Choosing
DIY website builder or a developer?
A builder is the right answer for some businesses and the wrong one for others. Here is how to tell which you are, and what to check before you commit either way.
A fair warning first: I build websites for a living, so I gain if you hire a developer. This note tries to argue both sides properly. For many small businesses, a website builder is a sensible first step, and nobody should pay for a custom build they do not need.
The choice rarely comes down to taste. It comes down to three questions.
- How much does the website have to do?
- How much of your own time can you put into it?
- What does a poor result cost your business?
What a builder does well
A hosted website builder gives you templates, hosting and an editor in one subscription. You can have a simple site online quickly, you can change text and photos yourself, and the upfront cost is low. If your business needs a handful of pages (what you do, where you are, how to reach you), that is often enough.
The real cost is your time. Someone has to write the text, choose the photographs, set up each page and keep it current. A cheap site that takes forty evenings is not cheap.
Where builders become hard
These limits are common, though they differ from one builder to another. Check each one against the specific product before you commit.
- Structure. A site with dozens of products, data sheets or service pages needs a deliberate structure. Templates are built for the typical case, and a catalogue with specification tables or a quote flow is usually not typical.
- Control. You work inside what the builder allows: how pages are laid out, how fast they load, how the code is written. When something does not work the way you need, you may not be able to change it.
- Leaving. Moving off a hosted builder often means rebuilding the site, not exporting it. Ask what you can take with you before you start, not when you want to leave.
- Ongoing cost. You rent the platform for as long as the site exists. Compare the price over three to five years, not the first month.
- Search basics. Whatever you choose, you need to be able to set a unique title and description for each page, control page addresses, and keep one address per page. Google’s own starter guide lists these basics, and SEO foundations and what to expect puts them in plain language. If a builder does not let you set them, that is a real limit.
What a developer adds
A developer is useful when the structure is the hard part. That means designing the pages around how your customers look for you, building templates for repeated page types, controlling how fast it loads, and handling parts that do not fit a template, such as an enquiry flow or a product range.
What it costs you is money upfront, and still some of your time. A developer cannot invent your product details or photographs. Supplying them is often what slows a project. The note on what to prepare before a website project lists them.
A way to decide
| Your situation | Lean toward |
|---|---|
| You need a few pages and contact details online soon | A builder |
| You are testing an idea and may change it in months | A builder |
| You sell many products or services that each need their own page | A developer |
| You need specification tables, documents or a quote request flow | A developer |
| You already have a site that brings enquiries and want to change platform | Neither yet: plan the move carefully first |
| You want to edit text yourself but have the structure designed for you | A developer who builds an editable site, if that is agreed |
If you are in the middle, start with the cheaper option and write down what would make you switch. That is a reasonable plan as long as you know what moving later will involve.
Questions to ask either way
- Can I export my pages, text and images if I leave?
- Who is the registered owner of the domain name, and who has the login? See who owns your website, domain and hosting.
- What will this cost in year two and year three, not just year one?
- Can I set a unique title and description for every page?
- What happens if the person or company I am dealing with is not available?
Asking these costs nothing, and the answers tell you more than the price does.