In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of building your own website.

 

“No-code” website builder platforms, like Folio Websites, have transformed the internet and placed more power in the hands of ordinary business owners, just like you. Today, you don’t need to spend vast sums of money on a professional web designer or learn to code in order to have a strong, engaging web presence.


All you need are 3 basic skills and you can start to create: 

  • A website layout or design in mind 
  • Content that you want to display on your website 
  • The basic skills to use a mouse 


That’s literally all it takes to build a beautiful, functional website without the help (and cost) of a professional website designer.


But how do you know if using a DIY website builder is right for your business? Read on to find out if it makes sense for you to build your own website


1. You Need A Simple, User-Friendly Website

Not everybody needs a complicated, e-commerce enabled website with all the bells and whistles. Most small businesses and entrepreneurs are just looking for a solid, engaging and creative web presence. If that sounds like you, then a DIY website is the perfect solution. 


You’ll get a way to showcase your business, to share information, build a community through a contact form and subscription and gather your online presence under one convenient banner. 

With Folio or any other DIY platform, you can build a simple, functional, and effective website without the need to turn to a web design company.


However, if you are looking for a client portal, robust e-commerce abilities, a way to sell hundreds of products, or incorporate high-end custom features, then opting for a professional web design company is probably the way to go. 


Building a complex, sprawling website with many pages, menus, functionalities, apps, and more can be done DIY. However, it’s probably not the optimal way of doing it.

 

2. You Don’t Know How To Code

 

As a small business looking for a customized, professionally designed website, you need to have one of two things in order to make it work.
 

  1. A decent budget that will let you hire a team of professional web developers, designers, and coders who will put in the time, but charge you for it.
      
  2. Coding skills that let you develop the back end of a website, such as SEO-optimization, e-commerce functionality, reporting and a hundred other skills that take effort and experience to achieve. You should be aware that this work will take you away from the many other things you need to do to keep your business running. Web development can be all-consuming. 


Obviously, most people don’t have the desire, ability, or time to customize their website from scratch.  


That’s the reason why most DIY website builders, thankfully, are visual builders. A visual builder lets you build and see your website in real-time. All edits made to your website on the builder are reflected on your live website. This makes things a whole lot faster and simpler and you get to customize each page and experience it just like your customers would.

 

3. You Need A Website ASAP! 


No matter what business you’re in, you’ll have competition. And with any competition, speed is always of the essence. Getting a website up and running as quickly as you can give you a first-mover advantage, help you establish an early online presence, and achieve a higher SEO (search engine optimization) ranking than your competition.

 

On the flip side, if you do decide to go with a custom website firm, you’ll likely be spending at least a few weeks (if not a few months) going back and forth approving designs, content, layouts, features, etc. etc. 


If you need a website and want it done yesterday, then a DIY website builder is a ‘no-brainer.’

 

You’ll be able to create a great new website in a few days. In fact, if you have a detailed plan/layout in mind and your content is ready for roll, you’ll be able to build your website in just a few hours. No kidding...you got this!

 


Critically evaluate your own skills and your current situation to determine if you can use a DIY website builder or if you need to go to the custom website route. Rest assured, if you do decide to go the DIY route, there are plenty of forums, groups, and blogs (like this one!) that will give you all the advice, tips and tricks that you need


For easy pointers on what to keep in mind when designing your website, check out our future blog post that talks about elements in good DIY web design for beginners.


Have fun and best of luck as you begin your journey into website development! 


Ready to give it a go? Then take the first step with Folio Websites - the platform built specifically for people like you.