Why Hire A Professional Web Designer For Your Project?

Is DIY worth it or is it simply false economy?

These days there are quite a few so-called do-it-yourself website design products out there. It can be tempting to go for this option, thinking to yourself….aha this will save me money. But think about it…how many well-meaning DIY jobs – in all areas of life – end up being ridiculously time consuming (and time is money right?), only (let’s be frank) to end up looking like a rather amateur job?

In my years of professional website design, some of the site builder jobs I’ve been asked to step in and rescue from self-destruct could have been something my kids brought home from a project at school. The rest simply looked mediocre, or the client had made a real mess of the back end.

Most people want to impress and draw in potential customers. And possibly the single most important reason for having a website is to represent yourself, your business or project, in a way that makes people feel confident in your abilities in your area or profession. How many websites have you ever been on, and left pretty much straight away, because the look and feel just didn’t make you feel comfortable and at ease?

Running into a lack of expertise

How often have you seen online products boasting they are ‘easy to use’, ‘no expertise needed’, ‘easily customise your design’ – only to find that after a short time you’re sitting there scratching your head, calling customer support, or googling frantically in forums for the answer to yet another thing that has gone wrong, or won’t do what it’s supposed to?

80% of people who begin their own website design call a professional to finish the job, and it usually ends up taking the professional longer than it would if they’d started from scratch.

Part of being a design expert is having a professional eye. Understanding the psychology of visual design and what makes a good layout, a look and feel that makes visitors want to read more, and stay on your page. An amateur built site will always look amateur, and will convey to the public (unconsciously) the idea that the services you are offering are also amateur.

A good professional site, on the other hand, looks professional, and gives the impression your service will be also professional. This inspires confidence in your customers.

Some limitations of DIY site builders

With web development, it is important to think and plan long term, and to make decisions that leave you with choices and avenues for growth as far as possible.

One major obstacle to using most site builders, is that they are incredibly limited. Most are not even housed on a proper web hosting package. This seriously curtails your potential for expansion and computability with other services. Because they don't come with the ability to download your files. you won't be able to take your website to another provider.

In other words, you are tied to the company's site builder. If you need to add elements the site builder doesn't feature, if there comes a time when you want your website redesigned by an expert, or you want to incorporate advanced and effective SEO, then it will need to be rebuilt from scratch anyway.

The truth is that website design is not easy, beyond something very basic and simplistic. If that is adequate for your needs,  then great. But if you want flexibility, advanced functionality, a professional look and feel. and are serious about ranking in Google, then forget it.

I rest my case!

It Might Sound Daft, But How Do People Find My Website?

Well.... how do people find your website?

So you have a beautiful shiny new website – you’re really pleased with it -- but the burning question nagging at the back of your mind is “how on earth will it be found?” That is a very good question! Because apart from word-of-mouth, and maybe advertising in the local newspaper or giving out business cards – it’s not immediately obvious exactly how people are going to find your website.

The most popular way to find a website is by using search engine. In fact, 90% of people looking for websites will type something into Google or other search engine such as Yahoo or Bing. But without what is known as search engine optimisation (or SEO for short), your lovely website may well remain forever floating aimlessly in the black hole of internet obscurity, never being found by people searching on Google. An experienced SEO expert can lift your website from the depths of page 8,953, up the rankings, so that potential customers will actually find you when they search.

As a rule, when someone types in a word or phrase, a search engine will sift through the millions of pages it has listed that match that topic, and deliver the results nearest the top that have been optimised in the best way to match the relevance of that topic.

Real world marketing versus search engines

Of course, there are quite a few real world physical ways that your website can become known about, but the fact remains that only 10% of people looking for a website will use methods other than search engines. I’m sure you’re well aware of the ridiculous cost of advertising in newspapers etc, and let’s face it, once your advert expires, you’re going to have to shell out more to keep relisting it, just to keep in the public eye.

The difference between found on Google and having your website address seen on, for example, a business card or leaflet, is that people can instantly interact with your business. They can even bookmark your website to view again later.

So what is website optimisation in practice?

Website designers doing SEO will use a variety of techniques and code that they build right into the foundation of the website itself. These protocols are collectively known as “on page SEO” and are best carried out before the website is launched. It is important to understand that these techniques revolve around specific key words and phrases that people might type into Google related to your topic or local service. These keywords are chosen very carefully, and a good SEO practitioner will use expert methods to choose them wisely.

Finding the beast keywords means analysing the competition from other businesses and websites in your field. Once the website itself is optimised and launched on the internet, the real fun begins…building up in a host of diverse ways, over a number of months, the popularity and reputation of your website: “off page SEO”. This takes a lot of time and hard work, but must be done expertly so as to keep within Google’s guidelines and be effective.

Remember that a prospective customer will probably only look at the first page or two of search results. So it does matter where your website appears in the search engine ranking. The aim of effective SEO is to ensure the best chance of getting to these much sought after top pages of Google.