Wix, an AI builder, or someone who does it for you?
You can make a website yourself this afternoon. The real question is whether it will bring in enquiries. Here’s what building it yourself gets right, where it usually goes wrong, and the checks to do before you pay anyone.
Henny Maltby25 years in marketing · Growth Hub Premier Partner
!Sound familiar? The site is up, it looks fine, but the phone isn’t ringing.
Building a website has never been easier. Wix, Squarespace and the new AI builders will give you something that looks good in an hour.
That’s great news, and for some businesses it’s all they need. But on my calls I keep meeting owners who built their own site, spent weeks tweaking it, and still get no enquiries from it. The design was never the problem.
A website is a salesperson, not a brochure. It has to be found on Google and in AI search, show the right people why they should choose you, and make it easy to get in touch. That part doesn’t come with the template.
Looking good gets you a website. Selling well gets you customers.
Your choices
There’s no single right answer. It comes down to your budget, your time, and how much you need the website to bring in work.
Cheap to start, quick to launch, and you can change it whenever you like. You choose a template, add your words and photos, and you’re up and running.
Best for: just starting out, or needing to be online this week
Someone builds it for you, usually over several weeks. Quality varies a lot, so check their past work and talk to their clients before you sign anything.
Best for: bigger projects with a bigger budget
We talk through your business, your customers and what you sell, then build your home page with you on the call, free of charge. You see how we work before you commit to anything.
Best for: owners who want a site that brings in enquiries
Side by side
You’re too close to your own business to see it the way a customer does. That’s where most self builds go wrong.
The honest picture
I’m not against self builds. Plenty of my clients started with one. Here’s what I see when they come to me.
Building it yourself with AI?
Whether you build it yourself or we build it for you, get a clear fix list that turns more visitors into enquiries. The AI Marketing Academy opens on 14 November.
Try it today
Whichever way you go, get clear on this first. Pop your name and email in to get the full prompt, then copy it into ChatGPT or Claude and fill in the gaps.
If you struggle to answer the questions in it, that’s useful too. It shows you what your website needs to say before anyone builds it.
I’m planning a website for my small business.
What I sell: (your products or services)
Who buys from me: (your typical customer)
Why they choose me over others: (your reasons)
What I want visitors to do: (call, book, buy, send an enquiry)
Act as a customer seeing my website for the first time. Tell me in plain English what my home page must say in the first few seconds, the three questions a customer will want answered before they get in touch, and anything I’ve described that sounds the same as my competitors.
Before you pay anyone
If you decide to get help, these will save you money and a lot of frustration. Do them in this order.
Want to see how we’d do it? On a free website concept call we build your home page with you, free of charge, so you can judge us on real work. Book a time in my diary.
Your questions answered
The questions I’m asked most by business owners deciding how to get a website.
For most small businesses, WordPress. It’s the most widely used website system in the world, it can grow with you, and it gives you full control over how you’re found on Google. Shopify suits businesses that mainly sell products online. Wix and Squarespace are fine for a simple site you want to manage yourself.
Not always. You can get found with a self build, but you have to know what Google and AI search look for and set it up yourself. Most people don’t, so the site never gets seen. It’s what you do with the platform that counts.
Yes, but you usually can’t take the design with you, so it means rebuilding. If you think you’ll outgrow it within a year or two, it’s worth starting on WordPress.
We talk about your business, your customers, where your enquiries come from and what you want the website to do. Then we build your home page with you on the call, free of charge. If you like it, we give you a clear price before you commit to anything.
The AI Marketing Academy
Build an AI marketing team that works for your business. You teach it, your agents do the work, and you stay in control.
Whoever builds your website, your AI marketing team keeps it bringing in enquiries. The course that covers it is Why Your Website Isn’t Winning You Customers.
It’s real marketing, powered by AI, and it opens on 14 November.
Try us before you buy from us
We’ll build your website home page on the call, free of charge. You’ll see exactly how we work before you decide anything.
Free call · Free home page · No obligation
Pink Elephant AI Marketing Academy
Learn marketing and build your own AI team. Or let our experts build it with you.
