a person sitting at a laptop with their head in their hand, clearly stressed. this is to show your friends and family should not make your website

If you’re starting up your own business, it can be tempting to try and take on everything yourself. Many small business owners become their own manufacturer, advertiser, designer, HR specialist, social media person and so much more.

When you get overwhelmed, it becomes very attractive to place work in other people’s hands, especially when your cousin in IT volunteers to make your website. However, there are multiple reasons why your friends and family should not make your website.

Working with a third-party ensures professionalism, plus they can recommend website content best practices when it comes to design, functionality, content, SEO, hosting and more. 

Working with a volunteer designer can very quickly turn into a rookie mistake and result in your business losing customers. Read on for the top five reasons your friends and family should not make your website. 

1. Your Website Should Be User-Friendly 

While your college roommate might be very skilled with computers, it’s best to leave the website design to the professionals. This is because the ultimate consequence of a bad website is losing customers, while a great website with the right elements can turn website visitors into committed clients and customers.

Making the investment in proper website management for small businesses is worth the price, and when you work with a company like Vervology, we’re in it for the long haul. Our professionals know which navigation layouts work best, and they make sure to include the necessary elements to make your site user-friendly, including clear navigation labels, an easy way to contact you, calls to action and appropriate font size, spacing and contrast to make your content easy to read. 

2. Your Family Web Designer Isn’t Focused on Security

Many beginners in the industry will leave their website username as the default “admin,” allowing hackers and industry professionals to easily access the back end of your website, make changes or even steal information.

It’s also crucial to use up-to-date plugins, themes and installations so as to avoid threats to the online safety of you and your website visitors.

Make sure the platform you’re using is secure for both designers and users, and use a unique username and password to prevent hacking attempts. With the assurance that you’re keeping their information safe, customers are more likely to trust you and your business is much more likely to thrive.

3. Volunteer Designers May Not Stick Around

If you take your cousin or college roommate up on their offer to build your website, it’s very likely that they will design a pretty site and leave you with the URL. If you use a volunteer designer, they’re likely to produce a site for you and leave it in your hands, possibly neglecting your need to learn how to access and maintain it.

There’s nothing worse than entrusting a friend or family member with your website design, only to watch them disappear after “finishing” their job. It’s why your friends and family should not make your website in the first place. Website design is an ongoing process that requires maintenance, which is why we suggest using a third-party company who will commit for the long haul.

4. You Won’t Have the Resources You Need 

If your designer drops off the face of the earth after they’ve designed your site, you may end up being locked out of your own website, which is a tough spot to find yourself in. Website maintenance is crucial to the performance of your content, as well as the transformation of site visitors or lurkers into customers and clients. 

With a professional website designer, your site will be created with both you and the user in mind, stay up-to-date, function well for the users, and encourage the transition from visitor to customer.

5. SEO May Be Overlooked

Those who don’t work in website design or social media marketing don’t often know about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), let alone how to use it.

SEO is about more than just a few keywords scattered through your content. It’s a strategic tool that professional web designers know how to use for your benefit, in order to optimize search engine results and connect potential customers to your business.

Whether it’s the words used, the navigation layouts and labels, the calls to action (CTAs), hyperlinks, or your website address, each factor majorly plays into the search engine’s ability to pull up your website. SEO, done properly, improves “your website’s visibility and likeliness of being found in search engines.”

Trust the Experts: Your Friends and Family Should Not Make Your Website

We know it’s tempting to save some money on your website creation when you’re first starting up. Running a small business is difficult, and you don’t often have the financial or social networks and resources you need when you’re starting out.

Overall, your friends and family should not make your website. It won’t benefit your business in the long run.

Trust us when we say that hiring a professional website designer will be worth the investment. Your site will get more hits, more interaction and turn clicks into clients. Contact Vervology and ask us about the best strategy for your website.