Build it yourself or hire someone?
The question is rarely about money alone. It is about what your own time is worth and how many evenings you are willing to spend.
Three routes, three different costs
Most people compare the price tag alone. It is the least interesting number, because it says nothing about what you have to do yourself.
Building it yourself in a site builder costs SEK 100 to 400 a month with Wix, Squarespace or One.com. You get a template and you build in it. Low price, and you decide everything.
Hiring a freelancer usually costs SEK 5,000 to 25,000 for a simple site. Someone else does the work, but normally by the hour, so the final sum is not clear until the invoice arrives.
Buying a defined package at a fixed price typically runs between SEK 1,500 and 10,000. A set delivery for a set sum. Our own site costs SEK 1,495 excluding VAT, and you see it before you pay.
What it costs in time
This is where the routes differ most, and it is the cost nobody writes down.
Building a simple business site yourself in a builder takes most people 15 to 30 hours the first time. Not because the tools are hard, but because the work is not dragging blocks into place. It is deciding what to say, finding images that hold up, making it look like something, and then discovering it looks wrong on a phone.
Convert that into your own hourly cost. At SEK 500 an hour, 20 hours is worth SEK 10,000, and then “free to build yourself” is the most expensive of the three.
It works the other way too. If you have time to spare, enjoy tinkering and want to change things yourself at eleven at night, a site builder is a perfectly sound choice.
Four questions that settle it
- How many hours do you actually have? Not in theory, but over the coming weeks.
- What should happen on the site? Should the visitor call, book, or simply learn that you exist? A site with a single purpose is quick to make whichever route you take.
- Do you have the words? That is what takes time, not the design. No supplier can guess what your company does.
- Who changes it a year from now? If the answer is you, you need either a tool you know or someone to show you.
Where the three routes really differ
| Do it yourself | Freelancer | Fixed price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money | Low, but recurring | High and variable | Set in advance |
| Your time | 15-30 hours | A few review rounds | A description |
| Final price known upfront | Yes | Rarely | Yes |
| You own the files | No, the site lives in the tool | Depends on the contract | Always ask |
None of the three is right in itself. One of them fits how much time you have.
If you decide to hire someone
Ask three questions before you commit, whoever you are asking:
- Is the price fixed, or an estimate in hours?
- Do I get to see something before I pay?
- Do I own the website, and can I move it?
If the supplier can answer all three briefly, that is a good sign. If they cannot, the final sum will surprise you.
For the full price picture, see what a website costs, and for what has to be in place before a site can go live, see domain and web hosting. Our own arrangement and what is included is on pricing.