How many of you have bought/own a house?

Ask anyone who has done so—Whether a fixer-upper, turn-key, cabin, colonial, whatever the flavor and no matter the cost...It’s excitingly horrifying. For many, it's their definition of the American Dream.

Once the final i is dotted and t is crossed, the house is officially your home (the banks). You’re having parties. Family, friends, enemies, they all come over and you give a tour. Over there is where you'll build a patio. Down here is where you'll have your man cave.  Oh, you are sure as hell going to show off the brand new toilet you installed all by yourself (YouTube).  Your taking and sharing pics like a Kardashian on vacation with some arcane hashtag referencing MTV Cribs.

Then, as you sleep restfully inhaling freshly painted fumes in your luxurious master bedroom--you hear a drip. It gets louder, it gets faster, suddenly...SMASH. The pipe you swear you tightened bursts and your brand new personally installed Kohler is in the kitchen. 

Speaking of the American Dream — Many view this as creating and owning your own business. In the part one of this two-part series, we mentioned how imperative it is to have your own website. Well, imagine you purchased your own site. Humming right along, showing it to family, to friends. Taking pics, sharing it on social media.

Then, one night, as you sleep...The shitter crashes through the ceiling.

Your site is down and you have no clue what to do.

In both of these scenarios--whether a general contractor or digital designer--a repairman is called. Typically charging you excessively more to fix your work as opposed to what they would've charged to do the job in the first place.  

In this piece, we’re going to look at all the operational reasons why one should or shouldn't hire a web designer. We’re going to examine the following aspects: Compliance, custom design, and mobile compatibility.

COMPLIANCE

On May 25th of 2018, the GPRR (General Data Protection Regulation) took effect in the European Union. In short, the GDPR meant any company interacting with anyone within the European Union must be fully transparent. If not, you would be subject to stiff penalties and fines.

Think of this way, how do you know your brick and mortar location is up to code? You hire an attorney or at least someone who specializes in compliance. Same with your website. Here is the thing about the GDPR I neglected to mention—Many assume since they’re located within the United States and 99.9% of their business happens within the 50 states, they’re fine. Except for that .1% in Dublin who loves your Shamrock Moo-Moo for only $19.95 on your site. Your site must adhere to these regulations which protects their data. (Thanks, Zuckerberg!)

Another area of compliance is keeping your site SEO compliant among the abundance of algorithm changes and constant security updates (more on this in a moment). Is it your job to know when to do these, or how to? No. But a web designer MUST be aware. If not, then they’re clearly not the web designer for you. Make sure you ask if they’d be willing to assure your site will be in full compliance with all regulation, any impending regulations, and is capable of updating your site for any inevitable algorithmic changes. 

CUSTOM DESIGN

Do yourself a favor, pick an industry. For example, Powersports. Google Powersports near me/you. Click on all the ones that show. Do their sites look eerily familiar? They may. Why? Because there is an absurd amount of industries out there today where a company will promise SEO optimization yet compromise their site design.  What they do is use a template across all of their clients WITHIN THE SAME INDUSTRY!

Let that marinate for a moment. Are you in an industry this also happens? Have you been approached by such a company? Have you thought about it because you’re damn close to smashing your skull against an oak cabinet trying to develop your own site? Is the reason for your self-induced concussion due to the 18 hours it took you to create a site that looks as if an 8-year-old made it with crayons and MySpace?

A web designer can customize a site which not only appeals to anyone who visits—But it’s a fitting representation of you and your business.

Sure, some of you may have an artistic vision which you execute with style, grace, and a euphoric demeanor.

And there this is, well, you...

Sitting with a web designer--aka a person trained specifically for the creating digital artistic visions for others-- may enlighten your mind to things you never imagined. Potentially creating before you a site unthinkable to your minds-eye.

Or exactly what you were dreaming of.

As CNET, a media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally said--

"DIY site developers restrain the abilities of their site and regularly limit graphics and content. A professional web designer isn't hostage to these limitations."

Look at it this way, if your business were robbed, would you want to a professional sketch artist to help catch the culprit or would you rather draw them yourself?

MOBILE FRIENDLY

And for the no shit portion of our program.

Back in 2015, Google rolled out a massive update — shocking, see compliance two steps ago — What this algorithm change did is quite simple, it rewarded companies with high performing, seamless mobile sites. Why? Because the mass majority of people search via their mobile device as opposed to their desktop.

Simply put, you not only have to assure your site is mobile friendly, but it's also equally as imperative it's a high performing, quick responding mobile-friendly site. If not, you'll be buried where all dead domains are laid to rest — Page 2.

CONCLUSION

When the dust settles, at the end of the day, or whatever cliché ending we can have — The decision solely rests on you and your situation. Are you a guy/gal who likes to fix things? Do you possess infinite patience and a calm demeanor? Or are you the type who likes to pay a little more extra to save themselves time and heartburn?

Hopefully, these two blogs have provided a little insight about whether or not you want to hire a web designer or not. Our suggestion, call Jon at JEG DESIGN INC and ask questions. He’ll be happy to answer any for you free of charge. Possibly alerting you to questions you should be asking.

Or would you rather have the shitter in the kitchen?

Written By Keith Hannigan

Freelance Writer/Blogger with over 11 years of experience in advertising and writing.  To view some of his work, you can check him out on LinkedIn or on his personal blog.