Today I wanted to discuss the difference between contracting with a professional for your website design, development and maintenance versus opting for one of those do-it-yourself website templates that are available online.
The first and foremost consideration would be your businesses budget. Perhaps you’d like a full-blown, dialed-in, e-commerce website with all the bells and whistles but your budget says no. This would be an obstacle but don’t discount just yet the value added by using a professional webmaster.
Another consideration before deciding professional versus do-it-yourself is the technical aspect of website management. Ask yourself if you are equipped with the technical expertise needed to keep your website functioning efficiently and, if not, do you want to take the time that would be required to gain that technical know-how? Another question to consider: “Is your time best spent working on your business or spent on the telephone with technical support?”
Finally, remember that your website is your “storefront window” and the more attractive and well-designed your website the more likely potential customers will stop in to browse and stay a while to get to know what you have to offer.
You see your website designer offers much more than just a “jazzy” design. Your webmaster is your point of contact when problems arise. Your webmaster is equipped with the technical expertise to handle problems and make changes if you like so you can focus on managing your business and developing new and innovative ways to serve your clients.
We all know that those do-it-yourself websites will give you a online presence but a professionally-designed website and a full-service webmaster can be your personal IT guy who keeps your website performing at top efficiency leaving you free to run your business. So before you dismiss the idea of contracting with a professional to develop that “ultimate” website due to cost alone consider the entire picture and then decide.