Should DIY or Hire a Pro for My Private School Website?

Before going any further, let us agree on one thing. The main goals of your school's website are to leave a lasting impression, educate, and inform prospective students and parents. To achieve this, you need a functional and high-quality website.?

Sure, you can sign up for an online web design course or use one of the many do-it-yourself web page building solutions you can find online. You can even ask one of your students to create a decent website for you. It may only cost you some pizza money.

However, you need to understand that you are investing in a website that will showcase your school to prospective students and, more importantly, their parents. You can best do that with a website that provides a great user experience, reliability, and design.

Here are some factors to consider when choosing between do-it-yourself websites and professionally made ones:

Are You a Professional Web Designer, or Do You Have Training and Experience Creating One?

The answer is obvious: You are not. Otherwise, you should have proceeded to build it on your own without considering getting the help of a pro, right? Not to be sarcastic, but to drive home an important point. For your Christian school to succeed, you must focus on the things that matter most.?

You need to spend as much time as possible on tasks directly related to helping students and growing your enrollment. You will only waste time and resources and possibly your bottom line by spending time on matters that are not the key focus of the school, such as building a website.?

By hiring an experienced professional web designer, you are investing in your website’s user experience. You’re also taking advantage of the pro’s content management experience and best practices in SEO and web development.

Don’t Hire Someone You Can’t Fire

Similar to becoming a good doctor or mechanic, it takes many years to hone the skills of a reputable web designer and developer. You may be tempted to hire a relative, a student, a parent, or a neighbor who may have some website development experience. But, as an expert so aptly put it: “You should never hire someone you cannot fire.”

Do You Have Enough Budget Set Aside?

While a reliable and high-quality website may not necessarily create a big hole in your pocket, it will cost some money. Working with a professional digital marketing agency specializing in private schools may help you save money. This can give you a good head start in coming up with the ideal website to propel your online presence.

Now, if you are unsure if you can afford it, think of it this way. It is just a matter of setting your priorities. You can always find ways to fund the things that truly matter to you and your business – such as your website.

Can You Fix It if It Breaks?

Okay! So you are not a web design professional and have no budget for a pro to develop your website. Do you think it’s a good enough reason to embark on a website design do-it-yourself project? You may have a point. But, you must answer this one very important question. What will you do if your DIY website breaks or encounters problems?

With their many years of experience, you can expect professionals to have the answer to any issue you may encounter. After all, they deal with these kinds of problems all the time. They have enough experience to spot and address these issues.?

Imagine if your website is full of loading issues and various errors. Do you think your visitors will stay or wait? No, they will leave your site as fast as they see an error! No one will spend time on an error-laden website.

Sure, you can hire an expert to fix your DIY website. But, at this point, it will be pretty expensive. First, they’ll need time to figure out the website you built. They will then thoroughly search for the causes of the problems. Imagine how much labor that will entail, which, as expected, will make the project more expensive.?

To sum it up, it will only be a lot more expensive than having an expert build your website from scratch.?

Do You Have Your Families’ Best Interests in Mind?

Here is the final thing to consider, and it can also be the toughest to answer: Do you have the best interests of your parents or students at heart?

As mentioned, when building your site, you need to consider a lot of things. These include loading time, user experience (buttons, links, and navigation, among others), the web browser used, and the content marketing strategy. These factors can either repel or make your site visitors stay. Digital marketing agencies should always have these things in mind when building websites.

It Is Not Merely a Matter of “Can I,” but “Should I?”

Yes, building a website DIY-style and achieving success is possible. But, even if you have the capability, you should still ask yourself: Should I? Or, Is it worth it??

When working with an experienced and reputable private school marketing agency, you are hiring someone who not only has the means to design and create a professional-looking website. They can also provide you with a website with complete working functionality. Simply put, you are employing the agency’s experience and knowledge.?

Conclusion

Not everyone who goes the DIY route fails. Some lucky ones succeed. After all, even the best web designers cannot guarantee your online success. However, if you are considering going for a do-it-yourself web design, remember that the odds are not in your favor.?

Let experts do the job for you to increase your chances of success. Contact us to learn how.