Building a website, like any other form of marketing, can be quite an endeavor. This is especially true for small companies with only one or two people running the company and doing most of the work. While having a strong vision is important to design the best site possible, there are many factors to consider before deciding if it can be done in-house or if hiring a web design company is more appropriate.
Here are the top 10 reasons why it’s better to hire an agency for your website:
1. Project Management
Many small businesses and start-ups don’t have the capacity to manage a project as complex as building a site or implementing an effective digital marketing strategy – not to mention doing it well. It would be extremely difficult for one person to oversee all aspects of the design and implementation, especially with how rapidly the industry changes. Web marketing agencies are equipped to handle every stage of the process, from initial consultation, planning & design to development and maintenance.
Creative teams at digital marketing agencies have many years of experience in planning effective strategies for different types of small businesses. They understand which websites will work best for certain industries, what features are trending now, and how to get the most out of your website.
2. Time and Resources
A company can’t afford to let one person spend months trying to learn a new skill or program. It’s likely that this individual won’t have the time and resources needed to produce a great site, which means they’ll probably need help along the way. Even worse, they might not be able to manage or correct any coding errors that arise.
As we mentioned earlier, agencies have professionals who dedicate their time and resources to learning the latest trends and best practices in website design and development. They also have resources such as research tools, content management systems (CMS), and multimedia editing programs to help them implement your website.
3. Updates and Maintenance
Sites need regular updates to stay current and compete in their industry. This may sound simple enough, but if you’re doing the work in-house, it’s extremely time-consuming and expensive to hire a team of professionals each time you want something changed on your site. Companies will have to hire a web designer, a developer, and sometimes even a content writer to do all the work.
It’s much more cost-effective for companies to use a design agency that can handle all of these tasks in-house. Design agencies are equipped with designers & programmers who know how to code, developers who understand business requirements (and design requirements), and content writers who know how to create engaging copy, optimized for search. This means that once you hire a design agency, you don’t have to worry about hiring more people – they will already have the necessary bandwidth to help your business grow.
4. Accessibility and Security
It’s important for sites to be compatible with different devices – not just desktop computers. It’s also vital that they are secure and offer good protection to users’ personal information. However, it would be extremely difficult for the average person to manage these tasks on their own.
Design agencies have teams of professionals who understand which solutions will work best with different browsers, CMSs, coding languages (i.e. HTML, CSS), and different types of content management. They can help you maintain a secure site with no coding errors, as well as promote the brand through SEO and SEM digital marketing plans.
5. Digital Marketing
Many small businesses think they don’t have enough budget to invest in a professional digital marketing strategy – especially if they spend a lot on their website design and development. This is a critical mistake, as your site is the central hub of all your marketing efforts – it should be designed to help you expand the brand and spread awareness about new products and services within a marketing flywheel model.
Web design companies have teams of professionals with years of experience in developing effective strategies for small businesses. They can create comprehensive digital marketing plans that include:
- SEO and SEM
- Social media marketing
- Email and mobile marketing
- Content marketing & management
- Ad campaigns
- Marketing automation
6. Talent
Talent is a very important part of any business, so it makes sense that you would hire the most talented people to do all of the work on your website. However, this strategy can get expensive fast, and it can be difficult to find talented people in all fields, especially when the company is just starting out.
The great thing about using an agency for your website design and development needs is that you only have to hire them once. This means you don’t need to spend time or money searching for different talent each time you want something different done with your site. Agencies have diverse talent that can handle every aspect of the website development process, which means you don’t need to worry about finding different people for each task.
7. Focus on Core Business
When companies try to manage their own in-house teams, they usually end up neglecting their core business in order to deal with website and marketing issues. This means that their business will suffer, and they can’t focus on growing and improving as fast as they could be if they put their resources into hiring an agency.
The great thing about using an agency is that you only have to manage one relationship as opposed to multiple in-house employees—it’s a more efficient way to manage a team. You can focus on making the business better, and leave all of the website tasks to your design agency.
8. 24/7 Availability
In-house teams need time off—that’s just how it works! When companies have their own employees, they have to wait for them to be available to work on the website. Design agencies, on the other hand, are always open for business.
When you hire a design agency, they can immediately start working on your site and marketing program. They also offer 24/7 support to their clients in case something goes wrong with the website or if they need a consultation about a specific task. This means that you don’t need to worry about your site going down due to staff issues, and it allows you the peace of mind of knowing that you can reach someone at any time.
9. Better Results
Many companies try to handle their own website tasks because they want to save money and get better results than they would through a marketing agency. This is a risky strategy, especially for small businesses that are just starting out. They are usually so busy with managing their core business that they don’t have time to dedicate to SEO and SEM, content marketing, PC ad campaigns, social media marketing, etc.
The thing about hiring a design agency is that you can work directly with your website designer to get better results. You can keep track of all tasks that are being done for your site, which means you’re constantly aware of what’s going on with your website—and how it’s helping your business grow.
10. Avoid Mistakes
Even though it might seem like a good idea to hire in-house staff members to work on the company’s website, mistakes can happen that can harm the business in a big way. It takes time and experience to learn all of the ins and outs of website development, and when companies try to do it themselves, they usually end up making avoidable mistakes that cost them in the long run.
Partnering with a design agency is a better idea for many reasons, but one of the biggest ones is that you don’t risk making avoidable mistakes. Outsourcing website development projects means you can work directly with your agency to get your site up and running smoothly without any risky errors.
Final Thoughts
By hiring an agency for your website design and development needs rather than trying to manage it yourself or hiring an in-house staff team, you can have a professional website that helps your business thrive without any of the risk or hassle.
For more information about website design and development for your next project, contact Faster Solutions today.
