Build a website yourself with Wix, or hire someone?
Wix, Squarespace or WordPress are fine if you want to invest one evening and are happy with a generic look. Hiring someone is better if your business visibly depends on your website, if customers need to take you seriously, or if you do not have the time yourself.
Rule of thumb: does your website bring in at least €1000 in revenue per month? Then €995 for a properly built version pays back quickly. Below that, Wix or Squarespace is a fine starting point.
What can you do yourself with Wix or Squarespace?
More than you think. A simple website with a homepage, about page, services page and contact form is doable in one evening for someone with basic computer skills. Templates look decent nowadays, and the editors are clear.
What you get is functional, recognizable, and enough to be visible. For a starting freelancer who just needs an address, that is often exactly enough.
What usually goes wrong when you build yourself?
Three things almost always break. First load time. Templates come with bloated code, and slower loading means fewer visitors and worse Google positions. Second SEO. Default settings are rarely enough, and meta text, structure and internal links get no attention without knowledge.
Third distinctiveness. Wix templates are recognizable. If your competitor uses one too, you look like siblings. For businesses that need to run on trust and impression, that is the wrong signal.
When does Wix work fine?
When your business is just starting and you do not yet know if it lands. When you purely need an online address and customers come in through other channels. When you are technically handy and do not mind the maintenance. And when you accept a template that looks good but is not unique.
In those cases you save yourself €995 to €1495 and have a working site within an evening. Fine choice, nothing to be ashamed of.
When do you hire someone?
When customers need to take you seriously and the website is your first impression. When you are in a market where competitors have their site really dialed in. When you do not have the time yourself or do not want to spend it. And when the site needs to do something beyond a standard template: a calculator, a quote flow, an integration with your system, or simply a look that matches how you want to come across.
In those cases you pay for time, decisions, and someone who is responsible when something breaks. That is the value you do not get with a template.
The hidden cost of building yourself
Wix or Squarespace itself costs €10 to €25 per month. Sounds like little, but over three years that is €360 to €900. Plus your time to build it, usually a weekend, plus updates and adjustments. And if you buy a premium template or plugins it adds up quickly.
A hired €995 version pays back within a few years through lower monthly costs, less of your own time, and better results from Google. Do the math for yourself.
Practical experience at DCT B.V., a supplier of welding tables and clamping tools for the steel industry. Daily conversations with business owners about their websites, what works and what does not. Complemented by hands-on experience building websites for small businesses through Sjems.