Create your own website - Do it yourself or have it done?
Whether you are founding a new company, just setting up your own business or your outdated website is in urgent need of a relaunch, the question arises: do I do it myself or do I look for the right service provider? The same question also arises in medium-sized companies, which often have hired digital managers. In principle, they are or should be in a position to revise websites themselves or only need one or the other specialist to supplement them.
As the head of a digital agency, my answer should be obvious. Of course a SEO Agency commission. But it is not that simple.
When I started moving in the digital world in 1996 and founded my first start-up Film.de, the question was actually easy to answer. There were simply no suitable service providers. So we had to teach ourselves everything. Selfhtml was the most important tool, which actually still exists today. Corel Draw was responsible for the graphics, which still exists (but I don't know anyone who uses it - if any of you do, feel free to add a comment about how it feels today). And the main thing was that the pages were optimised for Netscape. Although we even wrote this on the pages back then and integrated the Netscape logo in the footer, this browser unfortunately no longer exists. We didn't think too much about the content, because the few pages that were reasonably well done worked fine anyway. It's actually crazy when I imagine how a website from today would have fared at the end of the 90s.
Which brings me to today. Today, there are countless tools and websites for the procurement of all conceivable services. The question is no longer WHO? should do it. The question is HOW? we do it. The basis remains the content management system, which is often supplied by the provider: Wix, Jimdo, GoDaddyand of course WordPressare some current favourites here. Creating normal websites has become incredibly easy. The results, unacceptable just a few years ago, are now almost indistinguishable from professional websites. Even if total individuality is not available off the shelf, the results are so good that I can only recommend this approach for many entrepreneurs.
The decisive challenge today is therefore no longer the technology. When it comes to printing, no one worries about how the printing press works from which the business cards come out. For some reason, however, many think that a portion of HTML is still necessary.
If this is not the case for you and lines of code remind you of Matrix at best, you can rest easy. You do NOT need a PROGRAMMER (good thing mine don't read this) - unless you have individual requirements. It's like furniture. 90% of all furniture in all quality and price classes is bought from a catalogue or furniture store. But for 10% you need a carpenter, because otherwise the best possible solution under the stairs is simply not feasible.
The challenge today lies in the optimal filling of the website. Most systems are so simple that really anyone is able to insert website text and images. But this is where the demand on everyone begins. I myself have hired countless graphic designers and copywriters for myself and my agency clients. Just 10 years ago, this was absolutely necessary. My experience is that most clients these days are very good at creating their own graphics and creating and editing photos so that they are good for the web. If you ever need images (like I do for this blog), get them for free via pexels or Unsplash. And if it needs to be a polished infographic or a nice animation for a tutorial, websites like fiverr or tools like Canva can help. This even works with videos thanks to EasyVSL.
Since everyone knows his company best himself in case of doubt, he has to work on the texts anyway. Even spelling is no longer a headache for anyone thanks to autocorrect. Even the translation into English runs like clockwork thanks to deepl. Aligning all content in such a way that organic growth occurs to the desired extent is, however, an art and science in itself. That brings us to the 10% for which external help is useful - I have to say that because otherwise our agency wouldn't be needed ;-).
Today, more than ever, the web presence is decisive in the war for every company. Online decides who wins the most new customers and motivates the best employees to apply. I would not leave this strategic field to a third party, but try to occupy it myself with as much in-house competence as possible. In the meantime, I therefore recommend that every entrepreneur acquire the necessary know-how himself or hire someone on a permanent basis.
But a few questions remain: HOW do we fill the page optimally so that the content works best? What to write? Which images? What to use numbers for? How much text? Where to put the statements? This is where the trust building blocks come in handy. With this method, you find out which content best conveys your trustworthiness. A series of frameworks will tell you the best tricks and easiest tools for editing all your content. Just try it out!
And if you want website copywriting, we'd love to hear from you.
