We have seen and heard it all too often. A SMB comes into our office. We discuss the possibility of working together on a new website and maybe their overall digital presence. We have a great conversation about their goals, expectations, and our process. The marketing/development team is made up of a bunch of marketing mavens that believe they have a good grasp on what it takes to build a WordPress website today. They may have some basic coding chops but it isn't as strong as they believe. Once they leave our office they will begin a conversation that will most likely result in them deciding that they can build a website themselves and they don't need to spend X with us to get what they are looking for. 

Fast forward 12 months later and the same marketing/development team is either in our or another agency's conference room back at square one discussing the possibility of working together on a new website. Save yourself the 12 months and work with a digital agency from the start. With that said, without further adieu, we present our top 3 reasons to NOT start a DIY WordPress website project. Be sure to join the conversation and comment on this post below and don't forget to sign up for our blog updates! 

Top 3 Reasons to not start a DIY Wordpress Website Project

Trust us, it's not as easy as it seems...

1. Yes, WordPress has made managing content a lot easier, but you still have to build the website. 

Unless you want to use one of the themes that WordPress.org supplies for free, you still have to build the website.  If you choose to use a wordpress.org free template, your website is most likely going to look and feel like so many others. If you look at it, a lot of those themes have thousands and thousands of active installs! Thousands and thousands of people will have websites that look similar to yours. On top of that, anyone can upload Themes to share so you don't necessarily know who has coded it and more importantly if it will continue to be supported by the creator.

Also remember that out of the box, WordPress is a blogging platform. It can be molded into a fully functional content management system that is the backbone of a beautifully designed, hand crafted website but that takes (in most cases but not all) professional help. 

2. It's not going to end up looking or feeling professional. It just won't. 

I guarantee you will be the biggest fan of your own work and no one is going to want to tell you what they really think of the website that you and your team built. It may very well be a big improvement over what your company/organization had previously, but it most likely won't be on par with your industry leader websites. That is also an extremely flawed way of thinking about a new website.

Of course you want to improve upon your company's old website. If the new website isn't better than the old, then you are in big trouble and the project was an absolute failure. It is important to not focus on creating a website that is better than the old but to focus on creating a website that meets your specific company/organization needs as well as your visitors/potential buyer's. 

3. You won't get your company/organization's desired results. 

Your company pays you to get work done and drive results no matter what department you work in. Whether you work in the human resources department, sales department, or in this case the marketing department, the company pays you with the expectation that you are going to deliver exceptional results. In most cases, if you attempt a DIY WordPress website, you are not going to deliver an exceptional result and you and your department will be on the hot seat. 

If money/lack of a budget is an issue within your organization but you have been tasked with getting a new website built, you are better off investing your time in making a case to reach deep down in the coffers to find the money to work with a professional than spend your time trying to figure out how to build a decent looking website within your department. Time = money. You have limited time in a day. Your company pays you for your time. I bet you can find 10 things that you as a marketing professional can help your comapny drive the top line than spend the next 3-6 months attempting to build a respectable website. Also, do you have the time and resources to: 

1. Build a website that is mobile friendly
2. Write and build out all of the content/copy that will be included on the website
3. Create all of the visuals that will go into the website
4. Hire and coordinate a photographer to capture your company's culture via images
5. Test your website on all devices, browsers, etc. 

And this is just a very very short list of things to consider when taking on a DIY wordpress website project. 

Conclusion

Look, this is obviously a really simplistic view of why you shouldn't try to take on website projects yourself and believe me when I say I could probably write a book on this. THIS IS NOT A SALES PITCH. I DON'T CARE IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO WORK WITH US (don't get me wrong, we would love to have your business) AND END UP WORKING WITH ANOTHER AGENCY. I JUST WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU. For the best possible results and to get the most out of a WordPress website, please do yourself and your company/organization a favor and hire a professional! 

Thanks for reading this post! For more information on how to turn your website into a lead generating sales machine, be sure to download our eBook An Introduction to Growth-Driven Web Design by click the link below!