Having an effective website that directs your key message(s) to your target market is an important component of any organization’s marketing program. Whether your company needs a new website altogether or just a routine tune-up, you-- as a CEO or Marketing Manager-- are going to be faced with a fork in the road: Should you build your own site in-house or hire a professional agency?
Let's start by examining the ups and downs of building the site on your own. Creating your own "burger" (by which we do, of course, mean website!) has the potential to be the most attractive option from a cost perspective. We have done extensive analysis on building a site on your own and have even tested some of the platforms. After many years in the industry, we have concluded that taking the “build your own site” approach produces the most positive results for micro-businesses and cash-strapped startups. Here are some of the pros and cons we uncovered through our research:
| Go For It | Think Twice |
| The Dollar Menu | Brand Recognition |
| Most site builders are priced between $1 and $50 per month. This makes the barrier to enter super low. Who doesn’t want that? Less is more when it comes to your company’s expenses. | Any number of your competitors could be using the same templates and site building services that you’ve chosen, which would make your web page yet another face in the homogenous crowd. Are you comfortable with your customers seeing a website identical to that of a competitor? |
| 25 Flavors | No Substitutions |
| Page-building websites frequently come equipped with a selection of beautiful pre-made templates based on your industry, and you get the pick of the litter at the click of a button. | Based on our experience, we have found that most site-builders don't allow for much customization. Do you want an advanced web-form, a specific function, or a different design for a unique page? Chances are, you’ll need to hire web design firm for that one. |
| Your Choice of Toppings | Absentee Waitstaff |
| Most site builders provide online editing software for quick customization and text management. This aspect of “build your own webpage” engines really puts you in the driver’s seat in terms of content management. | Most support provided by site-builders is found via forums and busy call centers. If you’re cool with waiting on the phone for the answer to a simple question or fishing for answers online, then this might be just what the doctor ordered. |
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Great Service Guaranteed |
When You’re the Cook, You Have to Clean the Kitchen |
| When you and your marketing team are at the helm of your web design project, quality control is a no-brainer. You can micromanage to your heart’s content, and never once will you worry that you’re wasting those hard-earned funds on an uncertain final product. | The generic marketing pitch delivered by site-builders is “hey, this is easy and user friendly!” But is it? Are you prepared to shoulder all of the responsibilities of a marketing team? Site-builders offer templates to launch from, not a personalized, finished product. |
<h3 id="Hire A " gourmet"="" marketing="" team"="">Hire A "Gourmet" Marketing Team
Okay, enough about "Building Your Own Site." If you're not in the mood for flipping burgers, maybe what you need is a private chef! Xzito is a Growth Marketing Agency, and as such, one of our key services include interactive site development. Because of this, we’re specifically geared towards the individual needs of our clients. This facet of our practice results in its own set of pros and cons:
| Go For It | Think Twice |
| Flashy Mascot | Gourmet Pricetag |
| Working with a web design firm gives you access to a completely unique look for your company’s online presence, which in turn will make your brand pop against a backdrop of unremarkable competitors. If you’re looking to hash out a unique identity for your business, there’s nothing better than bringing an expert team on board. | What’s true with subscribing to website building software is also true with hiring a third party marketing agency: you get what you pay for. In the end, the latter is most likely be costlier than the former, because they offer the customer a higher-quality service. If that isn’t what you’re looking for, then you might want to err on the side of budgetary caution. |
| Meals on Wheels | Table for How Many? |
| Outsourcing your marketing to a third party company is a big time-saver for you and your team. When web design and content creation is out of sight and out of mind, you’re completely free to focus on doing what you guys do best! Time is money, after all, and if you play your cards right, you could save both by contracting a marketing agency. |
When hiring an agency, you are essentially onboarding a new team into your business. You’ll need to consider how (not to mention who) this new team will be working with; it’s your responsibility to ensure clear communication and plot out the path to success. |
| Trendy Resturant | Overbooked & Understaffed |
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When you hire a marketing agency to do your dirty work, you’re getting a team of professionals. Understanding current trends and reeling in leads is their bread and butter. A good growth marketing agency has its finger on the buying public’s pulse, and because of that emphasis on growth, it will be specially geared towards monitoring and improving your website’s traffic |
Are you ready for an influx of new leads? What about your existing customers dipping into your other products and services? One of a growth marketing agency’s primary responsibilities is to draw the biggest crowd of (qualified) potential buyers. If your team isn’t prepared for such a rapid increase in traffic, then you might not want to sink a lot of cash into upgrading until you’ve expanded your sales division. |
| Privtae Chef on Call | Unkown Ingredients |
| When you hire a team of web designers and developers, you enter into a professional relationship with another business. This gives you access to a level of one-on-one support that cookie-cutter site-builders simply can’t offer. If a problem ever arises, you can feel confident that you have the right people around to help get everything back up and running. |
The bottom line is that allowing someone else to take control of a project can be a risk. To mitigate this, be sure to request references and peruse the company’s website to see how they brand themselves. If they’re truly invested in your success, they’ll be willing to provide you with insights and recommendations before you even sign a contract. |
The final decision comes down to time, money, and personal expertise. If you have all of those resources on hand, building your own site could be the best option. If not, you might be better off hiring a professional agency to support you as you embark on your legendary marketing journey!
| Going to Build It On Your Own? | Looking to Hire A Pro? |