Can I Design My Own Website?

Can I design my own website or should I hire a web developer?

With modern website builders and loads of design tools readily available, pretty much anyone can create their own basic website – with no knowledge of coding required. 

But, while the drag-and-drop platforms make things easier and more accessible, there can be a considerable difference between a functional website, and one that performs to a professional standard. The best websites don’t just look good – they’re focused on user experience (UX),  responsive, and optimised for search engines. 

If you want a site that stands out, grows with your business, and converts visitors into recurring customers, it might be time to work with expert web designers – like the team at Create8. 

What basic skills are needed to design your own website?

Designing a website requires a mix of technical and creative skills. Even with beginner-friendly website builder platforms, there’s more to it than just picking a template. 

Honing these skills will help you to build a DIY website that looks professional and has the necessary basic functions. 

Graphic design & layout skills

Understanding design fundamentals will help to ensure that your website looks polished. But you have to get the balance, contrast, and visual hierarchy right. Knowing how to use tools like Canva, Figma, or Photoshop can help with simple logo creation, creating website wireframes, and designing custom graphics. 

SEO fundamentals

Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps your site rank higher on search engines to bring more traffic to your website. So if you’re designing your website yourself, you’ll need to know how to conduct effective keyword research, write meta descriptions and alt text for images, and structure URLs to ensure people can find your website easily.

Content writing & formatting

Anyone can drag-and-drop elements together, but a great website requires compelling, effective, and well-structured content. Knowing how to write clear and engaging copy, and formatting it correctly for visual, UX and SEO purposes will not only improve readability, but also drive conversions. 

Troubleshooting & problem solving

Websites don’t always work as expected – whether they’re made using DIY platforms or coded by a developer. If you’re building your own, you’ll need to know how to troubleshoot broken links, fix slow load speeds, and rectify mobile display issues to provide your visitors with an optimised and user-friendly experience. 

HTML & CSS (even just the basics!)

While website builders handle most of the coding, knowing the basics of HTML and CSS means you can dive in and tweak elements like fonts, colours, and spacing, outside of what your chosen platform has available, to give you more control over your site’s appearance.

Which website design platforms are best for beginners?

For small businesses, start-ups, and personal projects, website builder platforms offer a comparatively straightforward way to get your brand online – without needing advanced technical skills or a big budget.

Platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify have made it easier than ever to build a website. But while these platforms are ideal for getting started quickly, they each have unique strengths and limitations in terms of design flexibility, scalability, and SEO optimisation. 

• Shopify: Best for eCommerce sites. 
• Squarespace: Best for design and content-driven sites. 
• Wix: Best for ease of use. 

While Shopify is the go-to for eCommerce businesses looking to scale, it isn’t always the most straightforward to use for beginners. Squarespace works well for those who want to prioritise design flexibility, as the platform offers a wide range of templates and style choices, but it’s not great for eCommerce. And while Wix is one of the better-known website builder platforms for beginners due to its comparative ease of use and built-in SEO tools, it has limited design flexibility.

Table 1: DIY website builder comparison

Feature	Wix	Squarespace	Shopify
Ease of use	Intuitive editing interface that requires little to no training or technical knowledge.	User-friendly interface with a strong focus on aesthetics; slight learning curve for advanced customisation.	Straightforward to use and optimised for online selling. You can launch a store without touching a single line of code unless you need specific functionality.
Design templates	Over 900 highly customisable themes.	Over 180 sleek, professionally designed templates.	More than 100 mobile-responsive themes.
eCommerce features	Suitable for small-to-medium stores; offers essential tools but may require third-party apps for advanced functionality.	Good for basic online selling; ideal for creatives, though lacking some more advanced eCommerce features.	Extensive eCommerce capabilities, supporting large inventories, multiple payment methods, and advanced sales analytics.
SEO capabilities	Built-in SEO tools that are beginner friendly; advanced optimisation may need manual tweaks.	Strong SEO features with integrated blogging tools; a bit of a learning curve to fully maximise search potential.	Advanced SEO tools and robust URL structuring, designed to boost online store visibility.
App integrations	Large app market offering extensive range of third-party integrations; some advanced features may require extra add-ons.	Limited third-party integrations; focuses more on its own built-in features for a cohesive user experience.	Access to over 8,000 apps through the Shopify App Store, providing extensive customisation and functionality options.
Customer support	24/7 email and chat support; phone support available during business hours.	24/7 email support; life chat and phone support available during set hours.	24/7 email, chat, and phone support – ensuring help is always available when you need it.

What are the key design elements to consider when creating a website? 

Your website needs to be user-friendly, visually appealing, and aligned with your brand identity. It’s a lot of work, but we recommend that you integrate the following design elements if you want your website to help grow your business.

1. Navigation

Your DIY website should be intuitive and straightforward to navigate – allowing visitors to find information or products with minimal effort. 

Use clear, descriptive labels for menus, avoiding ambiguous terms that some users may not understand. Incorporate minimal, responsive design elements that ensure navigation adapts seamlessly across desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, and tablet devices. 

It’s not just about clarity and usability. Users also expect to find menus in familiar locations, so make sure you’ve placed them consistently throughout the entire website. You also need to ensure you’ve organised all the website content with a logical hierarchy, prioritising essential pages (and limiting the number of primary menu items) to avoid overwhelming users. 

Getting started: Make a list of your essential website pages and organise them into a logical menu structure. 

Pro tip: Test different layouts with tools like Figma or Adobe XD before building your site.  

2. Visual design & branding

A cohesive visual design works to reinforce your brand identity, and should leave a lasting impression on visitors.

