Should I Build My Own Website or Hire a Designer?

I build websites for a living, and bulding my own business' website is the hardest one I've ever built. Why? Because I was the client.

I could look at another business owner's page and know exactly which sections needed to go where. But writing about my own business? Goodness. It's SO much easier to look at someone else's business and say, yep, that fits your messaging, than to do it for yourself, because you can't read the label from inside the jar.

It took me about two weeks to get my site up, squeezed in between client work, and I'm still updating it all the time with new blog posts and portfolio projects. So if it's that much work for a designer, it's worth asking yourself whether building your own is the right move for you.

The template always looks better in the demo.

Here's what happens to almost everyone who DIYs. You pick a template that looks amazing in the demo (because a professional built that demo with real photos and real copy). Then you drop in your logo, your words, and a photo from your phone, and suddenly... it doesn't look like the demo anymore.

You can feel that something's off, but you can't quite name it, so you nudge things around for another six hours and end up with something that's... fine. And fine on your website is expensive, because that's where interested people go to learn more about/buy from you.

And then you look at it on your phone.

So many websites look completely fine on a desktop and totally unhinged on an iPhone. I see it ALL the time, especially with WordPress sites. (It's one of the reasons I love building in Wix, because I can control exactly how each version looks instead of crossing my fingers that it shrinks down right.)

And since so many people will find you on their phone first, that's the version that matters most.

Here's what DIY looked like for Mary's Herb Garden.

When Tricia came to me, her homepage was one section: a picture of a flower, the words "herbal teas and salves," and a button to her shop. Click that button, and you landed on a plain white page with black text that looked nothing like her homepage (or her products, for that matter). She even had an email signup collecting emails, but no emails were ever going out.

The back end was set up fine. The front end was all over the place. Nothing was clear, consistent, or cohesive, so even the people who found her had no idea they'd found something special.

I clarified her branding, messaging, positioning, and visual identity, and built her a website where it all works together. Now she's selling to strangers across the country. She told me someone in Illinois bought from her, and she doesn't even have family in Illinois! That was her website doing its job (here's the full Mary's Herb Garden case study).

What does DIY actually cost you?

The website builder subscription looks cheap, but your evenings and time between client projectsaren't.

If it took me, a website designer, two weeks, it's probably going to take you longer, because you're also learning the editor, writing your own copy, hunting for photos, and figuring out why the mobile version looks weird. If your time is worth $50 an hour and the build takes you 40 hours, that's $2,000 of your time, and you're still the designer, the copywriter, the photographer, and the tech support (for the other side of the math, here's what a small business website actually costs).

Sometimes DIY is the right call.

If you're just starting out and scrappy, go for it! You've got more time than money right now, and building it yourself is a great way to get started.

But if you're ready to grow and you're thinking, eh, I'll just update my site myself, I'd gently say: yes, you can, but should you? Your time is better spent on what you do best, and a designer brings the strategy that turns your website into something that actually sells for you.

Here's what you get when I build it.

My Website Build is $1,000, and it's strategy first, pretty second. I map out your pages and customer journey before anything gets built, write all of your website copy in your voice (with foundational SEO), design and build it to work on every screen, and stick around for 14 days after launch.

It's set up for what most small businesses need, and it adjusts if you need more pages, fewer pages, product sales, or booking. I plan for about four weeks, and I usually beat that, especially when approvals move fast.

If you're stuck between I'll just do it myself and I really need help, tell me where your website's at, and I'll tell you straight up which one makes sense right now.

Start your inquiry here →