Build a website yourself or hire an agency?

We are a web agency and still regularly advise against hiring us. Not out of modesty, but because a project that doesn't pay off for the client ends badly for everyone.

This article is meant to take the decision off your hands – in either direction.

When is a website builder genuinely enough?

In three situations, and they are more common than agencies admit.

You only need a business card online. Contact details, a few sentences about your offering, maybe three images. Customers come through referral, not Google. A builder costs around CHF 180 per year instead of CHF 800 to 3,000 once.

You are testing a business idea. Before it's clear whether the offering works, any investment in a professional site is premature. Build something simple, see whether it runs, do it properly later.

You have more time than money. At the beginning that's often the case. Then 30 hours of your own work is the cheaper currency.

In all three cases we would advise against commissioning us. That costs us revenue but saves you money you can spend better elsewhere.

How much time does building a website yourself actually take?

Considerably more than builder advertising suggests. "Online in 30 minutes" is technically true but produces a site that looks like it was built in 30 minutes.

Realistic figures for a usable result:

The largest item is the copy, and that applies even when an agency builds the site. Anyone thinking they can hand that part over underestimates how many follow-up questions arise.

Weigh it against your own hourly rate. At CHF 80 an hour, 30 hours correspond to around CHF 2,400 – more than a simple company website costs.

Where do website builders reach their limits?

In three places, and all three only show up after a few months.

Visibility on Google. Builders generate code you can't influence. Loading times are regularly worse, and some technical settings are missing entirely. For a business living on referrals that's irrelevant. For one wanting enquiries via Google it isn't. More on that in how does Google find a website.

Switching. What you build in a builder stays there. There is no clean way to take content and structure with you. Anyone switching after two years starts practically from scratch.

The detail that isn't possible. The payment method that isn't supported. The form field that can't be created. The language version that doubles the price. Such points rarely come at the start, but they come.

When does an agency pay off?

As soon as one of these four points applies.

The website should generate enquiries. If Google matters, you need structure, loading speed and content aligned to search terms. That's a craft you have to learn.

You have several services. Each needs a dedicated page treating that term seriously. A page with all services in two sentences each ranks for none.

It's about trust. If your customer spends four figures before ever meeting you – fiduciary services, consulting, construction, medicine – the website is part of the buying decision. A visibly self-built site costs you work there.

Your time is more expensive than the saving. The simplest test: what do you earn in 30 hours? If that's more than the quote, the calculation is clear.

Is there a middle way?

Yes, and it's rarely offered.

You can take on the parts that need no expertise and hand over the rest. In practice that usually means: you supply copy and images, the agency handles structure, technology and implementation. That lowers the price noticeably, because copywriting is the largest single item.

A second variant is handover. The agency builds the site and sets up the admin area so you maintain text, images and simple pages yourself. After that there are no running costs unless you want them.

Both should be in the quote. If a provider only offers an all-in package, ask.

Which mistakes happen most often when building yourself?

Four, and all four are avoidable.

Taking images from the web. The most expensive mistake of all. An image rights violation quickly costs four figures in Switzerland, and the notices are automated. Use Unsplash, Pexels or your own photos – and read the licence, even for free sources.

Putting everything on one page. Anyone covering services, references, team and contact on a single page has one page as far as Google is concerned. That ranks for nothing. One dedicated page per important service.

Leaving template copy in place. "Lorem ipsum" appears on live sites more often than you'd think. The same goes for placeholders like "About us – your text here".

No legal notice, no privacy policy. Both are mandatory for commercial use as soon as a contact form exists. Builders offer templates, but they have to be adapted.

What we actually advise clients

We ask three questions in the first conversation, and the answer usually follows by itself:

1. Where do your customers come from today? If 90 percent come via referral, an SEO-optimised site has little leverage. Something simple will do.
2. What does your cheapest job earn? If a single additional enquiry per year pays for the site, the calculation is clear.
3. How many free hours do you have next month? If the answer is "none", the self-build project experience tells us won't happen.

Honest answers to those three questions save more money than any discount negotiation.

If after this article you conclude that an agency pays off, our page on business websites covers services, process and price ranges. If you conclude the opposite, the article has served its purpose just as well.