Yes you can and we encourage you to

Back in the late 90s, there were a few people that knew how to design and build websites and they were able to charge a premium for their specialty. A few years later, some DIY programs like Macromedia's Dreamweaver hit the market, making it relatively easy for non-programmers to build their own websites.

But, it was still hard to build something that looked as good as the commercial sites.

A few more years later, frameworks like Drupal, Joomla and WordPress became all the rage. These frameworks had more features and could build pretty amazing sites with pre-designed templates.

The DIY Revolution has finally caught up

Today, there are many amazing, user-friendly services that allow people to easily create stunning websites without any programming skills. There are many professionally-designed templates that can be easily customized for most business types.

The playing field has been leveled.

Services such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and others are simply amazing. Anyone can sign up for a plan and create a very professional website within a few minutes with all of the bells and whistles.

Is there a catch?

No, not at all. In many cases, this is all a business will ever need. If you're looking to get up and running quickly, these services are great. They can produce some wonderful websites. If you're needing a basic website, even a more complex ecommerce site, this might be a great place to start.

But, some of the services do have some limitations on customizations. Also, the templates are typically available for everyone, so it's likely your design might be similar to another business site. But, a lot of times, that's ok. Most business websites kind of resemble others, having similar features.

Why hire a Web Design firm?

Even though we just made a case for why many businesses could and should use one of these amazing DIY services, here are a few reasons why you still might want to consider hiring a professional.

1. Delegate so that you can focus on what you do best
You can wash your own car, but do you always? You can paint your house, do your own taxes, change your own oil, cook your own meal, clean your house or office, etc, but it doesn't always make sense to spend time on those things when you can hire someone else to do it.

You should focus on what is the best use of your time, running your business.

You can even hire a firm to create your site using these services. They can create custom graphics for you and make the templates really shine. You can then maintain it yourself.

2. You need something more
Your needs might be a bit more advanced. Maybe you have a specific design in mind that can't be achieved using the templates. Maybe your website needs to communicate with other internal applications or databases.

3. Think about the long term
In the first few weeks or months of your business, a quick solution might be best. You can get up and running in no time. But, if you have visions for something more elaborate in the future, you might consider going the professional route. If you see your website evolving into a more feature-rich site, where it is connected to internal apps/databases, there are more interactive elements, etc, it might be wise to work with a firm to develop something that you will be able to evolve with.

Final thoughts

In the end, it really depends on your specific needs. In many cases, a service like Wix will be perfect and you can do everything on your own. But, sometimes, you might need something more or different that can't be achieved using these services. And sometimes, you just might want someone else handling this for you so that you can focus your time on what you do best.