The Limits of Self-Designed Sites
There are a number of programs available to help even a total luddite design a site. However, those programs do have limitations that you should consider.
The most obvious limitation is that not everyone should design a website. It may be cheaper, but this something that your business will hinge on. Ask yourself if you would honestly trust yourself to design something as complicated as a website, and if you trust your own judgment when it comes to design. There are a lot of people that are great businesspeople but should not be trusted with graphic design; they just look for something to sell their business and thus have a checklist of issues that may not be great for web design. If you are going into the design phase with a list of things you think every business should have on their site, then back away and hire someone else.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t have a say in how the site is designed. Consider funny mascots for a moment. The perception is that a business with an identifiable personality will do better than a business without one; a business with an identity that can be identified with will supposedly do better than a nameless entity. However, not every business should have a furry mascot to help sell their business; there are business are better identified through their service and ability to provide a quality product than a cute puppy. Yet, a lot of business owner insist on a mascot simply because it works for other people without taking into consideration why a mascot works. They just want a mascot because it defines what they consider part of doing business.
The same applies to other design features as well. Don’t go into the situation requiring that the site had this, that, or another feature; even if that feature works for another business debate why that feature works, and if that would work for you before putting it in. You need to debate why every feature is going on your site rather than just putting them there. Not every business requires a comment box or a way to get in touch with the customer service department; a small business may not have a customer service department because it’s just too small.
The bottom line is that not everyone should design websites. You should not have a problem hiring someone to do the site, especially if you just want a site that you design and ignore. You can, of course, have someone in the office design the site, and basic web design skills are becoming more commonplace, especially as people become more web-savvy. An optimal solution may actually be for you to hire someone specifically to build the website, and maintain it as part of their everyday job. However, if you can get a reasonably priced designer who can throw in basic maintenance for, say, six months, it may be an even better solution; it is what they do for a living, after all. However, each business is an individual; only you can decide if you should design it in-house, and only you are qualified to make that decision.