DIY web design doesn’t cut it. This is why.

This article was written by Kay VanAntwerpen, an expert at Entrepreneur NEXT powered by Assemble. Looking to future-proof your business with on-demand expertise? Entrepreneur NEXT provides the professional solutions your business needs to thrive in an evolving marketplace.

As an enterprising manager or business owner, you may find yourself fascinated by the DIY website builder Siren Song.

It happens easily. Almost all major web hosting platforms offer DIY builders. At first glance, these tools appear to bring financial savings to businesses large and small. After all, why hire a website designer when you can customize your site yourself with affordable plug-and-play templates?

A DIY website designer perils that they have the necessary skills, judgment, and insight to design a website that is not only functional, but stands out compared to others on the market. It might convince you (while saving everything). of cash). The concept is great, but unfortunately, unless you have professional girlfriend web designer training, this might be a bit of a pipe dream.

Websites built from custom templates can They serve as placeholders while you wait for your web designer to perfect a fully functional digital representation of your business, but you shouldn’t rely on these cheap templates in the long run. Website design and management is a highly strategic and whimsical art form that is not easy to master.

Still think professional web designers are a waste of resources? Let’s dig a little deeper into the downsides of DIY design and the benefits of hiring a professional.

Your website is your first impression.

Remember when business card design mattered? Everything from layout to font says something about the quality and professionalism of your business and your public persona.

In many ways, your website is your business card for the digital age. This is his 24/7 ambassador to existing customers as well as potential new customers. If you think your audience won’t form an opinion of you based on your website, think again.

Building a website can take weeks or even months, but the average consumer makes a decision in about 0.05 seconds (i.e. 50 ms) Whether they want to continue interacting with your page. If they aren’t impressed enough to keep using your website, the search engine results they sifted through mere seconds ago included links to all your top competitors’ websites. Your customers are not alone in their choices. To switch to your competitor, just click the back button.

Some common mistakes that are sure to alienate customers include:

• Images or buttons that take more than 2 seconds to load.

• A layout that is easy on the eyes.

• Intuitive and simple layout without features.

• A cheesy design that makes your business look like a small business.

Even DIY builders can make design mistakes.

DIY site builders are limited by knowledge of industry standards, list of required items and buttons, and knowledge of coding and working with search engines. These tools allow you to build anything comfortably. the work, There is a difference between a functional website and a good website.

Have you ever been to a party or a coffee shop? Have you noticed that the performers have a gradual sense of confidence, while everyone else in the room seems to realize how badly they are performing? This fantastic combination of superiority and the Dunning Kruger effect is a lot like designing your own website. It is difficult to criticize one’s own work without being informed about the metrics by which the quality of the work is measured.

Be honest with yourself. Are you confident in your ability to sit down and create a checklist of all the items you want for your website? Does that list include SEO optimization on the frontend and backend? Mobile and tablet responsiveness Is your contact information formatted consistently across platforms so that Google records your site as reputable?

Now let’s ask a few more questions.How confident are you in your ability to sit down and come up with a list of common mistakes to avoid when designing a website? Are they included? Lack of beta testing across desktop and mobile devices? a bit Common mistakes when designing websites.

Becoming an effective web designer can take years of schooling, tutoring, and independent study, especially given the confluence of the fields of web design and graphic design. It includes a formal summer boot camp (be prepared with lots of homework), and 15-24 months of schooling. If you want your website to dominate the competition in both aesthetics and functionality, you need an expert. If you want your customers to see you as an amateur, design it yourself. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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Backend functionality is equally important.

A DIY designer may be able to help you put together pages that look functional, but relying solely on functional functionality is like shoving everything under your bed and cleaning your room.

Search engine optimization is as much about the back-end code of a page as it is about the front-end content of the page. DIY editors often lead to tedious and confusing back-end coding (if you’re using a DIY builder, you won’t know this unless you delve deeper into the more advanced coding elements. Professionally coded often too advanced for users who do not). ).

Sloppy coding or overly complicated design can slow down your website, ruin your site’s appearance in mobile or desktop formats, and make the user experience a nightmare.

Moreover, even without an SEO expert to optimize your site on the back end in addition to the front end, your customers will almost certainly find your competitors before you (in which case your competitors will take it for granted). You should pray that you didn’t do that). Diligence in website building). All the visual spectacles in the world are useless if customers can’t get to your site.

Mobile functionality is one of the most important features.

this is important Make sure your website is compatible with mobile phones and tablets.Mobile users account for his 53% of his web traffic World wide 63% of retail traffic. Additionally, 50% of consumers said they would not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile website.mobile version of the website same or more From desktop version.

Additionally, 85% of adults feel that websites viewed on mobile phones should be as good or better than those viewed on desktops.

Examples of mobile feature accidents include:

• Poor image optimization: Inexperienced web builders often use smaller images or iframe embeds (such as inserting a Google Maps widget) in the mobile versions of their sites. This can lead to sluggish mobile browsers, long load times, and unsettling viewers.

• Create separate URLs for mobile and desktop: Previously, designers built designated desktop sites and designated mobile sites, each with a unique web address. Given that the difference between mobile and desktop audiences is close to 50/50 he can see where this could be a problem. The person sharing the link is most likely unaware of the platform the recipient is using, making it very difficult to share the link. User shares your content. A website should intuitively recognize whether a user is browsing from a mobile phone.

• Forget Click-to-Call: The desktop site can display phone numbers in plain text, but the minimum requirement for the mobile version is Click-to-Call compatibility. This means that when a customer taps a phone number in their contact box, that number will auto-populate their mobile phone, allowing them to make a call without switching between their web browser and dialpad.

• Forget the search function: Difficulty in navigation is one of the main drawbacks of mobile browsing. As a designer, your goal is to make your mobile site as easy to navigate as possible. For this reason, a prominent search bar that appears above the fold is a must, allowing users to quickly type and find the her web element they are looking for.

If you use a DIY builder, your site will probably only be optimized for one platform unless you spend countless hours of trial and error. That means at least half of the customer base will be alienated.

Forget yourself huge agency fees, complicated contracts and other BS associated with hiring professionals. Adopt on-demand expert solutions to propel your business forward and prepare for the future.