Do the work yourself?
There are two main obstacles when creating or maintaining your own website. One is time. Do you have enough time to design, setup and maintain the website and then to deal with the potential tech issues that will arise? The second is actually doing the work. Web design and development requires skills in both fields of design and development. Coding can be daunting or simply too time-consuming to do on your own. Graphic design, although an art, does follow many rules and standards that help to make your website effective. Just knowing how to use PhotoShop is not enough. The standards and rules that a graphic designer follows make successful website design. Designers and design firms have specialized in doing this for organizations all over the world and are responsible for the majority of the award-winning sites you might come across.
DIY Options
In recent years, some DIY options have popped up to allow you some template options and code free websites. These services offer anything from customizing a template pre-selected by you or your team, to offering a do-it-yourself web creation system online. These services usually come with an annual or monthly billing plan, and can be quite economical. However, if you really want a unique and truly dynamic website for your business, you are better off with a custom web design. Below are 3 reasons why you want a custom web design.
Customer Support
When dealing with a custom website design by an individual or agency, you get personalized service with actual people. Your questions, concerns, requests and organizational considerations are addressed in person. If you have changes, you talk to a person. If you have complaints, you talk to a person.
Website Design Options
Once you meet with a designer and have a conversation about your brand and the required functionality of your site, the designer goes to work based on your input. They will sketch out a concept for the layout of your site and then share it with you for your approval.
With a DIY option you are trying to fit your brand with in the theme and your development requirements into existing code. A Professional designer takes your brand and business into consideration and your website is custom to you. This makes your brand seamless across all of your digital marketing and traditional marketing. With the DIY options, you may need or desire more design options and customization options that may cost extra or may require more time and effort from you.
Responsibility for the Final Product
When working with most website design companies, you are responsible for getting information and data to that company so that they can create your site. This content includes text, photos, logos, and video. At Cowlick Studios we know that this can also be time consuming for business owners. That is why we have created Start to Finish website packages. Depending on the package you choose we will take care of everything you need for a successful website; text, photos and even foundational SEO. All you have to do is request changes and provide approval at each stage of the design and development.
The overall value and return on investment in a custom design is almost always greater than expected, and any designer or design firm should be researched and interviewed before making your choice. An important thing to keep in mind is this: with DIY services and template services, if you are unhappy with the results, you have to keep working until you get it right. With a custom web design, all you have to do is provide input and your approval and you can get a better website with less effort on your part.
Photo by Unsplash
