Build a website yourself or hire? A decision tree

Click it together yourself or have it done for you? Both paths have their place, and these seven questions clarify which one fits you. Answer honestly; we will too.

The decision tree

1. Should your website bring in customers, enquiries, orders, applications? No, it is just a digital business card. A website builder is probably enough. Save yourself the money. Yes. On to question 2.

2. Do you want to be found on Google when customers search for your services? Yes. That argues for a programmed website: load time and clean technology are the foundation of being found, and that is exactly where website builders drag along dead weight. Our article on load time explains why.

3. Do you need something special, several languages, appointment booking, a price calculator, connections to your other programs? Yes. Website builders end at their system boundary. Anything beyond that needs real code.

4. Do you have the time and the appetite to learn the tools yourself and maintain the site? No. Have it done. The “free” do-it-yourself website costs you evenings and weekends, and your working time is not free.

5. Are you counting over five years or over five months? Five years. The website builder rent keeps running indefinitely; a programmed website is paid for once. The concrete calculation is in our website builder comparison.

6. Does it matter to you that the website belongs to you, the code, the content, the access credentials? Yes. With a website builder you rent, and you stay a tenant. What ownership actually means is shown in the ownership check.

7. Might the website need to grow in two or three years? Yes. Clean code gets extended. Website builder sites usually get rebuilt from scratch when bigger wishes come up, and then you pay twice.

The honest verdict

Mostly “a builder is enough”: Then go with one of the big providers. Seriously, we do not build websites at any cost, and for a plain business card our service would be a waste.

Mostly “have it programmed”: Then the conversation is worth having. To get a sense of the cost: website costs in Switzerland, and for your specific situation the price calculator, which is answered in two minutes.

Undecided: Answer the questions in the price calculator anyway, and you will get an honest first assessment. Even if it reads: “Go with the website builder.”