Need to build a professional website for your new business? Don’t hire a professional web developer or web designer.
Now, I know what you must be thinking. What could be easier than hiring a professional for a job and get it done without much sweat on your side? It sure is the “easy” option, but there are a few things you need to consider before this.
There is so much to building a business website – deciding what content you would like to display on your site, and how, what potential customers want, how you want to market your content, products or services, establishing good means of communication with the clients online, SEO, Analytics, and so on.
All these have to be analyzed, gradually experimented with and updated regularly. And can be done by you, without any professional web developer’s price tag.
And if you are just starting your business, and looking to build a website for this, it is not a good idea to hire a professional web developer at this point.
This is because, at the outset, you can’t really predict how successful your business is going to be, or how well your products or services are going to be received.
At this point focus should be on marketing the content and your business’s products or services, rather than spending savings on designing the website.
Design can be simple initially, and content should be displayed well and explained clearly, for potential customers to find and understand easily.
A website is mainly supposed to be a communication tool for business owners and their potential customers. The design and looks are to attract people to the site, but it is the content that they really come for. And if the product or service appeals to them, they tend to stay back and explore the website a bit more or return later, and maybe eventually purchase it.
To build an initial website with a simple design and well-written content easily, economically, and within a shorter amount of time, it is advisable to use an online website builder software.
There are various kinds of website builders available online, each with its own unique features, advantages, and disadvantages. You can choose from these, based on your business requirements or personal preferences, depending on the kind of website you are looking to build.
Once the initial website is built, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) should be done. SEO ensures that the website is found and accessed easily through search engines online; It enables anyone to find the website easily when a keyword used in that website is entered in a search engine.
Many website-builder CMSs come with an integrated SEO tool, that helps to perform SEO more easily while building the website itself. You can choose any such website builders, as they will enable you to perform SEO for your website more efficiently.
Website builders are much more affordable (some even completely free of cost) as compared to hiring a professional web developer.
Another advantage to using an online website builder software instead of a professional web developer is that you can publish your website anytime you want to or feel like it is ready to publish; but if you hire a professional developer, you may have to wait for a certain amount of time(usually decided by the professional and his working efficiency) before you can get the website published.
There is also the pain of going through a screening process to decide on a good professional, and paying them a huge fee (definitely more than what a website builder software will cost you).
For these reasons, it is advisable not to employ a professional web developer, especially in the beginning stages of your business.
