Interconnect IT - Liverpool Web Designers and Developers

To DIY or not to DIY?

Building up your company’s website can be a lot of fun, fascinating, and ultimately rewarding for whoever does the work. However there are also some great advantages to bringing in an external specialist to do the job for you.

Advantages of a DIY website:

1. Can be cheap if done during someone’s otherwise spare time
2. You know exactly what you want, so don’t have to sit through lots of dull concept and design meetings
3. Only one point of failure in the process - if you mess up, you know exactly who to blame!
4. Can be enormously satisfying for yourself or the staff member who does the work
5. The deadlines and budget can be more flexible

Of course, it’s not all roses. You need to be extra careful when you’re not using experts. Do your research, make sure you’ve covered all bases and so on. Rather like re-plastering your bedroom - a DIY job can be as good as, or even better, than that done by a pro. But you’ll usually take a lot longer and if you’re not careful and naturally skilled you may well end up with something that looks like the inside of a cave - which is pretty much what happened when I tried. But get it right and you can bask in pride when visitors ask who did the work. Get it wrong like I did and you’ll want to hide it behind a big piece of furniture - tough to do with your firm’s website.

Advantages of a professional web design company:

1. Up-to-date knowledge of what’s good and what isn’t in web design
2. Access to and experience of the latest and best web design technology
3. Unlikely to add for weeks to your bill because they couldn’t work out why the site looked funny on an Apple Macintosh during testing
4. A clear understanding of accessibility issues and the constraints they place on design
5. Professional responsibility for the site’s design and maintenance

Again, it’s not all clear-cut. The hourly rate of most good web designers can come as something of a shock. Rather like Audi servicing costs. However, these designers usually come with a great deal of experience and knowledge which will save them from making time-consuming mistakes.

And then there’s the problem of finding a reputable firm - an article we’ll write about in the future. We’d like to think you’d come to us, but of course it’s quite possible that you don’t like our style, or the type of work you’re looking for isn’t suited to our particular skills. We’re not proud - we’ll admit when a requirement isn’t suited to us… after all, we’re still a small if growing concern.

If you use a reputable firm, with good ethics and a strong reputation you shouldn’t find yourselves with a nightmare web design that few people can understand, let alone use easily. If you do it in-house then whether you do it personally, or ask a keen staff member to do it then it’s important to spend a fair bit of time researching exactly how you will go about creating your site. Just like it takes a good plasterer to give your walls a glassy smooth yet durable finish, your professional web developer should know how to make your website look attractive whilst being accessible and compatible.

In summary, we’d advise that if you do decide to grow your own website then look at training, read up extensively on the subjects of design and accessibility, and test test test! Testing is one of the most important, and most neglected areas of web design. And if you decide to engage an outside firm, make sure they answer your questions to your satisfaction and that they can deliver what they promise. Anything less simply isn’t good enough - your business depends on it.