Should You DIY Your Website or Hire a Designer? The Honest Answer for Service-Based Small Business Owners

If you’re a service-based business owner trying to figure out whether to DIY your website or hire a designer, you’re asking the right question. But here’s the thing—the answer isn’t as simple as most people make it sound.

The truth? Both approaches can work beautifully. And both can be total disasters.

The difference comes down to one thing: knowing which season of business you’re in right now.

Watch the full breakdown:

In this post, I’m breaking down when each approach makes sense, what most people get wrong, and how to make the smartest choice for where you are right now.

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The Myth: You’re Either a “DIY Person” or a “Hire It Out Person”

Here’s what most people don’t realize: you’re not stuck being one or the other.

I’ve worked with the same clients at different stages of their business—once when they DIY’d, and again years later when they hired out. Both choices were smart. Both worked. The difference? Their season of business.

One client, a realtor named Lauren, came to me twice. The first time, she needed to build clarity around her positioning and messaging. She’d tried DIYing on her own and ended up with something generic that made her cringe when people asked for the link. We worked together on strategy, and she built her site with that framework. Her business grew steadily for two years.

The second time she came to me, she was ready to move into a higher-end market and needed a rebrand. This time, hiring made perfect sense. Because she’d spent those years refining her message and understanding her audience, the team she hired had a solid foundation to build from. They weren’t guessing—they were executing a proven strategy.

Same person. Different seasons. Different approaches. Both exactly right.

On the flip side, I’ve worked with business owners who hired too soon—before they had clarity on their positioning or understood their ideal client. They ended up with gorgeous websites that didn’t convert. Thousands of dollars spent on beautiful design that brought in the wrong clients (or no clients at all).

It wasn’t that the designers or copywriters weren’t talented. It’s that when you’re not clear on your strategy, even the best team has to guess. And sometimes that guess misses the mark.

So let’s talk about how to know which approach is right for you right now.

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What Actually Goes Into a Strategic Website (Hint: It’s Not Just Design)

Before you can make a smart decision about DIY vs. hiring, you need to understand what goes into a website that actually works.

Most people think “I need a website” and immediately start looking for a designer. But design is just one piece of a much bigger puzzle.

Here are the 6 key roles involved in creating a strategic website:

1. Brand Strategy

Who you are, who you serve, and what sets you apart. This is the foundation that informs every other decision—from your color choices to your homepage headline.

2. Brand Design

Your visual identity: logo, colors, fonts, and overall aesthetic. This creates that immediate first impression and keeps everything consistent across your marketing.

3. Copywriting

The words that connect with your audience and guide them toward working with you. This isn’t just “filling in paragraphs”—it’s strategic messaging that speaks to your ideal client’s needs and positions you as the solution.

4. Website Design & Development

This is where everything comes together—your strategy, brand design, and copy get turned into a functional, beautiful website that guides visitors from curious to converted.

5. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Making sure people can actually find your site when they search for what you offer. The most beautiful site in the world doesn’t help if no one can find it.

6. Ongoing Maintenance & Updates

Your website isn’t a one-and-done project—it needs regular updates, security maintenance, and content refreshes to stay relevant and effective.

Here’s why this matters: When you contact a designer thinking you just need someone to “put it together,” but you haven’t done the strategy, copywriting, or brand design work yet, that project suddenly becomes way bigger (and more expensive) than you expected.

You’re not just hiring a designer—you’re hiring for multiple roles. And if you don’t realize that upfront, it can lead to sticker shock, scope creep, and frustration on both sides.

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When Hiring a Designer Makes Perfect Sense

Outsourcing can be an incredible investment—when the timing is right.

You should consider hiring when:

You already have crystal-clear messaging and positioning. You know exactly how to talk about your business, what makes you different, and who you serve. You’re not guessing—you have proof.

You’ve tested and refined your offers. You know what language resonates with your audience because you’ve been in conversations with them, gotten feedback, and adjusted based on real data.

You have the strategic foundation ready to hand over. Brand strategy, market research, understanding of your client journey—you can give your team clear direction instead of asking them to figure it out for you.

You’re ready to scale and reclaim your time. At this stage, outsourcing isn’t about not being able to do it yourself—it’s about freeing up your time to focus on revenue-generating activities only you can do.

You need to launch quickly and have the budget to invest. Sometimes you need something up fast to test the market, and you’re okay with this being version 1.0 that you’ll refine later. You understand you might invest again down the road, and that’s fine—speed matters more than perfection right now.

