These days, half the people you meet will tell you that they "do" web design... and often it can be tempting to shy away from using a professional service to build a website for your business. After all, if you hire an amateur or a student, the costs will be significantly less, and money saved is money earned right?

Well, maybe... but perhaps you should put a bit more thought into why you are getting a website. Do you actually want to increase the amount of business you do? Or are you just getting a website because it's the thing to do these days. If your motivations are the latter, then consider this: If the money spent is not going to deliver a website that will have a positive impact on your business, then it's money wasted, regardless of the cost.

5 Reasons to Hire a Professional to Make Your Website

1. A website is an online extension of your business. A poorly designed website is the online equivalent of a dilapidated and messy storefront. Would you invite your clients and customers to visit you at a run down and unkempt storefront? Because that's exactly what websites developed "on the cheap" often end up looking like.

2. A qualified web design company will have years of experience, giving them intimate knowledge of what does work and doesn't work online. There are some "popular" conventions in web design that actually scare customers away from your website before they have a chance to find out anything about your company! A professional will be able to guide you away from inadvertently falling into these pitfalls.

3. Reliability: I was speaking to a client the other day, and they were telling me about the previous website they had made for their business. They hired a friend of the family who was a student and was offering what they needed at a lower, yet still significant price. The website was never fully completed to the client's satisfaction, and the student upped and left the province... ending up half way across the continent. They left no source files, or any other information, so the client was basically left with a website that didn't meet their needs and had no ability to have someone else come in and complete the website. The risk of having your own horror story like this is relatively non-existent when you hire an established company that's been around for 5 - 10 years.

4. Do you have local competition? A recent study showed that up to 80% of business to business purchasers at least research their purchases online before making a decision. The numbers for regular consumers are even higher. That means many of your potential customers will be visiting your website and your competition's website to help them make their buying decision. Still think a website is no big deal?

5. If you try getting your website designed cheaply and the end result is not satisfactory, not only have you lost your valuable time and money developing the unsatisfactory website, but you will have to go through the entire process again, costing you more time and money.

Stay tuned for the next post which will tell you how to pick the right web developer.