Building your small-business website: hire a designer or do it yourself?

While our research shows that 41 per cent of Australian small-business owners recognise the benefits of having a company website, the majority are yet to take advantage of what it can offer. Small-business owners may want to consider outside help, as one in six believe they don’t have the necessary technical skills to build a professional website.

Working with a professional web designer can help bring your online brand to life, while also portraying a sense of professionalism to current and prospective customers. Alternatively, a small-business owner may prefer to design their site themselves. Using online website builder tools can help make creating a great-looking website easy for even the least tech-savvy business owner.

Finding the right website designer doesn’t need to be difficult. So whether you opt to build your own or hire help, here are four tips to consider to help make the process easier:

Understand your purpose

Understanding the purpose of your small-business website can help lay the stepping stones for the process that follows. Whether you are an established small business, or one just starting out, a website can serve a range of purposes, so take the time to think about what you want your site to achieve. For instance, a website for a hair salon which acts predominantly as an online bookings hub can require different elements as compared to an e-commerce site, which has a core purpose of selling products. Once you outline your purpose, you can then focus on finding a designer who is the right match for the job.

Bring your brand to life

A website’s design should reflect your business’ brand image so, before you hire a designer, or build your own, take some time to think about the brand you desire to build. A skilled web designer or agency with experience in both User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) can help bring your brand vision to life by combining the right visual elements, such as graphics, fonts and colour palettes. Partnering with an agency or designer that offers a range of services and skills, and understands your vision, helps to encourage both a good working relationship, and get the results you want.

Communication is key

Building a website with a designer can take time. It is likely you will be coordinating review and approval processes throughout the project. So ensure the designer is someone who will provide you with important and accurate progress updates. Reliable, consistent and transparent communications can go a long way in developing a mutually beneficial relationship, making the development process as seamless as possible, and getting the results you desire.

Consider website builder tools

While there are clear benefits to hiring a web designer to help build your business website, many small-business owners may prefer to own the process themselves. With the use of website builder tools, even the smallest of small-business owners can consider designing their own website to help their business grow online.

Whether you hire a designer or build the site yourself, having a professional looking website for your venture is an important asset. Taking the time to build something that reflects your company, your brand and your products and services, can go a long way in attracting prospective customers and establishing yourself in your market.

Tara Commerford, Vice President and Managing Director Australia & New Zealand, GoDaddy