Picking a website isn’t merely a single decision; it involves several factors being combined together. Of course, the appearance of the site is important, but it’s just as crucial to consider who will be looking after it in the future, whether it will be able to grow as your business does, and whether it will really be able to withstand a couple of years without having to go through a complete redesign.
Can you make your own website?
Certainly. There are many people who do. A number of developers—particularly those from large studios—would rather stick to their own method rather than base their work on something that has already been created. It has nothing to do with judging your ideas; it’s just a matter of the way they are organised.
If you’re already planning on hiring a professional, it’s helpful to have a rough design or at least a clear idea of the direction you want to take, since this gives them something concrete to work on and generally reduces the need for endless back-and-forth.
Even if you are certain about what you want, there’s still some benefit in getting in a professional. They pick up on details and problems that you probably haven’t even considered yet.
Growing an ecommerce business with development, not just design
In the field of e-commerce, design accounts for only half the story. The underlying aspects—such as how quickly it loads, how it copes with a large number of visitors, or how easy it is to add products or payment methods—are equally important. You shouldn’t dismantle everything just in order to make a few changes later.
Briefing a website copywriter
The text on your site is just as important, if not more so, than the design—actually, on some occasions it is. It’s the thing that causes people to actually call or complete your form. For copywriters, a good brief goes beyond simply asking them to ‘write something about us’ by specifying who you’re addressing, what you want them to do once they’ve read it, and what makes you different when someone has a dozen other tabs open showing your competitors.