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[00:00:00]  Saul: Hi everybody and welcome to the Web design Brisbane Podcast. This is episode number 20 and today's episode is entitled Brisbane Website Design and Hosting. My name is Saul Edmonds, and as usual, I am joined by the lovely Gillian Smith.

[00:00:14]  Gillian: Good morning, Saul. It's a little bit cloudy outside I wonder if we'll get some rain today. 

[00:00:17]  Saul: Who knows. However, we are the co-founders and creative directors of Roundhouse, the creative agency, a local business with a passion for helping our clients grow. Over to you, Gill.

[00:00:28]  Gillian: Okay, well, in today's episode, we'll talk about the pros and cons of developing your website yourself versus getting your website professionally designed, will focus our content on options for small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs who want to learn more about website design in Brisbane, Australia. So today, in addition to our discussion on DIY websites versus professionally designed and developed websites will also touch on the topic of website hosting. We've got what you need to know to find a reliable website hosting service in Brisbane 2019.

[00:01:02]  Saul:  Let's get started.  

[00:01:03]  Gillian: Okay, DIY websites first. So what are the most popular DIY web solutions available today?

[00:01:10]  Saul: Okay, so you've got the Wix, you've got Squarespace. You've got and then you've got platforms that I guess a more specifically around ecommerce like Shopify, and BigCommerce and there's a whole host of other ones. But there's some of the bigger ones too. And there's you've got WordPress, actually, is WordPress 

[00:01:37]  Gillian: a DIY option?

[00:01:39] Saul: Well, yes, it is, depending on your skill level. Well, really, for that matter, any website could be but WordPress has a hosted solution as well of WordPress that anyone can jump on that's got a similar interface to normal WordPress. 

[00:01:57]  Gillian: Okay, so what positives do these DIY web platforms offer to small business owners?

[00:02:03]  Saul: Okay, well, I guess one of the attractive things is Wix wicks, especially they know all these places, they go crazy with their advertising. So they offer they've actually changed their service offering a little bit recently to offer other elements to like, DIY logo design and other things to make this service more of a holistic sort of service offerings, which I guess is what it is. Yeah, it is what it is, and really, to be frank, like they do offer a good, simple solution for people, which is what they're designed to do.  

[00:02:44]  Gillian: Okay, what are some of the negatives do you see, within those types of platform solutions?

[00:02:48] Saul: Well, some of the negatives really doesn't come down, I guess , to the platform itself, in some ways, in that the people want to create a simple solution for themselves may not have an idea in their mind about one, what they want to be for their business but even though the solution is easy to use, it doesn't mean the result they're going to get from the solution is going to be what they need for their business. 

[00:03:20] Gillian: So what pricing can people expect with these DIY templates? Are they free?

[00:03:24]  Saul: Well, the templates themselves in many of these are free, with the exception of some of the I guess what I would call premium templates in Shopify, and some of the other ones, they've got a price point to them, which is a one off payment, they and then the rest of the pricing for all these particular solutions are monthly, or yearly subscriptions that you pay.

[00:03:51]  Gillian: Okay, well, today, it's DIY websites versus professionally designed websites.  

[00:03:55]  Saul: So next into the ring. ding. ding. 

[00:03:57]  Gillian: is professionally designed websites. So and we're talking here about the package solutions. That's the whole kit and caboodle from professional websites and on writer to development, SEO and launch. So Saul,  in your experience, what are the positives about this pathway? 

[00:04:13]  Saul: For taking this pathway with a professionally designed and developed website comes down to having a partner also,  for agency partner for the long term that you can talk to, and things can change, and they can help you to strategize as things move through your business journey, and being able to reflect on every stage there's been  in our instance, there's, I guess, yeah, a number of clients is probably about six or seven clients that we have, in particular, that we've done, I think up to the fourth site for them. 

