Should You DIY Your Showit Website or Hire a Designer? (Honest Breakdown)

If you’re on Showit (or thinking about it), you’ve probably asked yourself this question at least once: should you DIY your Showit website or hire a designer to build it for you? It sounds like a simple decision, but the answer depends entirely on where you are in your business right now. Get it wrong and you waste either money you didn’t need to spend, or months of your time on a site that still doesn’t book clients. This guide walks you through every option honestly, no fluff, no hard sell, so you can make the right call for your situation.

Why This Decision Matters More Than You Think

Your website is often the first real impression a potential client gets of your business. On Showit especially, the design possibilities are enormous, which is both exciting and overwhelming. A poorly built site, whether DIY or professional, will quietly cost you clients every single month without you even knowing it.

The real question isn’t just “should you diy your Showit website or hire a designer.” It’s: what outcome do you actually need from your site? If you need to look presentable while you’re just starting out, that’s one answer. If you need your website to be your best salesperson and rank on Google, that’s a completely different answer.

There are three real paths on Showit. Let’s break each one down.

Path 1: Buy a Showit Template and DIY It

This is the starting point most people take, and for good reason. Showit has a drag-and-drop editor that genuinely doesn’t require coding knowledge. You buy a Showit template from a designer (typically $200–$600), swap in your own photos, colours, and copy, and you’re live.

Who This Works For

• Businesses in their first 1–2 years with a tight budget
• Service providers who just need a clean, presentable online presence
• People who enjoy design and have 20–40 hours to invest in learning Showit
• Side projects or low-stakes launches where speed matters more than perfection

The Real Costs

• Showit subscription: $27–$49/month
• Template: $200–$600 one-time
• Your time: 20–60 hours to customise properly
• Domain: ~$15/year

The Honest Downside

Most DIY Showit websites look fine but don’t perform. The design might look clean, but the copy is weak, the SEO is untouched, and the page flow doesn’t guide visitors to take action. You can spend 40 hours on a beautiful site that still doesn’t book a single client. That’s the trap. If you go the DIY route, at minimum get your SEO basics in place, meta titles, focus keywords, Google Search Console, before you launch.

Path 2: Buy a Showit Template and Hire a Designer to Customise It

This is the middle path and often the smartest move for businesses that have been running for 1–3 years. You start with a premium Showit template, then hire a designer, like me, to customise it properly. That means your brand colours, fonts, images, copy structure, mobile layout, and SEO settings are all handled professionally, not just swapped in.

Who This Works For

• Established businesses that want a professional result without a full custom budget
• Service providers who know their brand but don’t have time to learn Showit deeply
• Anyone who wants fast turnaround (1–2 weeks vs. 6–10 weeks for full custom)
• Businesses that need SEO set up properly from day one

The Real Costs

• Template: $200–$600
• Designer customisation: $500–$2,500 depending on scope
• Total: roughly $700–$3,000 all in

What Makes This Different From DIY

A good designer doesn’t just swap your logo and change the colours. They rethink the page flow for your specific offers, fix mobile layouts the template didn’t get right, write or restructure copy so it converts, and set up your Showit SEO properly. That last part alone, keyword research, Yoast setup, Google Search Console, sitemap submission, is something most DIY Showit websites completely skip. And it’s the difference between a site that looks good and a site that actually brings in clients.

Path 3: Go Fully Custom with a Showit Designer

A fully custom Showit website is built from scratch. No template. Every page, every section, every interaction is designed specifically for your brand and your business goals. This is the right choice for businesses that are scaling, attracting premium clients, and need a site that stands completely apart from the competition.

Who This Works For

• Established businesses with a clear brand direction and premium pricing
• Businesses where the website is a primary source of leads (photographers, coaches, designers)
• Anyone who has tried templates and outgrown them
• Service providers raising their prices and needing the site to match

The Real Costs

• Custom Showit design: $2,500–$8,000+ depending on the designer and scope
• Timeline: 6–12 weeks typically
• Ongoing Showit subscription: $27–$49/month

What You’re Actually Paying For

With custom Showit design, you’re not paying for someone to make things pretty. You’re paying for strategy: someone who thinks about your customer journey, your offer structure, your SEO, and your conversion rate, then builds a site that works as a 24/7 sales tool. A well-built custom Showit website typically pays for itself within the first few clients it brings in.

