The number of websites online is edging ever closer toward two billion. 

If you’re thinking of joining the party, you have two main options: design and build the website yourself, or hire a professional agency.

Building a personal website is something that many people do. Sites like Wix and Shopify make creating a basic website simple.

Is it the right choice, though? Read on to learn some of the pros and cons of building your own site vs. having your site build professionally.

Building a Personal Website Yourself

It’s tempting to think that you should just build a website by yourself. After all, you’ve probably seen adverts for companies that can help you build websites from their templates.

Here are a few reasons why this isn’t a great idea.Time Is Money

Although you’re not paying anyone to build your site, you’re going to devote a lot of time to it if you want to do a good job.

Remember that no one is paying you to do this work, and all the time that you spend on it is time that you could be spending on other things, including making more money. Depending on how complex you want your website to be, you could spend a lot of hours going back and forth until you’ve got things just how you want them.

All that time spent working on building a site is time that can’t be spent elsewhere. Think about how much your time is worth, and you’ll see that building your own site can actually be a costly proposition.Blinkered View

When you’re really focussed on a project, it can be hard to see the bigger picture.

If you’re the only person working on your website, you may fail to see an obvious flaw that’s clear as crystal to someone with an outside perspective. You may end up wondering why your website isn’t performing as well as you expect it to when someone looking in from the outside could spot it in an instant.

Hiring professionals means you have fresh eyes on your website and fresh insight on what it should include.It’s Unlikely to Be Perfect

If you’ve never built a website before, you can’t expect to create something perfectly the first time. Even if you have the experience, DIY designer sites may not allow you the freedom to create exactly what you want. You may find yourself having to resort to installing more and more plugins, which can make your site less secure, and more prone to crashing.

If your site is just for fun, that’s not a problem. If it’s for your business, then you need your website to be as good as it can possibly be. People will judge you by your website, and if it’s not perfect, that’s only going to reflect poorly on you.

You need a site that looks professional and works faultlessly. If you’re not 100% sure you can pull that off, then you need to hand things over to the professionals.What If Things Go Wrong?

If you build your own site and something goes wrong with it, you’re the one who has to sort it out.

If you don’t have the appropriate expertise, finding and fixing the problem may take a lot of time during which your website isn’t serving its purpose. If problems continue to arise you may find you have to spend more and more time putting out fires.

All the time your site is down, you could be losing money from prospective clients or just from paying for hosting that you’re not actually using. If you won’t want to spend all your time trying to iron out bugs, hiring professionals is the best move.

Hiring a Professional

The alternative is hiring a professional agency. There are many reasons why this is the best option. Here are a few of the most important.Expertise

You’re not just paying for the work; you’re paying for the expertise. Web design agencies have a wealth of experience that they can bring to the party. They’ve seen what works, and what doesn’t, meaning you won’t make the same mistakes others have.

That expertise also means that your site is unlikely to have any major issues.Up To Date

Web design is developing all the time. You need to keep up with the latest trends if you don’t want your site to feel outdated. 

Agencies will be on top of all the latest developments, ensuring that your site will include all the latest and greatest features.Professional Look and Feel

This really is key if your site is for business use.

Users can usually tell in an instant if a site is professional. The look and feel of the site will reassure them that if your website is high-quality, your business is likely to be as well. Nothing ruins this image more than a shoddily built website.Range of Talents

If you build your own site, you’re just one person. An agency will have a range of people who may work on your site, including graphic designers, web developers, SEO experts, and more. 

There’s simply no way you can match that level of talent yourself.

DIY or Outsource: Which Is Better?

If you’re trying to decide between building a personal website or hiring professionals to do it for you, we hope that this article has helped you realise that it’s a no-brainer. If you want a quality website, then it’s not worth going down the DIY route.

If you’ve decided that a professional website is the way to go, then we’re here to help. We offer high-quality web design and development, to help you achieve a website that’s fast, mobile-optimised, and built with SEO in mind. We also offer a range of other services, including social media management, website care, and even web hosting.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you.