When someone starts a new business, they wish they could immediately let others know they exist. It makes sense to hire a design firm, hopefully one that also designs websites, to design a custom logo, so that you are not infringing in someone else’s design or graphic. Buying your business cards, securing your domain name, getting a social media page started all are important “do first items” that should be tackled to share your story. But, what about that big investment of getting a website? You have options, and we want to share them, then share the top 5 reasons why hiring a web design company is a better value.

Options for launching a new website

When it comes to getting your website going you have options and honestly it would be impossible to cover those in this blog, but let’s go with the most popular and logical routes. Self-design or hire a professional.

Self-Design – We do not like to hide that self-design is an option for a business owner. Business owners should have significant input on how their website looks and what content should be displayed. Many service providers such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and Shopify give a business owner the option of laying out their own websites. For many business owners this is an option. Now we do warn you, your investment is a big one and one that you could never, ever, get back and that is your time.

Designing a website, laying out the content, choosing what photos to use, licensing those photos, changing the photos because they don’t look right now that you see it live, changing the text because the layout does not balance well with the message….. can all be time consuming. And a at the end of spending, on average, 40-100 hours, you might not even like it. But if time is all you have, and getting your website started does not take time away from money making activities for your business, then by all means, go for it. We’ve been hired by many of our clients to clean up their self-designed websites or make technical changes and it has worked out every time.

Hiring a Professional – If you have read the text above and value your time, the biggest benefit to hiring a professional, besides the 5 options we are about to share with you, is protecting your time and your sanity. But let us share “The top 5 reasons you should hire a web design company”.

1. Value – Web Design Companies have secured a long list of tools to design, secure and maintain your website. Many of those tools come in the form of software that cost thousands of dollars obtain. They’ve also made large investments in server services from large web service providers such as Godaddy, Blue Host etc. and other third party service providers such as Formsite and Setmore . Gaining access to such services without additional investments on your part saves money. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars monthly for such access, web design companies build these tools into your website and with a small monthly hosting fee your visitors get to enjoy them all.
2. Security – Although preventative measures can be taken when first designing a website to keep it secure, it is next to impossible to prepare for every single security vulnerability that may arise. A web design company will keep up with the industry security news and immediately protect your site from any exposure.
3. Support / Maintenance Like any well-run machine websites need maintenance and you need support. A good web design company will visit the backend of your website regularly and update any industry standards that need changes. At any given time, you may need changes or updates to the content on your site and a with the ability to simply send your web design company those changes can occur promptly.
4. Aesthetics –Your website should look modern, should be easy to navigate and should keep your visitors Engaged. The design or your site, the way it’s laid out, the navigational structures must be carefully planned. Your client engagement is important and if your site is easy to navigate, your visitors will return again and again. Your website reflects your business. A good-looking website will be associated with a company that does good looking work.
5. SEO – Search Engine Optimization is when your website is designed with the ability for search engines such as Google.com to easily understand your company services, contact information and what you do, so that when users search the web it includes your company in the results. A good web design company will build this into your website.

At Gearbox360.com we build websites for small businesses. It is our hope that include us in your decision to get your next website online. Please feel free to reach out to us and hopefully we can be your partner in the future success of your business.

Gus Marrero Gearbox360.com