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1. A Pro Will Do It Within A Timescale.
Professional web design firms will often state a timescale within which your site will be finished. Getting a friend to do your site often means getting it done ‘in spare time’ which means you could be waiting a lot longer for your site to be finished.
2. A Pro is a Pro.. Duh (skills, qualifications, previous work etc)
Any respectable web design company will have a number of trained and practised web designers working for them. These guys know what they are doing; giving you the peace of mind that whatever you want them to do, they can do it and do it well.
3. A Pro Can Provide A Variety Of Styles Tailored To What You Envision For Your Website.
Most web design firms can show you previous work and take you through the different sorts of styles recommended for different websites. You can pick and choose what you want from their existing work, and if you have an idea that is different from what they have done before, they have the skills and ability to do something new.
4. You’re Not Limited To Static Pages.
Whether you are looking for database driven sites, a CMS or e-Commerce site, a decent web design firm could probably do it in their sleep. Your website can be much more than an online billboard: you can sell through it, have a forum, have a blog, incorporate web 2.0, integrate RSS - the possibilities are endless.
Your website has incredible potential and it would be a shame if your mate Dave turned it into an little more than an e-Poster.
5. You Don’t Have To Feel Bad When You Tell Dave “Actually I Think Its Rubbish”
We’ve all been there : when a friend or family member comes up with a great idea or makes something they think is wonderful, then they ask “what do you think?”. What you want to say is.. “Oh my god, that’s so bad it gave me cancer”.. but you dont want to hurt their feelings so you say.. “umm yeah, its cool”. This is your website and if you are not happy with the direction that it is going, a web designer can change it without getting upset and throwing a paddy.
6.
If Something Goes Wrong a Pro Knows What To Do.
If your website is more complex than a few static pages there is always the chance that somewhere down the line something could go wrong, a professional will be able to know what has happened and can fix it promptly, it may take Dave a lot longer, if he even knows what to do anyway.
7.
If You Want Something Changed Or Added Further Down The Line, A Pro Will Be Able To
Pick Up Where They Left Off.
If you already have a site, a web designer will be able to build around existing work without ruining the code and screwing things up, a less experienced hand might inadvertently add or remove something that ruins the design or a function. You can also get an agreement with a design firm to expand your site in future, meaning they will be familiar with the layout of the coding and will be able to change and add things with much greater ease.
8.
A Pro Company Can Also Offer Domain Name and Hosting Services.
Once your site is designed and built you will need to make sure that you can actually get it live, many web design firms can do this for you as part of your web design package, however Dave is not likely to register your domain and pay your hosting for you. Getting it done by a web design firm can save you the hassle of doing it as well as the money, as they will know where to go for the best prices.
9.
Dave Isn’t Obliged By Agreement To Finish The Site.
If something comes up and all of a sudden Dave can’t finish your site, what do you do? Give your other mate Bill a ring? As I’ve said, web design firms have numerous staff to take the work load, and in the event of your using a freelance designer, if he can’t finish the site, there are often people that he can recommend you to. You won’t lose money either as you won’t be liable to pay if they can’t produce the site for one reason or other.
10.
“You scratch my back and i’ll scratch yours”… you dont want to be scratching Dave’s
back do you??
If you get ‘mates rates‘ on your site, you might have to feel obliged to return the favour and who knows what that could involve. It could be as simple as mates rates on one of your products or services.. or it could be babysitting Dave’s kids who turn out to be the spawn of satan. Either way, you get the idea.
March 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
depends very much on what Dave can do …
March 10th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Definitely, pro is the way to go