How to know if you’re ready for a web designer?
This isn’t for those who are trying to figure out if you need a website (you do). This is for those trying to figure out which website solution matches their business stage.
The options:
- DIY: taking a blank slate and creating a website yourself. Investment: time (and maybe sanity)
- Website templates: taking a website foundation and adapting it to your business. Investment: $150-500
- Website designer: hiring someone to do all of it for you. Investment: $2,200-5,000
** these are not my prices, just rough industry averages for websites for service providers. The investment will go up if you’re selling courses or products.
A good rule of thumb is that if you’re building a newer business, try DIY or find a template. If you’re more established in your industry, around 3-5 years in business, then you can decide between a template and a web designer.
That’s not because of cost - it’s because your business will evolve a lot during the first few years of business.
When you’re just getting started, everything is abstract. You have a plan of who you’re going to sell to, how you’re going to market your offers, and what your offers are.
But unless you've done serious market research and positioning work upfront, things are going to shift and change.
Your offers will shift as you work with clients. Questions will come up that you never could have planned for until you’re in the middle of it. Your messaging will shift because you’re going to figure out what people do and don’t know about what they need.
All of this will make your business stronger, but it also means that you’re going to outgrow version 1.0 of your website in the first few years.
If you’ve invested in a custom website early, you may find yourself needing to make big updates sooner than you planned. Even with the tools to make small updates yourself, if your business foundation has fundamentally shifted (new audience, new offer), then making small changes aren’t won't cut it.
Once you’re through those super annoying fun growing pains, things aren’t going to shift as often. Your website will need small updates, like updating text or images, maybe adding a new page for a new offer.
That’s when it’s a good time to hire a designer.
There are a lot of questions that come up when you’re working with a designer. I need to know your marketing plan, who your audience is, what your selling cycle looks like, and other business details to create a website that is strategically designed to keep growing your business.
If you can’t answer those questions yet, consider DIY or a website template.
If you can answer those questions and a website update is in the plan for the next couple of months, it’s a good time to start the conversation. You can book a discovery call here, where we’ll talk about your business plans, your current website, and the best solution to get you to your goals.
