What are the two options?
A website builder is a service such as Wix, Squarespace or GoDaddy, where you pick a template and fill it in yourself through your browser. WordPress is a step up in flexibility and in effort. You pay a subscription and you do the work.
Done for you means a person or company builds the site, and often runs it afterwards. You pay more, either once or monthly, and you supply the photos and the facts.
There is no single right answer. A good builder site beats a bad agency site, and the other way round. What matters is being honest about your own time, and about what happens after the site goes live.
How do they compare?
| Website builder | Done for you | |
|---|---|---|
| Money | A modest subscription. | More, paid once or monthly. |
| Your time to launch | Several evenings or weekends, more if you are new to it. | A call and an hour or two gathering photos and details. |
| Who writes the pages | You do. | They do, from what you tell them. |
| Who keeps it updated | You do. | Usually them, depending on the plan. |
| Design | A template. Fine if you keep it simple. | Built around your trade and your photos. |
| Getting found on Google | Down to you. | Included in some plans, not all. Ask. |
| Control | Full. You can change anything at any time. | You ask for changes. |
Prices and features change often, so check each provider's current plans before you choose.
When does a website builder make sense?
- You are just starting out and need something online this month for very little money.
- You are comfortable on a computer and do not mind learning as you go.
- You have quiet evenings you are willing to spend on it.
- You mostly need somewhere to send people who have already heard of you, to prove you are real.
- You like being able to change things yourself, straight away.
If that sounds like you, a builder is a sensible choice. Keep the site simple, use your own photos, and follow a checklist such as our guide to what a trades website should include.
When is done for you the better choice?
- Your time is worth more on the tools. Work out what an evening of paid work earns you, and compare it with the evenings a site would take.
- You have started a site before and not finished it. It is easily done, and nothing to be embarrassed about.
- You want the site to bring in new customers, not only reassure existing ones. That needs ongoing work on search.
- Writing is not your strong point. The words on a trades site matter more than the design.
- You want one person responsible for whether the whole thing works.
What do people underestimate about building their own site?
Three things tend to catch people out.
- The writing. Picking a template takes an hour. Writing a clear page for each service and each area takes far longer, and it is the part that decides whether Google shows the site.
- The upkeep. A site with last year's phone number, or photos from three years ago, quietly costs you work.
- Everything outside the site. A website does not bring visitors by existing. Your Google Business Profile, your reviews and your listings do as much as the site does, and they need regular attention too.
None of this is beyond a tradesperson. It is simply more than the adverts for website builders suggest. Our guide to ranking on Google Maps covers the outside part, and you can do all of it yourself.
Can you start with a builder and switch later?
Yes, and it is a reasonable plan. Start with a simple builder site while the business is young. Move to a done-for-you site when the diary is full enough that your evenings are worth more elsewhere.
Two things make the switch painless. Register the domain name in your own name from the start, so you can point it at a new site whenever you like. And keep your own copies of your photos and your text. If you get to that point and want it handled, this is what our websites for tradespeople plan is for.