DIY (do it yourself) web design companies target novice to intermediate computer skilled entrepreneurs.
Typically, these companies fall into two categories; bargain priced web solutions, or outrageously priced eCommerce web solutions.
By offering all inclusive packages, they ensure that every aspect of your website is handled through their company. While the convenience of managing your entire project from one user interface does provide value, many times, the customer will pay excessive fees which do not correlate to the value they receive.
The user is able to design and edit their website using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor. This gives individuals with little to no experience in web design the means to create web pages quickly and easily.
However, more complex design practices and complete control of your web pages is more often than not forfeited by using only a WYSIWYG editor.
Furthermore, even with the aid of the WYSIWYG editor, a novice to intermediate computer user may find themselves unable to produce the finished product they aspire to create due to lack of knowledge or limited features.
Another common problem that arises from the use of DIY web design companies is the lack of support for reusable code, database driven websites, third party scripts such as photo galleries, and generally being confined to the tools they provide.
Reusable Code: A navigation menu, for instance, should be included on every page. Reusable code allows editing one file which only contains the navigation menu, meaning the changes will be seen on every page. The lack of reusable code means that to alter the navigation menu, the changes will have to be made on every single page one at a time.
Database Driven Website: If you would like your visitors to be able to create accounts, save personal information (such as a shipping address or telephone number), or check the status of their order, your website must be database driven. In eCommerce, databases are responsible for securely storing and allowing retrieval of information regarding customers.
While some DIY solutions offer some or all of these features, many times they charge an additional fee either initially or later, when the user determines they have a need for an extra feature which was not included in their originally purchased package.
By hiring a web designer who works with a full featured web hosting solution, the possibilities are endless.
Having complete control over every aspect of your website, the ability to add new third party scripts, as well as having a one call away answer to your questions is indeed priceless.
Many times, individuals who have tried and failed in using a DIY web solution realize in hindsight that simply hiring a knowledgeable experienced web designer would have saved them time, money, and a good many headaches in the long run.
Above all else, hiring a web designer ensures that your computer skills will not affect the quality of your website, or the amount of time it will take to create your web presence. In many ways, DIY web design companies cannot compare to the value offered by an intelligent web designer.
