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 =)

[3DFOX3D]

Hey Jake,

would you mind offering some comment on this site www.3dfox3d.com.au - it will be obvious to you that I built it myself and am a rank amateur (only my second attempt) - it is still work in progress and the e-commerce section is yet to be done at all (am trying to sell it before I go that far). Anyway any constructive criticism would be welcome.
Thanks,

[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.

[thirdisa]

It depends on your skills, but building your own website allows you to have more control over stuff especially on updating and maintenance.

[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