DIY Websites:
Yes or No?
If the TV ads are to be believed, DIY websites are taking the business world by storm.
Whether you choose Ionos, Squarespace, Wix or GoDaddy, the entire process is both seamless and effortless. The end result is a beautiful business website that works perfectly, does everything, takes care of itself, and earns immediately.
(Note: we did say “if the TV ads are to be believed”!)
Anyone can design and build their own website these days, can’t they?
Just because you can, doesn’t always mean you should.
Many DIY website packages look simple and cheap. You might even feel that if you’re not designing and building your own site, you’re missing a trick. You get to do things your own way, for less money. What’s not to like about that?
But no DIY website package will do all the work for you. So in reality, you’ll probably spend hour after frustrating hour adding, editing, and rearranging content on a site that still doesn’t look right.
Plus, it’s easy to spot a DIY website.
Often the site won’t be structured properly, hasn’t been optimised for SEO or isn’t configured for different devices, like phones and tablets.
Most will use basic templates and default site options, so every page looks the same: a header, a stock image, and some basic body copy. Or the site will have a half-decent home page, but the rest are either bland or only half-finished… because time simply ran out.
We’re not saying all DIY websites are terrible, or that they shouldn’t ever be used. If you’re starting a side-hustle or testing a new business idea, they could be the most appropriate choice.
They’re just not the most appropriate choice for established businesses who want to grow and be seen.
Professional expertise will get you a professional, high-performing website.
We have to ask: doesn’t your business deserve that?
If you’re still not convinced, let’s speak from our own experience as professional website designers. Over the years, we’ve spent hundreds of hours researching, learning, and working to the best web design principles.
That means we know how to select just the right images, and how colour can both grab attention and increase conversion. We understand different site layouts and what they can achieve. We know how to guide visitors towards what you want them to do.
There’s a certain amount of science involved in building a high-performing website.
We also know that a high-performing website doesn’t just look good, it’ll be properly structured behind the scenes, too. What does that mean? It means we’ll do important things like breaking up text with header tags. This not only boosts your SEO, but it also makes your content easier to read.
A lot of business owners – and DIY website enthusiasts! – aren’t aware of how to insert the correct H1, H2, H3 (and so on…) tags into copy. They won’t understand how to add page title descriptions and redirects, or structure URLs.
But why should they? Chances are, we won’t fully understand what you do in your business. So we wouldn’t expect you to understand every last thing we do in ours.
Our advice? Do what you do best and outsource the rest.
We’re designers, so we want to spend our time either designing or learning about design. That’s how Northsouth Design was born.
If you’ve also got a business that means you can do something you love, why waste time on things you don’t? Especially when there are skilled professionals ready and waiting to take the job off your hands.
(It’s for exactly this reason that we don’t do our own business accounts!)
If you want to learn more about how an original, creatively-designed website can boost your business, visit our website design page or contact us here.