Do you build your own website.. or get someone else?

[Brendan]

I have been reading quite a bit of the SmartComapny stuff lately, and came across this one.. which I would share with you - To DIY or not to DIY your web presence - Business news, business advice and information for Australian SMEs | SmartCompany

It basically discusses the pros and cons of trying to DIY everything yourself as opposed to out sourcing..

What are your thoughts on this.. do you out source at all? Or do you like to have a hands on approach?

[Oztrepeneur]

I have built all my own websites, plus done some reasonable tweaking of some wordpress blogs. Back when I started out online, in 1997 or so, there was no such thing as outsourcing. I claim only a reasonable knowledge og HTML, a grasp of CSS enough to build a site using it, but nothing of any other coding or even managing an sql database (thank you Fantastico!!)

These days there are so many good free platforms even building your own seems to be overtaken by this easy route - until something goes wrong! Or if you want something that does not look like it was built on a CMS platform!

The area where I have outsource was to have a job management system built for my caricature site (first by an Indian company - never again!) and then by a good guy in an ex USSR country who finalised it and has done some other tweaks (it helps that he shares workspace with one of my artists).

I think it can often be hard to find a good outsource supplier (from what I have heard of other's experiences) but good once you finds a good one.

[nathanhulls]

I design all my own sites, then I outsource the XHTML/CSS slicing.

Sometimes I have them built into WordPress as a basic CMS and I also do some sales consulting work for a company Objectify Services - Web Site Design Bendigo & Content Management System - Website Design Geelong - Web Design Melbourne - Website Management Software who have their own proprietary CMS for SMEs

[abd]

I guess it depends on what my budget is and what the purpose of the site is.

Normally I will do all the work myself, but if I have a big budget to spend, I will employ specialists when needed.

[JakeThomas]

I'm a web designer by trade, so I build all my own websites =)

[LudaKris]

From what I have read about getting a website up, you have three main issues:

1. Design (how it looks)
2. Coding (making it work)
3. SEO (so it can be found)

Obviously an outsourcing business who can tick all these boxes would be in a better position for the average business person wanting a great website.

I like the idea of being able to use a content management system like Wordpress and just pay someone to tweak it here and there for the technical things. Control of the content is the key.

I have also heard good things about people from the former USSR countries.

[HWT]

We do it all ourselves - again, we do website design (in Jamestown SA but have done odds and sods all over the country). But largely we'd use an out of the box open source solution like Wordpress or Drupal and set it all up so it looks pretty and then let the owner put all the content in at their leisure.

[Carl Taylor]

It depends on budget, time available and if the website is designed for profit or pleasure

I love outsourcing, LEVERAGE of other people's time

[OSLeasing]

If you have budget then why not to look for someone else to do the job? try to look for offshore staff. Most of them are professional in creating website design coding and even SEO and its more cheaper than hiring a specialist in your place.

[The Profit Frog]

Having done both - built my own and also outsourced - I thought I might throw in my 20c worth...

Initially, when I set up my hobby business, Two Hands Dancing, I was in a specific space in my life and had thoughts on business to match; ie, I wasn't so financially well positioned that I could afford a "real" website so I literally built my own.

As a hobby business, I didn't foresee that I would come to depend on it for full time income at a future point. Still the original site when I loaded it did great stuff for me.
I scored really great clients and earned good income.

Now, that site morphed a few times because seriously the original site was butt-ugly.

I finally found a free template site and now use it for the base of my site and overall it is really okay.

However, I still hold the mindset that it is a hobby business and that it looks "cheap".

So, when I invested real income into my real business - The Profit Frog - I bought the rights to a licence for a marketing system, and could literally brand it and operate it with my own business name etc.

Thing is, since I invested in a licence, I wanted the website to look exceptionally high quality.
I invested in the business licence, so it made sense to invest in a website builder/designer/host company.

I chose MagicDust and I am extremely satisified.
Very high quality Australian company and they also designed my logo.
I have invested money so there is a lot at stake and subsequently I have a very confident view of my business.

I then felt it was well worth investing in very high quality business cards.

The beauty of the website through Magicdust is that the site has a control panel and I have control over what pages and what content appears.

I LOVE it... and the feedback I've had has been phenomenal.
Check out the two sites and you can clearly see why I would say - INVEST in having the site professionally built.

There is only one word of warning:
Make sure that the site builders understand the concepts of website success and DON'T use a black website with white or light coloured writing.
Yes you can use black as a background behind a white text panel - or a very pale coloured text background with dark text.

Forget the flash sites too if you want real success - it is far too hard for all users to open a flash site and you could easily lose any of the potential visitors.

So - here are my two sites to compare:
Professional Copywriting Services - Freelance Direct Response - Copywriter Professional Writing Services Freelance Web Copy Direct Copy Marketing
The Profit Frog