Is Your Website Hurting Your Business? 7 Reasons to Hire a Pro
There are plenty of things in life that are worth figuring out all by yourself, like say, learning how to start a fire in the woods, or discovering your spouse’s love language. DIYing your business’ website? Definitely not one of them.
I know, I know, all those slick ads for website builders make it look like building a beautiful website is as easy as sending an email. (newsflash: not so much). Unless you have the time to devote to learning a whole new system/software/platform, not to mention understanding responsive design principles, mastering SEO strategies, optimizing page load speeds, troubleshooting technical issues that are bound to occur, plus everything else I’m already too tired to list, you're setting yourself up for a steep and frustrating learning curve.
As a small business owner, you already wear countless hats. You’re juggling operations, finances, payroll, customer service, sales, maintenance, all the things, all the time! Adding “website guru” to your list of responsibilities isn’t just about one more demand on your time and attention, it could also come at a serious price. Let me make the case for why you, as a small business owner, benefits the most by hiring a designer.
1. Save Valuable Time
Building a website from scratch can be incredibly time-consuming, especially if you’re new to the process. You may find yourself spending days (if not weeks) navigating design platforms, figuring out how to do (or undo!) something, and running into mounting technical issues. While you’re stuck troubleshooting layout glitches and wrestling with SEO settings, your competitors are are attracting customers with optimized, high-performing websites. That’s not just lost time—it’s lost revenue and missed opportunities.
2. Avoid Performance Pitfalls
Go at it alone and you may end up with a website that is slow, unresponsive, and difficult to navigate. I’m sure you’ve run into websites like this in the past and know how much of a turn-off it is. If your pages take too long to load or display wonky across different devices, your potential customers will get frustrated and leave before they even have a chance to explore your services. Bummer dude. When your site is optimized for fast load times and user experience, your visitors stay engaged and want to stick around.
3. Stand Out with a Professional Design
Honest truth: a DIY website often looks just that—DIY. They’re frankly quite easy to spot. You have less than 10 seconds to make a solid first impression, and in today’s competitive market, that first impression absolutely matters. If your website looks like it should come with a free trial of AOL, visitors will be doubting your credibility before they’ve read a single word. But imagine this instead—a beautiful, functional design that not only highlights exactly who you are and what you do, but instantly reassures visitors that they’re in the right place. Just confidence in your business from the start. Sounds nice, right?
4. Boost Your Search Engine Ranking
If you aren’t sure what SEO is, or what it does, then your DIY website (and consequently, your business) will most certainly suffer. If you’re a wedding photographer, what do you want people to see when they search “Wedding photographers near me?” Your site buried on page 19 of search results? No thank you! Search engine optimization is a vital part of your website strategy and there are numerous factors that contribute to your site’s visibility in search results. Is SEO important for small businesses? Yes, always yes. Are you ready to handle it on your own?
5. Mobile Optimization Matters More Than Ever
With mobile traffic accounting for over half of all web traffic, it’s no longer optional for your website to look good on mobile devices, yet this still seems to be overlooked on a lot of websites out there. Yes, in 2025! It surprises me too. But thankfully you don’t need to worry about that, because you’ve already figured out that hiring a designer to make sure your website is fully optimized for both desktop and mobile users is the best course of action, right?
6. Functionality That Meets Your Needs
Here’s what those commercials don’t tell you. Extra functionality, such as e-commerce, a booking system, or custom integration tools, are usually separate tools that come at an extra cost. Trying to incorporate these features on your own can result in clunky, unreliable experience, not to mention yet another headache as you try to decipher and implement a new system on your own. A pro who already knows the ins and outs of these tools is an invaluable resource, and can helpfully guide you through the pros and cons of making decisions too.
7. Ongoing Support and Updates
Your website isn’t a one-and-done project. As your business grows, you’ll need updates, maintenance, and occasional tweaks to keep your site running smoothly. With a pro in your back pocket, you gain the benefit of ongoing support, plus someone to help you troubleshoot issues, add new content, and make necessary updates to keep your website fresh and relevant. All my service packages include training videos, a period of post-launch support, and ongoing maintenance plans to make sure your site is always on top of its game.
If you’re ready to throw up the white flag and get professional help with your website, you’re in the right place. Visit my Services page to learn more about what I offer and how I can help.
–LINDSEY illicreative.com
