Disclaimer: This is rated PG-13 for swearing and random calamity of expression. But one thing is for certain, there will be an attempt to clear some of the murk out of the website waters.
Websites have been around for a long time. The first one was launched in 1991 by a fella over at CERN. It’s cool stuff. So cool that we all decided at some point we all needed a damn website. Honestly, it’s not a bad place to be. You make your own rules, put up your own content, run your own show and it’s accessible to everyone interested in finding you or what you’re about. (That’s where keywords, SEO and meta data come into play, but that’s a later topic.)
The crap shoot of it all, though, is how many damn options there are. Everyone is trying to get your attention, get you on their boat, get you to convert and take in all these random features you may not want or know how to use. Straight shooting just became a thing of the past and bells, whistles and noise became the new go-to. And for a lot of folks, that’s fine. They tune out the noise and just keep going until they hit another noise wall, rinse and repeat. Then there are others who want to just get the website thing taken care of and maintain it without the hassle but the sales teams and marketing hubs just keep throwing more features at you. Even on the DIY scale, there seems to be a lot of noise on what to do and how to do it.
So let’s quiet it all down for a second and take a deep breath.
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Let’s begin:
Free Website Builders
I’m going to start with the free stuff in case that’s all you want and then jump ship. If you only need a homepage and a contact page, don’t really care too much about the URL (domain name), are just trying something out or only need a portfolio page with minimum content, go free. Seriously, an afternoon with a Wix editor or WordPress back end and you’re all set. (You can search “Wix” or “WordPress” and they’ll come up.)
Just make sure you have the following so people can, you know, reach you:
- Email address for form responses or just to put on the site.
- Spam will find you as it does everyone. Just be smart about it.
- A clear and present image of what your site is and what you’re doing.
- Branding is super important here.
- A Name.
- It can even be your name. But you need a damn name.
If you need minimal hand-holding, free sites are also a good starting point. If you need more than any of these things, move on. You’re going to get frustrated, angry, possibly sad and a mix of other really uncomfortable emotions. Don’t do that to yourself.
Instead, Try DIY Builders
If you have some spunk and a little energy left in the tank, go for DIY. Seriously, these things can make your life easier if that’s the engine you need. DIY Builders are best for folks with some tech knowledge, even on a beginner’s basic level. And with AI woven throughout everything, you can probably make a pretty decent site with hosting for a decent price.
Support is usually chatbot and knowledge base heavy with email support or chat support, but if all you’re expecting are minor issues and don’t mind the more common and streamlined looks, have at it. Much like the freebies, make sure you have basic contact information and a name. A lot of DIY builders also provide domain registration for an additional fee. If you do go with a domain that isn’t a subdomain of the provider you’re using, make sure it’s secure. That means:
- Get an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).
- This makes the not secure “http” an “https” which is great for SEO and basic site security. And I mean basic.
- Make sure all asset links are also secure.
- Think pictures, videos, gifs, sounds (music), etc. If it lives in a cloud or another content hub, it needs to be secure.
These are good for folks who don’t need much and don’t mind kicking out a little coin for a quick build that just gives them a place to live online. For those who want more custom fits that hit the core of your brand identity, voice, mission and just overall you, follow me.
Custom Style Needs a Designer
If you want custom, and I mean off the cuff with ideas that don’t match but could match or you really want the voice of what it is you do to stand out, go with a designer. Web designers need to know the basics of design to make things look decent and congruent with some developer (some.) knowledge to make sure the flow happens the way it’s supposed to. Nothing sucks worse than looking at your site after handing it over to someone and getting it back a hot, disjointed ill-tempered mess and an astronomical price tag.
Vet your designer. Seriously, vet them. They should be offering you:
- Content that makes sense.
- Congruent and fluid visuals.
- SEO, even if it’s just a basic level.
- Guidance on what to do next and how to stay safe on the web.
- Ease of use if you want to add content after the project.
- Material that isn’t previously copyrighted by someone else.
- This doesn’t include royalty-free things. Those are designed to be bought and used.
- We’re talking “did a Google search and used the first thing they found.”
Some designers may also host and maintain sites as part of their design work (yep, I offer this). If that’s the case, continuing support needs to be there. It can be an email a month or just a response when you reach out, but you need someone who is going to respond. And if something happens, they need to be the type to let you know if their response is late or something’s come up on their end.
Web designers also sit down with you and mock up things that you might not even know you wanted but it’s exactly the thing you’ve been after; you just couldn’t put words to it. We’re also pretty handy to have around if you need updates or edits and just don’t have the time or simply “don’t wanna.” We got you, boo.
If You Want More Than Websites…
Start looking at hiring a damn agency or small team. You’ll need it if you’re looking for more than just someone to build and maintain. This includes a desire to have someone maintain your site and socials as well as be your virtual assistant. Outside of support and designing your web presence, your web designer’s probably not going to want to do the day-to-day tasks. Yes, running social media outside of basic strategy is a day-to-day task and you should hire someone to do it for you if you’re not going to do it yourself.
If you’re looking for a full on marketing redux with daily task management, get an agency. You can even find small agencies by visiting your chamber of commerce’s website or other local marketing material. They have the staff to handle your needs and more time to figure out what you need even if you don’t know how to begin asking. Free sites, DIY/AI DIY, web designers or any combination of the three probably isn’t where you want to be. And that’s alright.
Agencies, small teams (built for you or handpicked by you) and on-demand assistance are there for a reason. If you want the custom feel and the extra help you can hire a web designer as part of your team, but everyone should keep the working parameters and boundaries visible. Seriously, nothing cuts through a small team faster than someone not respecting or displaying boundaries.
So there you have it.
Website Recap:
If you just need a couple pages and have an afternoon available with basic tech knowledge, go free or DIY. IF you need a whole team or a full working department, go with an agency or handpick a small team that works well together from a freelance directory or search. But if you really want to go that extra mile and have something that’s hella custom and damn dangerous (in a good way), a web designer with a soul is what you need.
Thanks for your time mates.
Cheers,
Jess
