The short answer — building your portfolio yourself with a builder (Wix, Canva, Webflow) is fast and cheap, and fine if your budget is very tight and you're okay with a design that looks like others. Hiring a custom designer suits you when design is your product, you want to stand out, or you don't have the time or skills. This guide helps you choose by situation.
People wanting a portfolio site often hesitate between "DIY with a builder" and "hire someone to design it." Each has trade-offs. Here's how to tell which fits you.
DIY with a builder
Pros: fast, cheap, start immediately, templates to pick from, no code. Cons: the design looks like everyone else's, your identity is limited, and many builders are limited on speed and SEO. Good if your budget is very tight and you just want a site up.
Hiring a custom designer
Pros: design that reflects you, stands out, structured to be fast and findable, with someone thinking it through for you. Cons: costs money and takes longer than DIY. Good when design is what you sell and you want your work to stand out.
Template vs custom, for creatives
When design is your product, a site that looks like others makes your work look ordinary instantly. Templates are fine to start, but when you really want to differ from competitors, custom design conveys professionalism far better.
Want custom design at a controlled price?
See the Portfolio packages, or get in touch. We design from scratch — never a template.
Checklist: DIY or hire
- Very tight budget + okay with a similar-looking design → DIY
- Design is what you sell + you want to stand out → Hire
- No time or skills, or you want SEO from the start → Hire
- Just want a link to your work for now → DIY, upgrade later
If you hire — what to prepare and watch for
Prepare the work you want to show, styles you like, and your goal. Watch out for work so cheap it reuses templates, or won't hand you the files and domain to own. Ask clearly what's included, how many revisions, and how support works.
The middle ground — custom at studio pricing
You don't have to choose between "cheap but generic" and "very expensive." A studio like ours does custom design at a reachable price, from around 6,000 THB — work that isn't templated, without agency rates. See the Portfolio page.