You Don’t Have You Be A Professional To Build A Website

Websites arrived in our psyche in the early 1990’s and were smothered in HTML texts which made it almost impossible for generations of people who grew up without the internet, to ever be able to build a website themselves. Then some bright spark thought of creating a product that would allow the layman to do it himself, and thus website builders were born. They have now become a huge business and companies such as WordPress have 26.4% of the top 10 million websites as of April 2016. So why are so many people turning to Web builders over developers and is it the right decision for you?

There are pros and cons to both sides of the coin, but depending on what you prioritise then both can be beneficial. Web builders are there for those of us who want to break into the world of online, without the expertise or funds that they would usually require. The digital world loves entrepreneurs and website builders allow these people to find their first steps. Website builders often have drag and drop options also offering customization. This allows people to still get a unique looking site despite using a skeleton that may be similar to other sites. A major plus that comes with builders is the in house support you can receive if in trouble. Most also come with features that you can build into a site with a click of a button that would usually have to be individually developed if you went down the route of a professional.

So the question will come to decide which one will be best for you. Your first thought if you are monetizing a site or creating an online business is whether that business is even good enough. If your business is set to fail anyway then you cannot blame the site for its failings. You also do not want to shell out thousands of pounds on an idea, only for it to go up in flames. Website builders allow you to play with the format and test before a heavy financial commitment is made. I would say that a minimum budget requirement would be £5000 if you want to use a developer and get exactly what you want. If this is way above what you were contemplating then a website builder is the way to go. It will build your confidence to create your own website and you can do much more than you may think.  As long as you are just after the most conventional of features, for example ecommerce or contact information a site made by you can be just as effective. 90% of websites are conventional anyway because sites need to be constantly edited which can be difficult with a bespoke site.

The danger is falling in with the wrong crowd. You will no doubt find developers offering services for much below the market value, but as with everything, you get what you pay for. A web developer offering cheap rates will not be a good developer and even if you don’t see the pitfalls straight away they will inevitably come. A poor developer will likely leave mistakes all over the backend (a coder term!) and leave you with a trail of issues in the future, that you will have to get a professional to sort out anyway. Giving a website builder a go is a minimal financial output, and if it is a failure, it will not leave you with a debt that a cowboy developer may well do.

In this age of digital completion a website is vital if your business or image is to be promoted on any level. It is understood that not everyone out there will be able to write on in their own time and so with the miracle of time and the advancement of technology the possibilities are out there and you can do it yourself. With stats like 90% customisation for 10% of the price, there can’t be too many complaints about the rise of this industry!