There is no question about it: if you have a business, you need a website. Having a website is absolutely necessary in today’s digital world.
There are two main things that hold people back from getting a website. The first is money and the other is coding. For those with the money to spend, it can be costly to hire a programmer. For those without the money to spend, it can seem like coding is more trouble than it’s worth. I’m here to tell you that money and coding are non-issues when it comes to building a website.
“Not so long ago, there would have been no question of hiring a pro to get the results you want,” writes Leo Welder. “But thanks to the rise of online tools like website builders, it has become much easier for the non-techies among us to build a more-than-decent website.” Here are the biggest reasons why it's a good idea to build your own website.
The Cost Is Not That Significant
Think about the money you will need to pay to a web development firm to create your website. If you have the money to do it, I would recommend going that route. After all, you don’t want to waste time building your website when you can focus on your business. However, not everyone has venture capital so you are likely on your own with this one.
If you decide to fork over the dough to a web development firm, prepare to pay anywhere from $500 to $30,000 depending on the size of the site and the functionality. But, what if you only need a simple site and don’t have the cash?
Don’t wait to build your website because of the lack of money. Building a website on your own does not cost as much as you think. You will need to buy a domain name and pay a monthly fee to a web host provider. Total cost? It varies, but, you are looking at less than $100 in most cases.
You Don't Need to Be an Expert Coder
Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash
A nineteen-year-old kid you probably never heard of solved your website coding problem more than a decade ago. As a freshman at the University of Houston in 2003, Matt Mullenweg, along with his college friend, Mike Little, started what is now one of the easiest and most widely used website-building platforms available on the internet: WordPress.
Gone are the days when you have to learn extensive coding skills. In fact, you don’t even need coding skills at all to design a website using WordPress. Coders have already developed “themes,” which are website templates that you can customize using an easy-to-use dashboard.
Even I was able to figure it out. In fact, approximately 43% of all websites use WordPress according to W3Techs. Its two closest competitors make up less than 5% of the web.
Jeff Bullas has a great post on how to create a WordPress blog in 5 minutes. I won’t say it only takes 5 minutes, but it doesn’t take much time at all to get up and running. His advice must be good as the post has been shared more than 20,000 times.
Don't Be Intimidated by the Idea of Building a Website
Having a website is a must, regardless of what industry you are in. Not having a website will leave you out in the cold while your competitor takes more and more of your market share. Don’t let things like money and coding skills hold you back from creating your own website. It can be done for very little money, and, thanks to entrepreneurs before you, no coding skills are needed.
FAQs About Building Your Own Website
Is it worth it to build your own website?
Building your own website will definitely save you money, but it will also teach you skills you will need to maintain your online branding. This includes being able to instantly update your site without the need to hire a company and be subject to their work schedule.
How much does it cost to build my own website?
A website will cost you less than $100 if you do it yourself. If you hire a development firm, your cost can range anywhere from $500 to $30,000 (and sometimes more).
What are the best website builders?
If you do not want to learn WordPress (which is easy to use and probably the best choice since it is used by more than 43% of all websites), you can use platforms such as Wix or Weebly. Note that using WordPress gives you better options for optimizing your content for search engines.
