Lots of people wrongly assume that building a website is hard and think that getting a web developer to build it for them is their only option. Today, building your own website is actually very easy but getting it to function exactly as you want it to, can sometimes be tricky. Without training and support you may well find it is like trying to solve a difficult puzzle.
There are many website owners and bloggers who try to go it alone and work it all out on their own from what they read from other bloggers. Very often you will get conflicting advice, which will be frustrating and in many cases leaves people with perfectly viable business ideas giving up. What a shame!
You do however have different options. My first recommendation is to not go it alone in the first place or if you already have and are feeling the overwhelm go and get training and support now.
Option One: Wealthy Affiliate Training
The most comprehensive training to help you build your website the right way can be found at Wealthy Affiliate. Will it take you some time and effort? Yes. Will it cost you a fortune? No
Wealthy Affiliate is a company that has been around for over 12 years and has over a million members. Some who have been around since the beginning. You can buy your domain name and host your website on their platform. It will show you in a very structured, step by step way, how to build your website or blog, so it is SEO efficient and will serve you well, no matter your niche or business idea.
Training is one thing but you always need support. Their own site support team are second to none. I have crashed this website twice and they have had it back up and running before I’d even finished my coffee!
Not only do you get this but Wealthy Affiliate runs on being a community. A community of people who will help you out when you get stuck or if you have a website or niche query. There is a wealth of people, including me who will help you out. All you have to do is ask a question or go in Live chat and you will have an answer in no time at all.
Building your own website or blog is by far the most rewarding and cheapest option that you have at your fingertips in the online world today. At Wealthy Affiliate your website will be built using the WordPress platform.
For some of you, you may think that you don’t have the time and that your pockets are deep. In this case you may well decide to employ a freelance Web Developer to create a new website for you. This then poses its own challenge – how do you know that the developer you are considering is the best person for the job? It can be very tricky to figure out, but if you ask any potential candidates the following questions, then you should be able to quickly work out which one to hire.
Which Standards Do You Adhere To?
All web developers should ensure that their work and the websites that they create meet certain standards. However, quite a few don’t work to any specific standards. So, when you ask this question listen carefully and make sure that you aren’t being given a fluff answer! Firstly, you should make sure that the developer is going to be using the right coding language for the specific job. For example, CSS will change the font styles and colors while ECMAScript can add JavaScript. If your developer understands the standards of coding languages, then they should be working to good standards with their websites.
This being said they should not blind you with science either. You all know I am not a fan of jargon. Whilst they may use jargon they should be able to explain it in layman’s terms too. You need to understand what they can do for you in simple terms. Many, if not most will use the WordPress platform to build your website on just like if you were to self build at Wealthy Affiliate.
Can I See Your Portfolio?
If you take a look at the site for Go Websites Ltd, you will notice that they have a page titled “Success Stories”. This is where they have a few public testimonials and examples of their work. If the developer who you are considering does not have such a page, you should ask them to send you their portfolio. This gives you the chance to check their work and make sure that it looks like the kind of thing that you are after with your own new website.
How Will You Future-Proof My Site?
The original website that any web developer makes for you won’t be any good in one or two years time. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, an increase in web traffic could require more storage space and pages. Secondly, SEO and other aspects of websites are constantly changing, and you might need to update yours to ensure it is up to modern standards. So, you should ask a developer how they will future-proof the site as best they can and whether they will be open to improving it at a later date.
What Is Your Testing Process?
One of the most important parts of making any website is the testing process. You need to make sure that the site is easy to use and that there are no bugs at all before you launch it. It’s up to your web developer to test it correctly. Ask them how they will do that and ensure that you are happy with their process before you hire them.
As you can see, there is a lot to find out when you are in the process of hiring a web developer! It can sometimes take as long as building one yourself.
Final Thoughts
Whatever you decide, make sure you make an informed decision on what you can do yourself and what you need someone else for. Within Wealthy Affiliate there are people who have used a Web Developer to build their website but found their monthly retainer costs for making changes too high. They decided that learning how to make the small changes needed every month was actually more cost effective.
I hope you have found this post useful. If you have please give it a share on your favourite social media platform. Sharing is caring!
If you have any questions or want to share your own experiences of building websites or web developers then please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Hi Heather and thanks for reading,
In my opinion using the wealthy affiliate training is the best resource for any new blogger, website owner or those who want to earn, honest money online.