If you already have brand guidelines, refer to these so that you can carry your branded design elements over to your website design. If you don’t already have brand guidelines – or if your company is going through a rebrand – start with the basics, like a coherent colour scheme and consistent typography that aligns with your brand’s tone and style. Always use high-quality images and graphics that complement your content and resonate with your target audience. 

Establishing and following your brand guidelines helps maintain visual consistency to foster brand recognition and trust among your audience. 

Getting started: Choose a primary and secondary colour scheme, and define font pairings (for Titles, H1, H2, body, etc). Create a brand style guide or brand guidelines if you don’t already have them!

Pro tip: Use a tool like Coolors to explore different colour palettes that work well together. 

3. Content quality

Compelling and well-structured content is at the heart of user experience and engagement metrics. 

Your DIY website needs clear, concise copy that addresses the needs and interests of your audience – adopting a tone and style that resonates specifically with them. This involves providing real value to your audience, while incorporating relevant keywords naturally to improve SEO without compromising the flow of information. 

To enhance readability, it also helps to break content into digestible sections, using consistent headings, subheadings, and bullet points. Before publishing content to your website, proofread everything meticulously to make sure it reads well and stays accurate – these factors significantly impact your site’s credibility. 

Getting started: Create a content plan by outlining the key pages, their purpose, and general ideas for what kinds of content to include on each. Focus on benefits instead of features. 

Pro tip: Use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor to refine clarity and ensure there’s a consistent tone and style across your website. 

4. Mobile responsiveness

With more than half of all global website traffic now coming from smartphones (Statista), it’s never been more important to make sure your website is responsive. Responsive websites adjust to different screen sizes and orientations so that they can be seen clearly regardless of screen size.

It’s also important to prioritise essential content and features for mobile users, simplifying menus and reducing the need for extensive scrolling. You can use flexible grids and scalable images to maintain visual appeal across devices.

Getting started: Before launch, check your website on multiple devices. Take notes and screenshots of anything that doesn’t work, and go back through these methodically to make sure users on all devices get the best experience possible from your DIY website. 

Pro tip: Use responsive design testing tools like Google Chrome Developer Tools to preview how your site will appear on different screens.

5. Load time

Your website load time directly affects user retention metrics and search engine rankings (Google), which means you need to make sure you website loads quickly to provide a good user experience and reduce bounce rates. This is where things can start to get a bit more complicated for DIY website builders. 

Learn how to optimise images and graphics by compressing file sizes without compromising their quality – tools like Squoosh are perfect for this. You can also minimise the use of any heavy scripts and plugins that might further slow your site down, and implement browser caching to reduce load times for returning visitors. 

Getting started: Compress large images, remove unnecessary plugins, and enable lazy loading for better performance rates. 

Pro tip: Run a PageSpeed Insights test on your website (browser and mobile) and implement its recommendations.

6. Accessibility

Designing an accessible website ensures inclusivity for all users, including those with disabilities. 

To make your website more accessible you’ll need to:

• Incorporate alt text for images to help screen readers convey visual content. 
• Make sure there is sufficient colour contrast between text and backgrounds to aid users with visual impairments. 
• Structure content with proper heading hierarchies to facilitate navigation.
• Provide keyboard navigability for users who rely on keyboards instead of mice. 
• Include captions and transcripts for multimedia content to support those with hearing impairments. 

Adhering to accessibility standards not only broadens your audience but also demonstrates social responsibility and can enhance SEO performance. There may also be accessibility laws in your country, so it’s worth making sure you’re meeting any essential requirements.

Getting started: Implement alt text, keyboard navigation, and proper colour contrast gradients to improve inclusivity and accessibility; and check any relevant accessibility laws in your country. 

Pro tip: Use WAVE Web Accessibility Tools to check for potential accessibility issues. 

What are the limitations of DIY website building?

While DIY website builders offer businesses a quick and accessible route to getting online, they come with potentially significant limitations. 

DIY platforms excel at basic site needs, but they often struggle with some of the more advanced features that enhance website performance. Similarly, SEO and performance can be a challenge when you build a website for yourself, as while website builders do sometimes offer built-in tools, they’re not as good as advice from an expert. 

Most of the DIY website platforms also rely heavily on pre-designed templates. While convenient, these premade templates restrict branding flexibility – and without advanced customisation options, DIY websites can feel like they lack originality. Some templates are easy to recognise, which can make it tough for your brand to stand out in the competitive eCommerce landscape. 

Beyond platform limitations, the process of building your own website requires time, effort, and technical know-how. Without expertise in UX, mobile optimisation, and SEO, it’s easy to overlook crucial details that affect performance and user experience. 

Why work with a web design agency like Create8?

A professional web design agency like Create8 can take your website to the next level, delivering a bespoke, optimised, and future-proof solution for your brand.

• Bespoke design: We can craft custom websites or themes that authentically and accurately reflect your brand’s unique identity, to provide you with a distinct and impactful online presence. 

• Advanced functionality: Our expertise encompasses the development of complex features and the integration of third-party tools, tailored to meet your business’ specific requirements. 

• SEO & performance optimisation: We know all about enhancing site speed and performance metrics, and can implement effective SEO strategies on your site to improve your website’s visibility and ranking. 

• Scalability & support: Our websites are designed to grow with the needs of your business; and we can provide you with ongoing support to ensure the website continues to adapt to your brand’s evolving needs. 

• Refined process: Through a perfected process that includes UX design, wireframing, content creation, visual design, and development, we can provide a cohesive and efficient project workflow.

• Testing & launch: Our comprehensive testing procedures guarantee a smooth launch, delivering a fully functional and user-friendly website.

Get your website design right first time

Partnering with a professional web design agency, like the expert team at Create8, takes away the trial and error involved in DIY website creation.

Give your business’s website the best chance at great performance, right from the start. Get in touch today for a personalised quote!