[00:05:01]  Gillian: (inaudible) 

[00:05:02]  Saul: Yeah, that's right. So  from almost 12 to 14 years ago, with some people, when the internet was different sites were different. They weren't really content management systems in the way we know now, through to as we went through with those people, and that's something we're very proud of that relationship. Yeah, that's something we're very proud of, but also that we've had the have the advantage to be able to help those people  grow as their business has grown to. And that's also just changing content. So really, the cool thing is, I think, apart from all the strategizing, and really great quality work and all that, but I think, at the heart of it, is to have someone you can trust.

[00:05:54]  Gillian: And of course, done for you solution saves your time. 

[00:05:57]  Saul: No, that's right. It saves your time. Because  you're probably a busy, small business owner, too. If you're starting a small business, there's a lot of things to think about. And if you have to do that as well, then it's just time taken away from other things you could be doing to grow your business.

[00:06:17]  Gillian: Okay, so what are some of the cons of working with a web agency? 

[00:06:21]  Saul: Oh, yeah,  that's going to depend on the experience that people have to. Let's not hide the fact that many people haven't had great experiences, that's just a fact. But,  it doesn't mean that there's this comes down to, in my mind, good, good open communication between people as to what people are looking for what the agency says they can do, what they actually do. But, I think  in any event, if people open with what they actually want to achieve, and there's a good match having a good match is important. The perfect match is the ideal solution. Exactly. Not the show, but  the actual perfect match.

[00:07:22]  Gillian: Okay, well, let's talk about price. Okay, cause a lot of people like to know what to expect. So, what price guy can you give for people starting out for a professionally designed four to six-page business website? 

[00:07:34]  Saul: Okay, so for a four to six page, website, if you're going to be talking about an informational website, which just means you don't really have it's not an e commerce website, there's nothing terribly over the top about it, you're just telling people about what you do, depending on the scope of that sort of website, you could be looking at a starting point of 2500 to 3000, as a star point for site like that. If you're looking for an affordable solution, pricing goes up from there, according to what other things you want as part of that process of copywriting, and photography and so forth.

[00:08:15]  Gillian: Okay, so concluding advice, DIY, versus professional web designer who wins? 

[00:08:21]  Saul: Well, would you be disappointed if I didn't say professional web designer?

[00:08:28]  Gillian:  Well, we're going to be honest. 

[00:08:31]  Saul: Well, we would say that  

[00:08:32]  Gillian: (inaudible... individuals) 

[00:08:33]  Saul: Well, it, it does. And in saying that, we would of course, always say that we're a great solution, because we think we are but in saying that, too, it's not necessarily a bad thing for people to have some level of experience with a DIY side., and.. .

[00:08:55] Gillian:  that's a learning process that didn't get thought out. And you make a move to a professional one in a time when you're ready.

[00:09:00]  Saul: Yeah,  I don't have any metrics or numbers here on how many people actually crunch the numbers. But there's been a lot of clients over the years, who have we've had that exact scenario where people have done the DIY website, it hasn't been for them. They've  had an okay experience hasn't been terrible. But they've realized it's not what they want. Plus the down time to super busy with something else happens, or they've done it, but they just want it to be better now. 

[00:09:37]  Gillian: Okay. Well, from there, we're just going to touch on web hosting, then. So what should people look for when finding a local website hosting service in Brisbane? 2019? 

[00:09:47]  Saul: Okay, I think it's always preferable, if you able to work with a website designer, for them to and unless you have hosting already set up with an IT person that you work with, if they sort that out for you as well, that's going to be different if it's a DIY solution, because they have their own hosting, but at least talk with the person that you're going to engage with that service and talk to them about what sort of hosting they actually need for the project that they're doing so those two things really need to fit, and once again, good support, trust, people that you feel that you can work with for the long term is always really important, and thanks so much, guys. That's it for today yet again. Before we go, please don't forget to rate review and subscribe to this podcast. We'd love to hear your feedback. Also, if you'd like to read the transcript of this episode, please visit our website at roundhouse.cc forward slash web-design. We're on a journey to help local Brisbane businesses grow their opportunities online and exceed their goals. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you tomorrow. Bye

[00:011:09]  Gillian: Bye, guys.