Build Your Own Website or Hire a Web Designer? Cost, Time and Upkeep Compared

Whether to build your own website is rarely about whether you can code. In 2026, an AI website builder needs no technical background at all. What you are really comparing is three things: how much you pay up front, how much of your own time it takes, and who makes the changes after launch, at what cost.

This guide puts doing it yourself and hiring someone side by side, and ends with a checklist of what to settle before you hire. Figures come from published sources we checked on September 28, 2026; for the full cost breakdown, see How much does it cost to build a website with AI?

The differences at a glance

How the first-year figures are worked out: the AI builder is C Building Basic billed yearly ($240) plus a .com at about $10; the template builders are Wix Light and Squarespace Basic billed yearly, which include the domain for the first year; the freelancer row adds $50–$200 a month of maintenance and a domain. Sources: Upwork's cost guide and Clutch's pricing survey.

Doing it yourself: the real cost is time, not money

When you build your own site, the subscription is rarely the problem. The cost is your time, and where it goes depends on the tool.

On a template builder, you pick a template, replace the sample text on every page, find photos, adjust each section's layout, then check it all on a phone. For a six- to eight-page business site, several evenings is normal for a first-timer.

On an AI website builder, the first half is done for you. On C Building, you describe your business in everyday language (what you do, who your customers are, the style you like), and it builds a complete website with layout and first-draft copy in a few minutes. Your job becomes checking and adjusting: tell the AI what to change, or click any text, image or section on the page and change it yourself.

Either way, two things no tool can do for you:

• Supply the facts. Opening hours, prices, address and services are things only you know.
• Take the photos. Real photos of your place, your work and your team beat any stock image.

Hiring someone: the biggest up-front cost, and not the last one

Hiring means a build fee up front, and the costs afterwards are often higher than expected:

• Build fee: Upwork puts a small-business website from a freelancer at $2,000–$8,000 or more.
• Agencies: Clutch reports typical rates of $100–$149 an hour; the average project costs $38,105 and takes about seven months, though most come in under $10,000.
• Maintenance: $50–$200 a month for a freelancer's upkeep (Upwork).
• Every change: without a maintenance plan, updating a menu or opening hours is usually a new request and a new invoice.
• Hosting and domain: some quotes include the first year of hosting and charge for it after that.

The upside of hiring is that you barely lift a finger, and you get genuinely custom design and features. The trade-off is that every update goes through someone else.

10 things to settle before you hire

If you do hire, put these in the quote or contract. It saves a lot of arguments later:

1. How many pages, and what is on each? Pin down pages and features so nothing turns into "that wasn't in the quote".
2. How many rounds of revisions? Design and pre-launch revisions are usually capped, with extra rounds billed.
3. Is it responsive? Make sure the site adapts to phones automatically.
4. Whose name are the domain and hosting in? They should be registered to you or your company, or switching providers later gets painful.
5. Who owns the admin login and source files? After launch you should have an admin account and be able to change text and photos yourself.
6. What platform is it built on? WordPress, a website builder, or custom code? That decides how hard it is to hand over later.
7. What does maintenance cover? Only hosting and security updates, or content changes too? How many per month?
8. Is basic SEO included? Page titles and descriptions, a sitemap, and connecting Google Search Console and your Google Business Profile.
9. Who provides the copy and photos? Many quotes exclude writing and photography.
10. What counts as done, and how do you pay? Payment milestones and sign-off criteria.

When you should hire someone

Doing it yourself is not always right. These are jobs for a professional:

• Custom features: member accounts, bookings tied into your own staff scheduling, complex sign-up flows.
• A large online store: hundreds of products, payments, shipping and inventory. Use an e-commerce platform or a specialist team.
• A full brand project: logo, visual identity and website designed together work best from one design firm.
• No time at all: if you cannot even supply content and review drafts, hand the whole thing over and budget for maintenance.

Or mix the two: build the site yourself, hire for the specialist parts

Plenty of small businesses end up with a middle path:

• Build the site yourself with an AI website builder, so changing prices or hours never depends on anyone else.
• Hire a photographer once: your place, products and team in one session, reusable on the site and social media for a long time.
• Hire a designer for the logo: leave the brand identity to a professional and apply it to the site.
• Hire a copywriter for the key pages, such as the home page and services, and write the rest yourself.

That costs far less than a fully outsourced site, and the site stays in your hands.

Already paid someone for a site? You can still take it over

Yes, but first check one thing: is the domain registered in your name? The content can move in two ways. If the site runs on WordPress, C Building can import it. For a site on another platform, you can enter its web address and C Building builds a new site based on it; check each page afterwards to make sure everything came across. From then on you edit it by chat or by click, and once the domain is confirmed as yours, you connect it to the new site.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to have a website made?

Upwork puts a small-business website from a freelancer at $2,000–$8,000 or more, plus $50–$200 a month for maintenance. Agency projects on Clutch average $38,105, though most come in under $10,000. The real price depends on pages, features and design needs.

How long does it take to build a website yourself?

With an AI website builder, you have a complete first version in minutes; an hour or two more to check the content and add your own photos, and it is ready to publish. Starting from a template on a template builder usually takes several evenings.

Can I build a website without coding?

Yes. Today's AI website builders and template builders need no code. On C Building you can ask the AI to make changes, or click any text or image on the page and change it yourself.

Can I edit a site someone built for me?

It depends how it was built. If it runs on WordPress or a website builder and you have the admin login, you can change text and photos yourself. If it was coded from scratch, most changes go back to a developer. Ask before you sign.

Does the domain have to be in my name?

Strongly recommended. The domain is your address online, and it carries your search rankings and your customers' memory of where to find you. If it is registered to the provider, you may not get it back if you switch providers or they close.

The bottom line

If you need a good-looking, accurate website that you keep up to date, building it yourself with an AI website builder is the better deal: about $250 in the first year, a first version in minutes, and no one to wait for when prices or hours change. Spend on hiring when you need custom features, integrations or a full brand project, and budget for maintenance when you do.

To see what an AI-built site looks like for your business, start on C Building's free plan, with no credit card, and decide on a plan once the site is ready.

Costs checked on September 28, 2026 against Upwork, Clutch and each provider's website. Prices change often; check each provider's current pricing.