How much time and money are you wasting by building your own website?

 "How long is a piece of string?"

Let me know if you have heard this before when trying to get a quote on web design prices.

How did that phrase make you feel?

This kind of question is one of my pet peeves and I assume it drives clients away too. The reply should be, tell me more about your goals, and what your budget is. The 2 biggest factors in quoting a project are requirements and budget. Rarely do those 2 things align perfectly. "How long is a piece of string?" can also mean a lot of things, from the project scope is so large it needs multiple quotes and projects to complete. At the other end of the spectrum it could mean the web designer honestly doesn't know or has no experience building what you are asking for. Both scenarios often make the client think "I'll just build it myself, how hard can it be, and I'll save a ton of money too!"

Spending Time Saving Money

There are many ways to build your own website these days, my service included. I do point some clients in that direction if they are new to business, or have virtually no budget for a website. There's nothing wrong with learning about web design at any stage of a business as it's the #1 entry point for the majority of customer interaction.  The more you understand how that interaction and sales funnel works, the better your marketing and lead generation will be. However, if a brand new business owner comes to me and says he wants to be #1 on google by next week, I naturally will try to explain what the hurdles and chances are to achieve this. This inevitably leaves the client disenfranchised with my explanation and thoughts of going the DIY route start to creep into the clients mind.

Time is worth more than money

A new business owner, with no income, and no capital probably has no choice but to start with a DIY website made with a free WIxopifeeblypressspace template for pennies on the dollar. Inevitably these clients never really finish their site properly and will abandon it within weeks. This ultimately does more harm than good for their brand on Google.

You've heard the term time is money. And when you are not making any money, this is even more important. Hiring a professional to do something always has a better ROI than doing it yourself, unless that involves your area of expertise. The deciding factor whether or not you should go the DIY route and build your own website depends on how much you value your time. The easiest way to do this is a simple question. How much do you earn per hour and how long will it take you to to build a website?