DIY Website vs Hiring a Developer: Which Is Actually Worth It?

The Real Cost of Building It Yourself

Many business owners' first instinct is: "I'll just use Wix, it's free."

But let's actually calculate the cost:

Time investment:

• Learning the platform: 5–10 hours
• Design and layout: 10–30 hours
• Writing content: 5–15 hours
• Testing and adjustments: 5–10 hours

Conservatively 25–65 hours. At NT$500/hour (a modest rate for a business owner's time), that's NT$12,500–32,500 in hidden costs.

And this doesn't account for the quality issues in the final product.

Platform fees:

• Wix: NT$500–1,500/month
• Squarespace: NT$700–2,000/month
• Over 3 years: NT$18,000–72,000

What you can't do yourself:

• SEO optimization
• Performance tuning
• Custom functionality
• Security configuration

The Actual Cost of Hiring Someone

A custom website: NT$28,000–68,000 (one-time)

Plus maintenance: NT$1,500–4,500/month

How Do They Compare?

| | DIY | Hire a Developer |

|---|---|---|

| Upfront cost | Seems low, actually high (time) | Clear, one-time |

| Time required | 25–65+ hours | Nearly zero |

| Quality | Inconsistent | Professional |

| SEO | Almost none | Optimized |

| Long-term maintenance | You handle it | Someone else handles it |

| Scalability | Limited | Flexible |

When Does DIY Make Sense?

• You're a designer or developer with relevant skills
• You only need a very simple one-page site
• Budget is extremely tight and you just need a placeholder

When Is Hiring Worth It?

• Your time is better spent elsewhere
• You need the website to actually generate business (not just "have a website")
• You're building a brand for the long term

Honestly, for most business owners, spending that same time on client development has a much better return on investment.

Feel free to reach out for a free consultation on what makes sense for you.