the site and they maintain it. Or they build the basic site and I make it a bit nicer and update for them.
I find most rookies are really confused by the tasks of buying a domain and launching a site, so they may need help with those aspects at the beginning.
Should they use a free platform like WordPress or Blogger, or go with a paid platform like Squarespace? Obviously, free website builder platforms are excellent on a budget, but they have limitations and may require that you have to keep the company’s ads on each webpage. (Although most offer a premium version that gets rid of the ads.
Paid builders are worth considering, but it all depends on your budget. This will mean ongoing costs, but you get more storage, bandwidth, and tools.
Here are some additional factors to consider when deciding between free and paid website builders.
This site lists some of the most popular website builders.
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