If you’re wondering about the signs that you’ve outgrown a template and need to go custom, this post covers exactly that.

The Question Most People Skip: What About SEO?

Here’s what almost nobody talks about when they’re deciding whether to DIY a Showit website or hire a designer. design and SEO are not separate things on Showit. Your page structure, heading hierarchy, image file sizes, meta titles, mobile experience, all of it affects how Google ranks your site. A beautiful Showit site with no SEO is invisible. And an invisible site doesn’t bring you clients, no matter how good it looks.

Most Showit designers don’t do SEO. They’ll build you a gorgeous site and hand it over. But if nobody can find it on Google, it’s just an expensive digital business card. This is where the combination of design and SEO in a single engagement makes a real difference. Your site gets built with proper keyword targeting, meta descriptions, Google Search Console setup, sitemap submission, and blog infrastructure from day one.

If you’re already on Showit and struggling with rankings, here’s a breakdown of the most common reasons your Showit website isn’t showing up on Google.

How to Know Which Path Is Right for You Right Now

Stop thinking about what you can afford and start thinking about what outcome you need. Here’s a simple decision framework:

• Under 1 year in business, tight budget, just need to exist online → DIY a Showit template. Keep it simple. Focus on learning your craft and getting clients through referrals first.
• 1–3 years in, established offers, some client results, ready to level up → Template customisation with a designer. Get it done properly, get your SEO in place, and start letting your site work for you.
• 3+ years, premium pricing, scaling, need to attract high-value clients consistently → Custom Showit design. Your site should match your prices and your positioning.

And if you’re not sure what questions to ask a designer before you hire one, this post walks through 12 specific questions and what the answers should tell you.

Design + SEO: The Difference Between a Nice Site and a Site That Works

The reason most Showit websites don’t bring in consistent inquiries isn’t the design. It’s the combination of weak copy, no SEO strategy, and a page structure that doesn’t guide visitors toward taking action. Custom Showit design paired with SEO setup means your site is found by the right people and converts them when they arrive.

That combination of custom Showit design and full SEO setup is what I offer. Not just a beautiful site handed off at launch, but a site that shows up on Google for your target keywords, loads fast, and turns visitors into inquiries. If you want to understand the full cost of hiring a Showit designer, here’s a transparent breakdown of what different levels of service cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really build a good Showit website myself?

Yes. Showit’s drag-and-drop editor is genuinely beginner-friendly. The limitation isn’t the tool, it’s the time and expertise required to get the SEO, copy, and page strategy right. Most DIY sites look decent but don’t convert. If you DIY, invest time in learning SEO basics before you launch.

How much does it cost to hire a Showit designer?

Template customisation typically runs $500–$2,500. Full custom Showit design starts around $2,500 and goes up from there depending on page count, complexity, and whether SEO setup is included. Always ask specifically what’s included, many designers don’t include SEO.

How long does it take to build a Showit website with a designer?

Template customisation: 1–3 weeks. Full custom design: 6–12 weeks. Timeline varies based on how quickly you provide content and how many revision rounds are involved.

Is Showit good for SEO?

Showit can rank well on Google, but it requires proper setup. The platform integrates with WordPress for blogging, supports Yoast SEO, and gives you full control over page titles, meta descriptions, and URL structure. The challenge is that most Showit users never configure these properly. A good Showit designer who understands SEO sets this up correctly from the start.

What’s the difference between a Showit template and a custom design?

A template is a pre-built design you purchase and customise yourself (or with help). A custom design is built specifically for your brand from scratch. Templates are faster and cheaper. Custom designs perform better for established businesses with specific positioning and premium pricing.

Do I need a blog on my Showit website?

For SEO, yes. Showit integrates with WordPress, which means you can run a proper blog that ranks on Google and brings in organic traffic over time. Without a blog, your Showit site relies entirely on paid traffic or referrals to get visitors.