DIY vs. Professional Web Design: Is "Free" Really Free?

Turn on the TV or scroll through YouTube, and you will eventually see an ad for a DIY website builder.

"Create a stunning website in minutes," they say. "It’s easy. It’s free."

For a Kiwi business owner watching the pennies, this sounds like a dream. Why pay an agency when you can drag-and-drop your way to online success on a rainy Sunday afternoon?

But as many of our clients discover the hard way, "free" often comes with a hefty price tag attached.

In this guide, we look at the real difference between a DIY platform (like Wix, Squarespace, or Weebly) and a professional website—and why the "Number 8 Wire" approach might be costing you customers.

The "Free" myth: What are you actually paying?

Let’s be clear: Wix and Squarespace are incredible tools. They democratised the internet. But if you want a professional business website, the "free" plan doesn't cut it.

On a free plan, you are stuck with:

• Ugly ads: Banners saying "This site was made with Wix" across the top and bottom of your page.
• Unprofessional domain: Your address will be yourbusiness.wixsite.com/home instead of yourbusiness.co.nz .
• Limited features: No analytics, no e-commerce, and limited storage.

The Real Cost: To remove the ads, connect a proper .co.nz domain, and get decent bandwidth, you will likely need a "Business" or "Commerce" plan. These typically range from $35 to $60 NZD per month.

Suddenly, "free" is costing you $500+ a year—and you still have to build it yourself.

The hidden cost: Your time (sweat equity)

This is the big one. The ads say "Build a site in minutes." In reality, building a site that actually looks good takes hours.

As a business owner, you wear many hats. Do you really have time to be a:

1. Graphic Designer
2. Copywriter
3. Mobile Layout Specialist
4. IT Support

If your hourly rate is $100, and you spend 40 hours fiddling with fonts, aligning images, and trying to figure out why the mobile version looks broken, that "free" website just cost your business $4,000 in lost productivity.

The performance gap: Why DIY sites struggle to rank

You can build a beautiful website on a DIY builder, but will anyone find it?

Google is picky. It prefers websites that are fast, structured correctly, and easy for its robots to read.

Common DIY SEO issues:

• Bloated Code: Drag-and-drop builders often create "messy" code behind the scenes, which slows down your loading speed.
• Generic Templates: Thousands of other businesses are using the exact same template structure as you.
• Mobile Errors: Elements often overlap or disappear on phone screens unless you manually fix them.

A professional agency builds with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in mind from day one. We ensure your headings are structured, your images are compressed, and your site signals to Google that you are a legitimate authority.



When should you use a DIY builder?

We aren't saying DIY is always bad. In fact, sometimes it is the right choice.

Go DIY if:

• You are a hobbyist or starting a personal blog.
• You have literally zero budget ($0) and plenty of free time.
• You need a temporary page for a one-off event (like a wedding).

Go Professional if:

• You are a service business (Tradie, Lawyer, Accountant) relying on leads.
• You need to rank on Google Maps to get phone calls.
• You want to save time and focus on running your business.

The middle ground: Professional results without the agency price tag

For a long time, the choice was binary: Do it yourself for cheap OR Pay an agency $5,000+ (as we broke down in our 2026 Website Pricing Guide).

At Digital Presence, we created a third option: Subscription Web Design.

We build you a fully custom, SEO-optimised professional website, but instead of a massive upfront invoice, you pay a manageable monthly fee (starting from $95+GST).

It’s the best of both worlds. You get the agency quality and the "done-for-you" service, but the cost is spread out—often comparable to what you’d end up paying for a premium DIY plan plus plugins and hosting anyway.

Ready to hand over the hassle?

Stop spending your evenings fighting with text boxes and image sliders. Let us build you a high-performance website that brings in leads while you sleep.

[Book a free homepage mock-up] and see the difference a pro can make.