Hiring Help, Partnering, or DIY with Website Creation

Normally I do everything myself when I'm creating a site. I'm neither a designer nor a programmer, so things are far from "pretty". But I've always been of the mind to just do it, learn from it, and get better in time. And I really do want to keep learning, so I won't stop the DIY approach for good any time soon.

I figure to make a website really successful, there are probably four main elements:

1. The Design

2. The Coding

3. The Content

4. The Marketing

I've got #s 3 and 4 down, and completely lack the other two skills. Since my sites are generally content-oriented, they do well enough despite that fact.

But I do have one particular site that I'd like to have look cleaner, and that will involve a good bit of programming in the sense of calculators and tools. I've been torn between how to handle it. Should I do it myself and improve it over time? Should I simply hire someone to do the design and programming up front? Or should I partner with a designer/programmer since it's going to likely need programming work done long-term to develop new tools and such?

I'm aware of a few new programmers through friends who are looking for something to build a portfolio, and one even offered to do it on a percentage basis. I don't think it would be terribly difficult for someone who knows what they're doing - just basic calculations and accessing a database I suppose. So I'm sure they could handle it. But along the same lines as the "partner" option, I'm not sure how I feel about giving up any kind of control in it. If it proves to be the best option, I guess I would though.

Have any of you tried multiple approaches, and if so what worked the best for you? Any warnings or praises for one way versus another?

Thanks!

Jenn

 

No matter what, DONT get a partner. Partnerships never work out, specially if they are friends/relatives.