should you DIY your Showit site or hire a pro designer?

So you’ve decided to build your website on Showit. Yay! Welcome to the Showit family, girl! You’ll love it here. But, uh, now what? Should you start from scratch, use a template or outsource the effort to an expert?

I’ve got you, girl. Join me as I serve up a snack-sized summary of what to consider for each of your Showit design options.

Heads up: This blog is designed as a short and sweet visual guide. It doesn’t go into immense detail. So if you have any questions about Showit or your design options, feel free to drop a comment or email me at micaela@createwander.com.

Building your Showit site from scratch: The pros and cons

You’ve signed up to Showit, loaded in, clicked around, and realized: “Hey, this is actually REALLY easy to use!”

I knowww right. Showit is awesome. But before you shrug off the templates – and pro design -, let’s explore why DIY Showit design might/might not be a right for you.

The pros of DIY design:

• It’s budget-friendly! You won’t be paying for a theme or professional design, so you can save yourself some cash.
• If you can dream it, you can design it. You won’t be limited by a template’s creative constraints.
• You can be as much of a perfectionist as you like. You’re not paying for a designer’s time, so you can pause and perfect whenever you like. 

The cons of DIY design:

• DIY design is exceptionally time intensive. Unless you have a LOT of time and patience up your sleeve, be wary of starting from scratch. And if you have a tight launch deadline, you might be stressed and rushed to deliver on time.
• Showit is beginner-friendly, but that doesn’t mean achieving your vision for your dream website will always be easy. And the sheer number of creative possibilities can be a little daunting. Yep – this is definitely the more challenging pathway.
• Even with Showit’s awesome functionality, if you’re not a pro, there’s still a risk your DIY site can look, well, DIY.

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Using a Showit template: The pros and cons

Okay, so you’re not a total DIY-er, but you’re not sure if you’re ready to invest in professional Showit web design either. Which brings us to our next option: Templates.

If you haven’t heard of a template before, it’s basically the KDFY (Kinda Done For You) framework version of Showit design. It gives you the basic layouts to use, then you swap their stuff for yours to make it your own.  But…is it the best option for you? Let’s find out.

The pros of using a template:

• There are a LOT of Showit templates to choose from (both on the Showit official store and sold by independent designers), which means it’ll be relatively easy to find a design style you like.
• The price range for templates varies from around $100 USD to up to $1,500 USD, so you’ll essentially get pro design at a budget-friendly price.  
• Using a template is less labor-intensive than starting from scratch because there’s already a layout for you to follow/work with.

The cons of using a template:

• …There are a LOT of Showit templates out there. And choosing the right one for you can be a little overwhelming. Plus, they all come with varying degrees of support, guidance and instructions, which can impact how long it really takes you to build your site.
• If you’re looking for a site that’s totally unique and authentic, keep in mind that a template hasn’t been made for you. You’ll be adapting your business to fit a pre-made website.
• If you have a creative vision for your site, you’ll have to limit it to what’s possible within the theme you’ve chosen.

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Investing in professional Showit design: The pros and cons

And last but not least, we have pro design. This means you hire a professional Showit designer (like me) to work their magic on your site. And yep, it’s definitely the easiest – and most fun, in my opinion! – option. But are you ready to invest? Let’s explore the pro’s and con’s, girl.

The pros of hiring a designer:

• Your site will be custom-made just for you! Which means it’s one-of-a-kind (and in total alignment with your brand and business). How freaking special is that?!
• You won’t have to worry about holding back with your creative vision; your designer can make your website dreams come true.
• You can trust that your website will not only be beautiful, but strategic and targeted at attracting and converting your dream audience, too. Which is exactly what a good website should do.
• You won’t waste your precious time figuring out how to build your Showit site yourself. You’ll have a pro to do all of the hard work for you.

The cons of hiring a designer:

• Professional Showit website design isn’t cheap. It IS an investment. And most designers charge upwards of several thousand dollars to design a custom Showit site.
• The average turn-around time for professional Showit website design is six weeks. Even if you’re looking to launch quickly, you’ll have to be patient. (Trust me: the wait is always worth it!)
• You may become addicted to professional design. Okay, so I was stretching for a third con and this is the best I could come up with. But at least with Showit you’ll know you don’t really have to pay your designer to make any tweaks to your website – it’s DIY-friendly, so you can, well, do it yourself!

So…what you thinking? Will it be DIY, a template or professional design for your Showit site?

Leave me a comment to let me know what you’ve chosen!

(Oh, and if you’re leaning towards professional design, my future self wouldn’t be too stoked with me if I didn’t mention that, uh, Showit design is my jam. Head on over here to check out my website design services.)