The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Web Design Agency
Posted on 27th July 2023
Your website is often the first port of call for customers and prospects. It’s the first thing they’ll see when they click on your web links or type your URL into their browser. So it needs to convey professionalism and authority. It should be simple and fast to navigate, function as expected and accurately reflect your offering.
If you aren’t sure whether to use a web design company or try to build a top-quality site yourself using a website builder like Wix or WordPress, this article should help you decide.
Advantages of using a web design agency
Bespoke design
If you have a particular vision for your website, a professional web designer can achieve it – whether you need a top-spec e-commerce store that provides a frictionless customer experience or a standout portfolio website that’ll help you get more leads. There are literally no limitations to the design you can have, unlike web builders, which offer somewhat restricted templated designs.
Not only will a web designer take a creative approach with typography, colours, layouts and graphics, but they’ll also problem-solve to ensure your site functions how you want it to.
Saves time (and hassle)
Building your own website is time-consuming and can be a learning curve if you’ve never used a DIY web builder before. A web design company takes care of everything, from design concepts to build and maintenance (including sorting out any technical issues) – leaving you free to focus on day-to-day business operations.
Better for SEO
A web design agency keeps on top of the latest SEO insights and can build you an SEO-friendly website as a matter of course. If you go it alone, you’ll need to understand how to design your website with SEO in mind and get to grips with the latest search engine algorithms. There are a lot of factors to consider, such as website responsiveness, target keywords, optimised meta descriptions, site speed and more.
Can be cost-effective
A professionally designed website is an investment, but it can pay back in dividends, acting as an extension of your sales team to bring in enquiries and convert leads into customers.
Disadvantages of professional web design
More expensive than DIY website builders
Going down the typical route of professional web design often involves a hefty upfront cost, ranging from hundreds to thousands of pounds. At the end of the day, you’re paying for a service, and the bigger and more complex your site, the more you’ll need to invest. it’seeze is one solution that offers a middle ground – a small upfront fee, then a manageable monthly subscription.
DIY website builders are a cheaper option. They typically involve a monthly fee for hosting your site online, and you may also need to pay for a premium theme if you want a more custom design (although it will still be based on a template that others can use.)
You may lack control over your site
Typically, when you use a web design agency to build your website, you’ll need to go back to them if you want to tweak the design, layout or functionality in the future. This can incur development costs.
However, an it'seeze website has an easy editing system, to allow you to go into the back end and make changes whenever you like. We provide one-to-one training on using the editor, which you wouldn't get from a DIY web builder platform – and we also have a brilliant online support resource to help you when editing your own website.
Should you hire a web design agency or build a DIY website??
Can you create an incredible website with a DIY website builder? Perhaps… if you have the know-how to create a quality design and the time to maintain your website going forward.
A professional web design agency takes care of your website from start to finish, from coming up with a concept you love, to building and launching your site and looking after it thereafter. You will need to spend more money for this service compared to using a DIY website builder. However, it could be worth it when you factor in the time and hassle you’ll save. And, if you use it’seeze for web design, you can benefit from our unique pricing options, which are based on affordable monthly payments. Check our pricing plans here.
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