Is it worth getting a website designer?

[SylvesterTheCat]

DH wants to start up a website for his business but neither of us have experience in web design.

Would it be worth getting someone to do it for us, even get the initial site up and then we can edit it ourselves whenever we need?

If we do it ourselves what online sites do you recommend?

It depends on what the business is?

If he’s a plumber for example, people will need a functional, informative site but a simple 1 page one will do. These type of businesses rely on word of mouth more than online presence IMO.

Other businesses (like a wedding photographer) need to be a bit slicker, especially if he will be compared online to competitors. He doesn’t want to look unprofessional.

For DIY design I used Go Daddy serveral times. They were cheap, easy to use and had lots of templates that look fairly okay. I had heard good things about Wix as well. I think Wordpress is the best for professional looking results but I personally found it harder to use.

In terms of cost to run, DIY ranges from free to around £100 a year. Don’t get the free to run ones, they look crap and are lacking basic functionality like a customisable contact form.

In terms of cost to design, DIY sites are normally free to design but some sites offer upgraded templates that you can pay a bit more for. A pro will charge anything from £300 upwards for design (sky’s the limit!) which could be an incredible investment depending on your husband’s business.

Would it be worth getting someone to do it for us, even get the initial site up and then we can edit it ourselves whenever we need?

A number of my clients do this. They’ve had the site built, but cost to maintain is prohibitive so they use me to the the day to day maintenance.

If we do it ourselves what online sites do you recommend?

I like WordPress and Wix as free/low cost options. I’ve built sites for clients on both of those and there’s a pretty even split between the two.

As the PP says, it depends what the business is as to what you need.

A lot depends on (as mentioned above) why he wants a website - is it simply an online brochure - in which case possibly the cheapest / simplest you can do is sufficient... or does he want to actually use it to build the business, in which case a good company will help him do that (so much more than just the website)... Wordpress is okay - but don't assume that you can run it without technical knowledge, and if not kept up to date, easily hacked... Wix - dreadful (squarespace a bit better)

Squarespace is ridiculously easy to set up and 'design' a website yourself. They have built in templates and do all the technical stuff for you. You can link social media, build your own logo, tack on a the professional google suite (sheets, docs, gmail).

I would suggest something like Squarespace (just rewritten our company website using it). Wordpress can be very difficult to update if you don't have a lot of knowledge website design.

It does depend on what you want to get out of the website.

In use Godaddy, very easy to set up and edit. It depends what the business is though and what you need the website to do.

Squarespace is supposed to be good. The my dad wrote a porno is one of theirs.

Also there is a company that gets students to do the job for less so they get something in their portfolio and you get semi profrssional help.

We paid a web designer to do ours. It looks professional, and they host it plus provide email services. I think we paid around £1500 for the initial setup and around £100 a month for ongoing. It's brought a huge amount of business in, and more than pays for itself. Our old site was Wordpress based and it was awful. The ongoing fee means we get several hours of help costed in, and he's incredibly good at updating. We used a local independent designer rather than a big firm.

This is for bespoke retail.

Thank you all. Really interesting. I didn't know these websites could be hacked (though not surprised). Does paying an annual fee help prevent this?

He'd be using it as an online brochure I suppose. He's going to send out his info by post to potential 'client' companies and we just thought it would be useful and possibly more professional looking if he has a website too- most people in his field of work already have one. He's not a plumber but the nature of his work means that someone on Google might find him by searching something like "plumber in Kensington" as clients are likely to be very local.

We will put quite a number of photos on and a YouTube clip too. Once up and running the info won't need to be updated much.

Sorry if this is a daft question but what do you mean exactly when you refer to a website helping to 'build the business'? Is it putting it higher in search engines? A website can't exactly act as agent but perhaps if done properly they're cleverer than I thought!

Depends really. I used to do this freelance when i had time. You really need to think beyond the website and the additional marketing you will need to be found. All well and good designing a webpage but if it cant be found its like having a car with no wheels. You also need to considering intergrating social media to help get the maximim exposure. Not going to lie it can be time consuming. Hence why people paid me monthly fees to manage it all for them. If you want to pm me ill be happy to give you a walk through and fire ideas your way with regards to it all. I covered all aspects of business developments, marketing etc.

And contrary to you saying once its up it wont need much doing to it once its up, you are sadly very incorrect. Dont mean to sound argumentative. To keep ypu relevant and ranked higher in search engines etc you need to keep content fresh and up todate.

I may even have some marketing documents and seo info ive typed up for previous clients. Will happily send it to you to have a look .

Ah, so we have to keep updating it then? I think I'm starting to see why web design companies charge monthly subscriptions. Geez I'm ignorant.
Social media is an interesting idea. We both hate the way the world is going with Facebook/Instagram etc- until now he has been very successful and busy but I think staying clear of social media has taken its toll.

(I realise that I've just said that and here I am on MN)

Pop me an inbox ill give you my email and have a proper chat if you like. Ill be able to give you enough info that hopefully you can save money and keep on top of it all yourself.