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By: Michael Emanuel
Date: April 19, 2026
Summary
In our advanced digital era, having a website is a necessity for businesses to compete in the market. However, in my few years as a website designer in the Virgin Islands, I have heard differing perspectives on this subject. Most notably, the phrases “I can make a website myself” or “I don’t need a website” have stuck with me the most. I’m confident this isn’t the majority opinion; however, I am also aware that many Virgin Islands businesses are either ‘offline’ (i.e., they have no website) or are put off by paying for professional website design. To be clear, I have no misgivings toward anyone that holds these opinions. Rather, I seek to give my opinion on this subject based on research and my professional experience in website design thus far. Itis my hope that this will inform USVI business owners about the value of websites and how best to make one.
Before going into the professional website design vs. DIY debate, I need to talk about the value of websites for a business generally. A website is the strongest digital representation of your business that you can create. It gives your existing clients easier access to your services and allows new people to find your business online and potentially convert them into clients. Therefore, it is a key tool for growth and visibility.
To illustrate this point, let’s briefly talk about conversions – which is the main point of having a website. When a person visits a website for the first time and engages with it (e.g., they schedule a booking, start a membership, or purchase a product), that is called a conversion. The average conversion rate for websites across all industries hovers between 2.35% and 5.31%. Put simply, if 100 different people visit a certain website, 2-5 of them will engage with it. Of course, as the number of unique people who visit the website increases, the more conversions you get over time. This is how growth happens for most businesses.
Now that we have laid that foundation, let’s look at the USVI business landscape. The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy conducts regular business surveys in the USVI. In 2022, they stated that the USVI had 2,382 operable businesses. I conducted a brief desk survey of three public, local business directories –What To Do VI, St. Thomas/St. John Chamber of Commerce, and the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce – to see how many businesses had websites. Between all three, there are 543 local businesses that I could independently verify (~22.8%of total USVI businesses per the SBA). Of that number, 345 of them had websites that I can confirm are operable – about 63.5%.
Why is this relevant you ask? Because, if we were to extrapolate this data to the entire business population, it would mean that most businesses in the USVI have a public-facing website. Most importantly, these businesses operate in industries that are highly competitive. Per the SBA’s business survey, the top 5 industries were as follows:
The obvious implication here is that there are possibly dozens or hundreds of businesses operating in the same field as you. Therefore, the more exposure a business can get, the better their chances are of securing more clients (i.e., conversions). As such, building a website for your business is virtually non-negotiable if you intend to compete and grow.
With that settled, let’s move on to the main point of this blog– whether to hire a professional website designer or do it yourself (DIY). As a professional website designer myself, I am admittedly biased toward the first option in most cases, however I will present a fair perspective for both.
For this side of the discussion, I will use Squarespace as an example of a DIY website builder tool. Squarespace, like other DIY website builders, brands itself as an all-inclusive, accessible website builder tool that anyone can use. It features a broad range of tools, such as:
Squarespace grants access to all these tools for a mere $19/month(or $144/year with an annual plan).
Truly, Squarespace boasts a comprehensive suite of website design tools that give you similar website building capabilities to a professional designer. Even if you are a novice, there is the option to have AI put together a website for you and it can be optimized for search engines.
Summarily, Squarespace (and other DIY site builders) is a strong option for building your website if you want to avoid hiring a website design professional.
I know it sounds like I just shot down hiring a professional website designer but stick with me. Website design is more of an art than a science. And as we know, the best art in the world has been produced by people, not software.
A professional website designer approaches your project by combining their unique flavor of design with your brand to produce a truly authentic website product. The benefit of this approach is that your website will reflect your unique brand in every sense, which is essential when trying to stand out amongst your competitors and attract new clients.
There are other benefits to hiring a professional as well, such as:
In sum, once a professional website designer gets all the information needed from you about your brand, business, and target audience, they can build you a solid website product that will likely last you for years and yield a decent return on investment.
With that said, website design isn’t a cheap service. Average costs can range from $500 to $10,000 (or more) depending on the agency, project scope, and intended website functionality. Although, it’s unlikely that a website will cost thousands of dollars if you’re just starting out.
With all that said, which direction should you go in? Let’s go into it.
If you’re thinking about the DIY website design option, you need to consider a few things.
First, understand that DIY means you’re on your own. It will be completely up to you to figure out the best way to build your website with the tools you have, and you’ll have to figure out how to use those tools. If you are a business owner with limited time or technical knowledge, this will be a problem for you.
Second, you may waste money building a website that doesn’t convert. Remember how earlier in this article I discussed the average website conversion rate was between 2.35% and 5.31%. That is for the average optimized website. If your website is properly optimized for a search engine or your target audience, they won’t find your website. Therefore, this may be the cheap option for building a website but you’re not getting any return on that investment if it doesn’t attract or convert anyone. You may end up having to pay for advertisements to get website traction, which means you don’t save any money on the website.
With that said, if you can overcome the learning curve and have sufficient time, then this is a perfectly valid option for you.
If you’re thinking about hiring a professional website designer, first, thank you – it means a lot. But despite my bias, I will advise you of a few things.
First, do your research. It’s best to get to know the website designer first before you start throwing money at your project. Checkout their website portfolios, schedule a free consultation if offered, and get quotes. This way, you can ensure that you’re picking a website designer that will best meet your unique business needs. For example, you can visit Cutting Edge Solutions’ website to see how I serve startup and offline businesses.
Second, have a budget. I won’t mince words – professional website design is not cheap, unless you want your website to be bad. Therefore, make sure you have set aside money to tackle this project. This is also why getting quotes is important because it will inform your decision on the best option for your price range.
Lastly, whether it’s you or someone on your team, make sure that you are fully engaged with the website designer during your project. Website design is an iterative process, meaning that accurate and timely feedback is vital. There is nothing a website designer dislikes more than a client that isn’t responsive. Without your feedback, they won’t know if the design aligns with your brand vision or not. So, stay engaged.
With that said, hiring a professional website designer is highly recommended if you:
I hope this article has helped you understand the value thata well-designed website brings for your business by using local data to paintthe picture. Additionally, I hope that I have shed some light on how bothprofessional website design and DIY options are viable routes for businesses.