There are a number of options when you design a website in Toronto: self designed, locally, and out sourcing.

DIY:

    Pros:

• Cheap/Free: You should have SOME experience in this area; otherwise, you will likely waste too much time and get too frustrated. Keep in mind your time is worth money, so make sure that you have an amount of time your willing to spend on your website and try not to overshoot.
• Fully Customized: You know how to make your website so you know how to change it! You can update and change your website easily.

    Cons:

• Time: You need to spend a lot more time making the website, updating, and maintaining it.
• Setup: One of the worst parts of programming is setting up the environment. That means getting a server and url. With simple websites that is not too difficult, but complex websites can make setups more and more difficult.
• Lack of Experience: With less experience, your visual design can suffer. Also, simple tasks can be more time consuming and complicated. Always look for tutorials, someone else having done something not only means its possible but you can learn as you program.

Locally Designed:

    Pros:

• Accessible: Your team is available to talk, when you are. They have regular hours of operations. You should make sure that you can reach them easily. We try to be accessible 14 hours a day, 6 days a week even if it isn't an emergency.
• Reviews: You should be able to meet or speak to someone they have worked for before.
• Responsible: They probably are not leaving any time soon, so you can trust that they should take some responsibility for their work. You should double check that though. We take pride in our work.

    Cons:

• Price: It might cost more, but there are ways to cut down on that if your designers are fair and don't try to oversell you. We try to do what you need and not more. With SEO we start with the least expensive option and slowly move up to see what is necessary to compete. This is really the only major con with working with a local programmer, but if you are willing to invest in your business it tends to be valuable.

Outsourcing:

    Pros:

• Cheap: Not as cheap as doing it yourself, but might be worth it.

    Cons:

• Communication: It can be difficult to be in the same time zone. Making calls difficult.
• Experience: You don't know how many people work in the office and how experienced are they?
• Responsibility: You cannot actually bring people to court overseas. Perhaps from the U.S. to Canada and vice versa, but suing someone in India might be a little difficult. Worst of all they might put codes and viruses in your website to make them more money. There is no wonder why it is cheaper when they try to make money off of your business taking clicks, redirecting traffic, or actually viewing usernames and passwords.

We are obviously biased that we want you to use us, but when selecting a computer programmer if you know the pros and cons, you can try to minimize them. You can ask about communication and references. Be up front about price and how much your willing to pay. If they are a good business they might let you pay in installments.