DIY or Hire a Designer?

Website Design
Written By Catherine Vopalecká

How to Decide What's Right for Your Coaching Website (and What Double Decker Burritos Have to Do With It)



"Gosh, this is a bit…much."

~ Me, in the messy middle of making my website

The Irony!

If I (a professional designer) feel overwhelmed creating my website, I wonder how coaches who've never made a website feel when building theirs.

And that got me thinking about why it can feel overwhelming.

Let's call it...

The Double Decker Burrito Dilemma

To create a decent DIY coaching website, it feels like you need to be a coach + copywriter, creative director, business strategist, brand designer, web designer, coder, tech guru... and project manager all wrapped into one.

That's like trying to be the iconic double decker burrito—you know, that beautiful crunch of a taco wrapped in a burrito that somehow works.

But it can be a lot for one burrito. Or one human.

And if you want a professional DIY website? You'd need to be pretty good at all of these things. Sometimes we don't have all these specific skills or the time to develop them. That's where I believe in the power of strategic delegation.

Then again, double decker burritos are delicious—so maybe doing it all isn't always a bad idea.

My Reality Check

Even as a web designer, I'm not a double decker burrito (and I'm totally okay with that).

So I took a look at my weaknesses, energy levels, and budget, then delegated key areas to help get my website published sooner. (Check my site credits to see what I handed off to others. They did an amazing job!)

If I'm being honest, I should have delegated more.

So yeah, I feel for coaches who don’t want to be web designers and don't want to juggle all these roles to have a professional website. If this resonates, I'm guessing you're the kind of coach who would rather focus your energy on connecting with your clients than finding the perfect layout for your home page.

That said, if you LOVE to learn new skills or have a tight budget, then doing most (or all) the things could make sense—at least at the beginning of your coaching business.

Let's look at both options so you can figure out what feels best for you right now.

OPTION 1

DIY Your Website Design

The Appeal

  • Cost savings: Why pay someone when you can do it yourself?

  • Learning experience: How hard can it be? (And design is fun!)

  • Timeline control: Work at your own pace

  • Creative freedom: No one gets your vision like you do

The Reality Check

Most of us underestimate the learning curve of doing something new and overestimate our available time.

The Real Costs of DIY

Time Investment

  • Learning the platform: 10-15 hours (even with user-friendly platforms like Wix or Squarespace)

  • Template customization: 15-25 hours making it look "right"

  • Content creation: 20-30 hours writing and organizing

  • Troubleshooting: 10-20 hours fixing things that break

  • Revisions and tweaks: Ongoing (because you can never stop tweaking)

Total: 55-90+ hours for your first website

Energy Costs

  • Decision fatigue from endless layout and color choices

  • Technical roadblocks like contact forms that don't work

  • Design paralysis when you know something looks "off" but not sure how to fix it

  • SEO confusion (you know you need it, but…how?)

  • Update anxiety—that fear of breaking something when you make changes

When DIY Works Well

You might love DIY if:

  • You genuinely enjoy learning tech

  • You have 2-3 months of flexible timeline

  • Your budget is truly under $1,000

  • You're comfortable with "good enough" for now

  • You have tech-savvy friends willing to help

  • You have time to work on it 

🌶 Red Flags: When It's Time to Step Away from DIY

Consider hiring help if:

  • You've been "working on it" for over 2 months

  • You're losing sleep over technical problems

  • Potential clients are asking about your website

  • You're procrastinating on your actual coaching work

  • You've restarted your website more than once

  • The stress is not worth it anymore

OPTION 2

Hire a Designer to Make Your Website

The Appeal

  • Let someone else handle the technical stuff

  • Focus on your zone of genius–like coaching! 

  • Launch your website feeling pumped instead of exhausted

  • Have a professional you can contact when things break (and they will)

  • Get results that don't have that "DIY at midnight" vibe

The Reality Check

Typical Investment:

  • Basic professional website: $1,500-4,000

  • Custom design: $2,000-6,000

  • Timeline: Usually 2-6+ weeks

Note: Total investment varies by designer, package details, hosting, etc.

OPTION 3

The Hybrid Approach: DIY + Designer

Sometimes the answer isn't either/or—it's both:

  • Hire a designer for foundations and add more pages/blogs yourself later

  • Start with a professional setup and learn maintenance over time

  • Buy a premium template with included support

  • Get design consultation while you build

  • Choose an user-friendly platform (like Squarespace)

Questions That Could Help

Before you decide, ask yourself:

  • What would you rather do with your evenings and weekends?

  • How urgently do you need your website published?

  • What's your typical patience level with technology?

  • What would free up mental space for serving clients?

  • What feels scarier—investing money or investing months?

Wrapping Up

There's no wrong choice here. Whether you decide to build it yourself, hire someone, or try something in between, you're simply finding the best path to get online so you can help people with the resources, skills, and time you have. Yay!

Creating a website from start to finish is a BIG project. All your feelings about it are valid. So remember, you don't have to do it alone. Find a DIY community, a friend, or a professional designer who gets you and is ready to help. 

To your website!

~ Catherine

P.S. Still not sure? That's totally okay. Feel free to reach out with questions. I'm always happy to help.

P.P.S. Just for the record, I love creating websites, even if they can be "a bit much" sometimes. That's why I've developed systems and processes to keep everything organized and flowing smoothly.

Ready to Delegate?

If you're reading this thinking, "Okay, I'm ready to just hire a designer," I'd love to help you create a website.

I work with heart-led life coaches who want a professional website that connects with their clients.

How We Can Work Together:

One-Page Website Design: Perfect for coaches just starting or those who prefer simplicity—everything your ideal clients need to know about you, beautifully organized on one focused page.

Five-Page Website Design: For coaches ready for a solid online presence—home, about, services, resources, and contact pages that work together to guide visitors toward working with you.

All packages include a Launch & Learn call where I show you how to make basic updates so you don’t need to depend on someone else for every small change.

Sound Like a Good Fit?

Let's chat on a discovery call and explore what would work best for your business, timeline, and budget.

Book A Discovery Call

Reference: The Double Decker

Cover Photo Credit: Joaquin Carfagna from Pexels

Catherine Vopalecká