When you hire with this kind of clarity, the results can be transformative. You’re not asking your team to guess at your positioning or figure out your voice—you’re asking them to execute a strategy you’ve already proven works.

That’s when the investment really pays off.

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Why DIY Can Be the Smarter Move (Even If You Have the Budget)

For many business owners—especially in the early or evolving stages—DIY isn’t just about saving money. It’s about building the foundation your business needs to grow.

Here’s what you gain when you DIY with the right approach:

You build your messaging muscle. When you’re forced to write your own copy, you get crystal clear on what you do, who you serve, and why it matters. That clarity doesn’t just live on your website—it shows up everywhere. In your social media. In client conversations. In networking events. You’re not stumbling over how to describe your services anymore. You know what to say.

You learn how your clients actually think. Understanding what language resonates, what questions they ask, how they search—this insight becomes priceless for every part of your marketing, not just your website.

You stay agile. Your business evolves. Your offers shift. Your positioning refines. When you can make those updates yourself, you’re not stuck waiting on a designer’s schedule or budget for every tweak. You can pivot fast.

You create something that grows with you. Your website isn’t a static brochure—it’s a living part of your business. And when you understand how it works, you can evolve it as your clarity deepens.

Think of it like cooking: anyone can order takeout, but when you learn to cook from a great recipe, you understand the ingredients, the techniques, the why behind what works. You’re not just getting fed—you’re building a skill that serves you for life.

“But I Tried DIY Before and It Was a Disaster…”

I hear this all the time. And I get it—I’ve been there too.

Here’s what makes the difference: DIY with strategy vs. DIY without it.

When you DIY without a framework, you end up with something that exists but doesn’t actually do anything for your business. It looks okay, but it’s generic. It doesn’t sound like you. It doesn’t make you stand out or help people understand why they should work with you instead of anyone else.

But when you have the right strategy and roadmap—when you understand how to position yourself, structure your site, and write copy that converts—DIY becomes incredibly powerful.

The websites that perform best aren’t always the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones built with strategy, whether that strategy came from a high-end agency or a business owner who took the time to learn the frameworks.

When strategy leads the design, it doesn’t matter if it’s DIY or done-for-you. It works.

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“But I’m Not Techy Enough…”

Let’s address this head-on: the tech isn’t the hard part anymore.

Website platforms have evolved dramatically. We’re talking no-code, drag-and-drop builders like Showit that are visual and intuitive. You’re not writing code or messing with servers.

I’ve worked with clients who told me, “I can barely figure out how to attach a PDF to an email,” and they’ve built beautiful, functional websites.

If you can move things around in Canva or create an Instagram story, you can absolutely do this.

The tech isn’t the barrier. The strategy is. And that’s exactly what I teach.

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DIY vs. Done-For-You: The Real Comparison

Let’s be honest about both approaches:

Neither is better. They’re just right for different seasons.

If you’re still figuring out your messaging, testing your offers, or evolving your positioning, DIY gives you the space to learn and grow without breaking the bank.

If you’re already clear, established, and ready to scale, hiring can help you move faster without taking time away from revenue-generating work.

The key is being honest about which season you’re actually in—not which season you wish you were in.

So, What Should YOU Do?

Ask yourself these questions:

Are you crystal clear on:

• Who you serve and what problems you solve for them?
• How to talk about what makes you different?
• What language actually resonates with your ideal clients?
• Your client journey from awareness to working with you?

If yes: Hiring can be an incredible investment. You have the strategic foundation—now you just need expert execution.

If no: DIY with the right framework will help you build that clarity while creating a website that works. Hiring now would be outsourcing decisions you haven’t made yet.

Still not sure? Start with strategy. Get clear on your positioning and messaging first. Then decide if you want to build it yourself or hand it to a team for execution.

Either way, you’re not stuck with your choice forever. Your approach can evolve as your business does.

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Ready to Build a Website That Actually Books Clients?

Whether you choose to DIY or hire out, your website should do more than exist—it should tell your story, attract the right clients, and work for you even when you’re focused on everything else that keeps your business running.

If you’re leaning toward DIY and want to make sure you do it right, I’ve created a free training called From Overlooked to Fully Booked where I break down my exact framework: Strategy, Site Design, and Showing Up.

It’s the same roadmap my students use to build websites that don’t just look professional—they actually book dream clients on repeat.

You’ll learn:

• The three key elements your site needs to convert
• How to avoid the biggest mistakes most DIYers make
• My proven framework for DIY success

Your website can be one of your biggest business assets—or a source of constant frustration. The difference isn’t how much you spend. It’s whether you build it with strategy.