So you’ve decided to take your business and put it on the great information highway that is the Internet. Wonderful! Websites have a beautiful tendency to increase profit, expand business, and make the world a better place overall. Deciding you want a website is a great decision, but it raises the question, “Who is going to build your website?” Largely, you will have three options: Hire a web development firm, hire a freelancer or build it yourself using a website builder. Each option has its pros and cons, but knowing which is the right choice for you is important for the success of your website and your business.

The largest difference between these three choices is price, quality of the website and support. While a budget usually is the deciding factor, when it comes to websites, you truly get what you pay for.

Doing it Yourself
There are multiple services that allow you to build a website without a lick of knowledge about code. They allow you to create a website by either using a drag-and-drop editor to arrange website elements together or by allowing you to fill in your information and content into a pre-built website template.

Pros
● Because you don’t have to hire a professional, these DIY tools are very cheap in comparison to other options.
● These tools usually give you control to edit the content of your website.
● You don’t have to rely on anyone else for your website. You are in complete control of everything.

Cons
● DIY websites seldom look as good as professionally built ones. Poorly designed websites can immediately turn away visitors and cause you to lose business. This isn’t specific to all DIY tools, but most DIY website builders either have a limited and/or uninteresting selection of templates to choose from, or they leave the responsibility of designing the website to you. Now I don’t know you, and I’m sure you’re a great person, but websites built by those with no design experience tend to look like, well, websites built by someone with no design experience.
● The quality of the code from websites built using DIY tools never matches the code quality of a professionally built website. Many people ask, “Why does the code matter if the website looks good?” While a website may look good and function properly, Google and other search engines can only see the code. If the code quality is poor, the website will have poor search engine optimization (SEO) and will not rank well in search engine results. This means that your website will have a hard time generating new traffic, which kind of defeats the purpose of the website.

● DIY websites offer little to no customization for your website. You’ll be given the same tools, templates and options as everyone else who uses that website builder. Your website will have difficulty standing out from other websites, and you won’t be able to do anything remotely special other than display content.

When is DIY right for me?
If you have a very low budget for a website, DIY may be your only choice. How low is very low? That depends on where you live and the complexity of the website, but typically anything under $1,500 is usually too cheap for even a freelance developer. If you want the absolute bare minimum, aren’t worried about having a great design and just want to have something on the Internet, then DIY is right for you.

Hiring a Freelance Web Developer
A freelance web developer is an individual who builds websites independently. Their prices are, in most cases, cheaper than a firm, and their skill ranges from novice to super web guru. They will work directly with you to build your website. There are online portals that can help connect you to local or remote freelancers to work on your project.

Pros
● Freelancers can build a much higher quality website than a DIY website builder can.
● Because they aren’t limited by the tools of a DIY website builder, they can offer a certain level of customization to your website.
● They are generally cheaper than hiring a firm.

Cons
● There is a HUGE difference in skill ranges, hourly rates, abilities and services offered by freelancers. This makes it difficult to find a freelancer that is right for your project. They range from your friend’s cousin who taught himself and builds websites on the side for cheap to the website master who has been building online masterpieces for the last 20 years and probably costs more than an entire team.
● Freelancers tend to either be stronger at developing or stronger at designing. This means that most likely either the code quality or website design won’t be as good as it could be. As discussed earlier, if either isn’t perfect, you can lose viewers and business.
● Freelancers aren’t as reliable as a firm. There are many horror stories out there where a freelancer was hired to build a website, did the job and disappeared after. While the website was completed, the client was left without any support, often with no way to edit the website’s content, and with a massive headache.

When is a freelancer right for me?
If you don’t have the budget for a firm, still want a good quality website and are willing to do some searching and interviewing, a freelancer is right for you. You won’t get the quality or reliability that a firm offers, but you will save a few bucks.

Hiring a Web Design Firm
A web design firm is an agency that specializes in building websites and that will have a team of developers and designers to work on your project. They offer a level of quality, reliability and services that typically can’t be matched by freelancers.

Pros
● A firm will provide the highest quality website. Each member of the team at a firm is an expert in his or her field. This means that you’ll have a great designer, developer, copywriter, SEO specialist, manager and sometimes more focusing on your website.
● Firms offer more services than a freelancer or DIY service. This varies by firm, but many firms offer photography, custom graphic design and advertising to help your website and your business flourish.
● A firm is reliable. They are more likely to be there a year from now than a freelancer. Because they have a physical location, multiple people and a higher success rate, chances are they will be there when you need them.
● Because firms often have more people with more experience, firms can offer complete, unique features that will make your website stand out from the competition.

Cons
● Firms typically cost more than other options.
● There may not be a local web design firm, depending on where you live.

When is a web design firm right for me?
If you want to get the most out of your website and demand reliability, a firm is right for you. The service and quality is worth the price, and you’ll truly get what you pay for.

Tyler Johnson
Website Developer