Should I Build My Own Website or Pay Someone to Do It?
DIY website or hire it out? A fair way for small business owners to decide, counting fees, upkeep and your own time over three years, not just year one.
Website builders have made it possible for almost anyone to put a site online in an afternoon. So the question many small business owners face is not "can I build my own website?" but "should I?"
There is no universal answer. For some owners, a DIY site is the sensible choice. For others, it quietly eats evenings for years. This guide gives you a fair way to decide, based on your time, your needs and your own numbers rather than anyone's sales pitch. If you want a breakdown of what websites cost in general, read our guide How much does a small business website cost?. This post focuses on the decision itself.
The comparison most people get wrong
When owners compare DIY with hiring, they usually compare a builder's monthly plan with a designer's quote. On that basis DIY nearly always looks cheaper.
But that comparison leaves out the biggest cost of a DIY site: your time. Planning pages, writing copy, choosing photos, learning the builder, testing on phones, fixing a broken form, updating holiday hours. None of it shows up on an invoice, and all of it comes out of hours you could spend on paying work, sales or your family.
A fair comparison counts four things for each option, over the same period:
One-time build cost (zero cash for DIY, the quote if you hire)
Recurring fees (plans, hosting, apps, care plans)
Yearly extras (domain renewal, business email, licenses)
Your hours, for building and for upkeep, multiplied by what an hour of your time is worth
Our free Website Cost Calculator lays these out side by side for a DIY build, a quote you already have, and a LiveFixPro website, over one and three years. It runs in your browser and does not send your numbers anywhere.
Why three years, not one
Low-upfront options look strongest in year one. Options with a build fee look strongest later. Most business websites stay in use for several years, so a three-year view gives a fairer picture of what you actually commit to. Run both and see whether the answer changes.
When building your own website makes sense
DIY can be the right call when:
Your needs are simple. A few pages, a contact form, maybe a booking link.
You have time and enjoy it. Some owners find it satisfying, and that has real value.
You are testing an idea. A basic site to see whether there is demand can come before a bigger investment.
Your hour is not yet worth much in paid work. Early on, time may be more available than money.
You are comfortable writing. Content is usually the slowest part, and builders do not write it for you.
When paying someone makes sense
Hiring it out tends to make sense when:
Your time is better spent elsewhere. If an hour on the website is an hour not quoting jobs or serving clients, the DIY saving can disappear.
You need features that are fiddly to set up, such as online booking connected to your calendar, payments, a client area or connections to other tools.
The site has to do a job, such as bringing enquiries from search or ads, and you want it built with that in mind.
You keep putting it off. A half-finished DIY site that never launches costs more than either option.
You do not want to maintain it. Updates, broken links, plugin issues and content changes all need someone's attention every month.
A worked example (illustrative numbers only)
An owner is weighing a DIY builder site against hiring. For the DIY route they expect:
Builder plan and add-ons: $40 a month
Domain and email: $60 a year
Build time: 40 hours
Upkeep: 3 hours a month
Value of their time: $50 an hour
Over three years, the DIY cash cost is ($40 × 36) + ($60 × 3) = $1,620. The time is 40 + (3 × 36) = 148 hours, worth $7,400 at their rate. Including time, the three-year DIY total is $9,020.
A LiveFixPro website is $5,499, paid upfront, and optional website maintenance is $149/mo. With maintenance, three years of cash comes to $5,499 + ($149 × 36) = $10,863, plus the hours they spend briefing and reviewing the project and any third-party costs they would still pay, such as a domain.
Neither option wins automatically. If those 148 hours would otherwise go to paid work worth more than $50 an hour, hiring looks better. If the owner has spare evenings and enjoys the work, DIY may be the better fit. The point is to see both numbers before deciding.
Questions to ask yourself
How many hours did my last DIY project actually take compared with my estimate?
What is one hour of my time worth in paid work right now?
Who will update the site in a year, and will they have time?
Which features do I need on day one, and which can wait?
What does the site need to do for the business: look credible, take bookings, bring enquiries?
The free Website Requirements Checklist helps you answer the last two before you commit either way.
If you hire, ask these before you sign
What is included in the price, and what is extra (hosting, domain, email, writing, photos)?
How many rounds of changes are included?
Who owns the site and the domain if we stop working together?
What does maintenance cover, and what does it cost?
What are the payment and refund terms?
If you build it yourself, avoid these traps
Starting with design instead of content. Write the pages first; design is easier once you know what goes on them.
Ignoring phones. Most visitors to a small business site arrive on a phone. Test every page at phone width.
Heavy images. Large photos slow pages down. Our free Image Compressor and Resizer and Website Speed Checklist help.
No clear next step. Every page should make it obvious how to call, book or enquire.
Set and forget. Out-of-date hours, prices or services cost trust. Put a monthly reminder in your calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Should I build my own website or pay someone? Compare both over at least three years, counting fees, upkeep and the value of your own time. DIY suits simple needs and owners with spare time; hiring suits owners whose time is better spent on the business or who need more complex features.
Is it cheaper to make my own website? In cash terms it often is. Once you add the hours to build and maintain it at a fair value for your time, the gap can narrow or reverse. The Website Cost Calculator shows both totals.
Is it better to use a website builder or hire a web designer? It depends on your needs and time. Builders work well for simple sites you are happy to maintain. A designer or agency makes more sense for sites with specific features or a clear job to do.
What does LiveFixPro charge for a website? A LiveFixPro website is $5,499, paid upfront, with optional maintenance at $149/mo.
Does the Website Cost Calculator store my figures? No. It runs in your browser, and what you enter is not sent to LiveFixPro.
Talk it through before you decide
If you are still weighing it up, it helps to agree what the site actually needs first. See LiveFixPro pricing, try the free Website and AI Readiness Audit, or book a free consult.
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