You can read my full review here
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Hi Karen, interesting post on building websites and web developers. I created my first and only website with WA and I can’t say it’s a piece of cake as I am not technical. However I have done it.
The idea of hiring a web developer is tempting but I don’t really want to spend that kind of money. If I can’t do it myself, then I won’t do it at all. But for me to be completely dependent on another person is just out of question.
It’s always great to hear from other Wealthy Affiliate members. I’m am pleased you have managed to build your website despite some challenges. You made a great choice as you get a lot of satisfaction from building your own website and you are reliant on no one but yourself.
I have been thinking of hiring a web developer to create a good website for me because I fall short of skills even though I am really interested in this stuff.
The idea of getting a training with wealthy affiliate seems to be far better than hiring a developer because it is cheaper and will help me gain the skills I have always wanted to have.
If you have the time to build your own site, I definitely recommend it. You will get a lot of satisfaction and learning something new is great for all of us. It keeps the brain cells ticking over.
You will also have more control than if you use a web developer because you will always have to go back to them or pay a monthly retainer to keep your site updated.
Thanks for your thoughts on website developers and doing your own.
I do agree that the DIY approach has a steep learning curve and is very frustrating if you’re a team-of-one with not-so-great skills in either communicating or on-line marketing.
However, the same is true of any business, I suppose. It’s great that there is the option of asking for professional help. Your tips about asking for and using it are right on.
My own feeling, though, is that everyone who wants to get into this field is well-served to try to at least understand what an effective website looks like and how it is structured.
You don’t know the questions to ask unless you know what you’re looking for, it seems to me.
You make some really great points here and echo my own thoughts. In the past I have had a website built for me but didn’t really know what I was looking for and what to expect from it.
After building several of my own websites, I now know if I did ever need to use a web developer due to some time constraints, I would know if they were doing a good job or not. And more importantly if I was paying a reasonable price.
Heather
atVery interesting post! It can be overwhelming developing your website…I hadn’t heard of the Wealthy Affiliate; sounds like a great resource!
Karen Noone
atHi Heather and thanks for reading,
In my opinion using the wealthy affiliate training is the best resource for any new blogger, website owner or those who want to earn, honest money online.
You can read my full review here
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Rebecca
atHi Karen, interesting post on building websites and web developers. I created my first and only website with WA and I can’t say it’s a piece of cake as I am not technical. However I have done it.
The idea of hiring a web developer is tempting but I don’t really want to spend that kind of money. If I can’t do it myself, then I won’t do it at all. But for me to be completely dependent on another person is just out of question.
Karen Noone
atHi Rebecca and thank you for reading,
It’s always great to hear from other Wealthy Affiliate members. I’m am pleased you have managed to build your website despite some challenges. You made a great choice as you get a lot of satisfaction from building your own website and you are reliant on no one but yourself.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Dave
atHallo there Karen,
I have been thinking of hiring a web developer to create a good website for me because I fall short of skills even though I am really interested in this stuff.
The idea of getting a training with wealthy affiliate seems to be far better than hiring a developer because it is cheaper and will help me gain the skills I have always wanted to have.
Thanks for the advice.
Karen Noone
atHi Dave and thanks for reading,
If you have the time to build your own site, I definitely recommend it. You will get a lot of satisfaction and learning something new is great for all of us. It keeps the brain cells ticking over.
You will also have more control than if you use a web developer because you will always have to go back to them or pay a monthly retainer to keep your site updated.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Netta
atHey Karen:
Thanks for your thoughts on website developers and doing your own.
I do agree that the DIY approach has a steep learning curve and is very frustrating if you’re a team-of-one with not-so-great skills in either communicating or on-line marketing.
However, the same is true of any business, I suppose. It’s great that there is the option of asking for professional help. Your tips about asking for and using it are right on.
My own feeling, though, is that everyone who wants to get into this field is well-served to try to at least understand what an effective website looks like and how it is structured.
You don’t know the questions to ask unless you know what you’re looking for, it seems to me.
Karen Noone
atHi Netta and thanks for stopping by,
You make some really great points here and echo my own thoughts. In the past I have had a website built for me but didn’t really know what I was looking for and what to expect from it.
After building several of my own websites, I now know if I did ever need to use a web developer due to some time constraints, I would know if they were doing a good job or not. And more importantly if I was paying a reasonable price.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen