DIY Website vs Professional

You need a website for your business. The question is: do you build it yourself using Wix or Squarespace, or do you hire someone? Most articles make this sound like a simple choice between "cheap but basic" and "expensive but good." The reality is messier than that.

Both options have hidden costs that people don't talk about. DIY platforms cost time you might not have. Professional agencies cost money you might not have. And there's a third option most people don't know exists. We offer professional websites from £35/month - see our packages if you want the easiest and most efficient option. Otherwise, let's work out what's actually right for your situation.

Quick Comparison: DIY vs Professional vs Pay-Monthly

Before diving into the details, here's how the three main options compare:

That last row is important. We'll come back to it.

When a DIY Website Makes Sense

Let's be honest: sometimes building your own website is the right call. Not always, but sometimes.

DIY works well if you're:

• Just starting out with under £500 to spend
• Testing a business idea before committing properly
• Running a side project or hobby that isn't your main income
• Genuinely enjoy learning new tools and have time to spare

The pitch from Wix and Squarespace is appealing. Pick a template, drag some elements around, and you've got a website in a few hours. For personal blogs or simple "here's my phone number" sites, that can be enough.

The Real Cost of DIY

The monthly subscription (typically £10-£30) is just the beginning. What the platforms don't advertise is the time investment.

Most people underestimate how long it takes. Expect to spend 10-40 hours learning the platform, choosing templates, writing content, tweaking layouts, and troubleshooting problems. That's if everything goes smoothly.

Here's the calculation nobody does: if your time is worth £30 an hour (conservative for a business owner), spending 20 hours on your website costs £600 in opportunity cost. That's money you could have earned doing what you're actually good at.

Then there's ongoing maintenance. Every time you need to update something, you're back in the builder, trying to remember how it works.

When You Need a Professional Website

At some point, DIY stops making sense. Usually, that point comes faster than people expect.

Consider professional help if:

• Your website is your main source of customers
• You've tried DIY and hit frustrating limitations
• You've received quotes for professional work and wondered if they're worth it
• Your time is genuinely more valuable spent elsewhere

Research consistently shows that people judge a business's credibility partly by how their website looks. If potential customers are deciding whether to trust you based on your site's appearance, a template that screams "I made this myself" might be costing you business.

What Professional Actually Costs

Traditional agency pricing sits somewhere between £2,000 and £10,000 for a small business website. Complex sites with custom functionality can go much higher. That's a significant upfront investment, especially for a new business.

On top of that, many agencies charge for ongoing maintenance. Need to update your opening hours? That might be £50-100 per hour. Want to add a new page? More charges.

The professional route delivers better results, but the barrier to entry is real. Most small businesses simply don't have £5,000 sitting around for a website.

The Hidden Costs of DIY Website Builders

The marketing from DIY platforms makes everything sound easy. The reality is more complicated.

Limited design flexibility. Templates look polished in the demos, but you're stuck within their constraints. Try to do something slightly different and you'll spend hours fighting the builder.

SEO limitations. DIY platforms include basic SEO tools, but they're rarely enough to compete with properly-built sites. If nobody can find you on Google, having a website doesn't help much.

Platform lock-in. This is the big one. Build your site on Wix, and you can't take it with you if you leave. Your design, your structure, your work - it stays on their platform. You'd have to start from scratch somewhere else.

Scaling problems. What works for a three-page site might not work when you need ten pages, a booking system, and an online shop. By the time you realise the limitations, you've already invested significant time.

Add-on costs. Many features that seem basic (like removing platform branding, adding certain integrations, or getting more storage) require upgrading to higher-priced plans.

The Hidden Costs of Professional Website Development

Being fair, the professional route has its own surprises.

Scope creep. Projects often cost more than initial quotes because requirements change or weren't fully understood upfront. That £3,000 quote can quietly become £5,000.

Ongoing charges. Many developers charge for every small change. Over time, those hourly rates add up.

Developer dependency. If your developer disappears or becomes unavailable, you might be stuck with a site you can't easily modify. We've written about what to do when your web developer disappears - it's more common than you'd think.

Overkill for simple needs. A five-page brochure site doesn't need a £8,000 custom build. Sometimes the professional solution is more than the problem requires.

The Third Option: Pay-Monthly Professional Websites

There's a middle ground that's worth knowing about: professional websites with the cost spread monthly.

This isn't DIY. You're not building anything yourself. A professional handles the design, build, and ongoing maintenance. But instead of paying thousands upfront, you pay a manageable monthly amount.

What's typically included:

• Professional design and build
• Hosting and technical infrastructure
• Ongoing support and maintenance
• Regular updates and security
• Content changes when you need them

Our packages start from £35/month. That's less than most people spend on coffee.

The honest trade-off: Like Squarespace or Wix, our pay-monthly packages are platform-based. You can't take the site template with you if you leave. Your content (text, images) stays yours, but the design structure doesn't transfer. For most small businesses, that's a reasonable exchange for professional quality at an accessible price.

If portability is essential for your business, bespoke development (where you own the code) is the better choice - though you'll pay more for it.

For more on how this payment model works, see our comparison of pay monthly vs upfront payment options.

How to Decide: A Simple Checklist

Choose DIY if:

• Your total budget is under £500
• You have 20+ hours to invest in learning and building
• The website isn't critical to your income
• You enjoy figuring out new tools

Choose a traditional agency if:

• You need complex custom functionality
• You have £3,000+ to invest upfront
• Owning your code outright matters for your business
• You're comfortable with ongoing hourly charges for changes

Choose pay-monthly professional if:

• You want professional quality without the upfront cost
• You'd rather pay monthly than manage everything yourself
• Your site is important but doesn't need custom development
• You value ongoing support being included

The worst choice? No website at all. Any of these options beats invisible.

Frequently Asked Questions