CHOOSING

Freelancer, agency, or website builder

None of the three is best for everyone. There is only the one that fits the size of the job and the budget. This page compares them directly, including the cases where the answer is not to hire me.

Tell me about the project

See every package price

Start from the right question

Where should I hire cannot be answered before what kind of job it is. Three questions can: what does this site have to make happen, how often does the content change, and if it goes down on a Saturday, who is responsible.

Those three point at the answer nearly every time. Static content and no systems, and a builder is usually enough. Systems to connect and weekly edits, and it needs somebody who writes code. Downtime that costs money by the hour, and it needs an agreement with response times in it.

Three routes, honestly compared

Including the drawbacks of the one I do, because a comparison with only my own advantages in it helps nobody decide.

01
Website builder — cheapest and fastest
Monthly fee, site up the same day. Right for a presence page whose content does not change. Against it: the look is shared with everybody else, systems cannot be added, and moving away is hard because the content is tied to the platform.
02
Freelancer — mid price, direct to the maker
No agency overhead in the price, and the person you talk to is the person doing the work. Against it: one person, so illness or a busy month stops the job, and quality varies enormously between individuals.
03
Agency — a team and a contract
People can cover for each other, there is an account and support function, and they take on work too large for one person. Against it: the price carries the organisation, and whoever you speak to is usually not the person writing the code.

When not to hire me

Here rather than half an hour into a conversation, because it wastes less of everybody time.

You need a site today or tomorrow. The fastest package here is two days; a builder is faster.
The budget is under THB 1,500 and the site is only a presence page. A builder genuinely is better value for that.
You want WordPress because your team already knows it. I do not take WordPress work, so I am not the right person.
You need a team with cover on the phone at all hours. That belongs in a contract with an agency.

When a code-writing freelancer is the better value

You need to edit content often and do not want to wait on anybody
Systems will be added later — booking, payments, or a link to what the office already runs on
You want the site found for what customers actually search, not just a link to send people
You want to hold the code and the accounts yourself, so you can change who maintains it without a rebuild

What to ask anyone before you agree

These five work on any supplier, and an evasive answer usually tells you more than the answer itself.

Whose name are the domain and hosting in, and can I reach those accounts directly?
After handover, what can I change myself, and what needs you?
What does the price include and exclude, in writing?
How many revision rounds, and how is a round counted?
If we stop working together, what do I take with me?

What to have ready before contacting anyone is a separate article.

So is the one on hiring without getting locked in .

Questions about choosing a developer

Can one freelancer handle company work?

It depends on the size. A five-page company site or an online store is within what one person can do to a fixed date. Work needing cover around the clock, or several teams running in parallel, should be an agency. I will say so plainly if a job is beyond what I can take responsibility for.

How does payment work? All up front?

No. It is split across agreed stages, and the scope and price note comes to you before anything starts, with nothing to pay at the estimate stage.

Why do quotes differ by several times for the same thing?

Because building a website covers wildly different things, from one page with no systems to a store that takes money and adjusts stock. A tenfold difference is usually scope rather than skill.

How much experience, and built with what?

Six years. Angular, NestJS, PostgreSQL and Cloudflare, writing both the front and the back myself. No WordPress and no themes.

Where can I see the work?

The site you are reading is one of the Corporate packages, built with the same tools used on client work, and there are sample sites of other kinds you can open and use rather than screenshots of them.

Not sure which route fits

Tell me what the business does, what the site has to do, and the budget. If the best value is not hiring me, I will say so.