Should You Hire a Web Designer or Use a Website Builder
This decision usually gets framed as a pure cost question, and cost is part of it, Nova's breakdown of what a website actually costs in 2026 covers that range in detail, but cost alone doesn't tell you which option is actually right for your situation. The more useful questions are about complexity, how much ongoing control you want, and how much time you have.
Hiring a designer or developer makes the most sense when the site has requirements a general builder genuinely can't meet, custom functionality, a specific integration with internal software, or a level of bespoke visual design that matters enough to your business to justify the cost and the back-and-forth of a design process. It also makes sense if you'd rather not touch the site at all once it's built and are comfortable paying someone else for every future change.
A website builder, AI-powered or otherwise, tends to be the better fit when your needs are largely standard, an informational business site, a portfolio, a booking front door, and when you want to make small changes yourself without contacting anyone. That means describing the site you want, reviewing AI-generated previews of the features Nova proposes, and ending up with a working, previewable site, published to a free getnova.pro subdomain without ever needing to create an account just to try it. The tradeoff is real: you get speed and low cost in exchange for less bespoke control than a hired designer would give you.
A reasonable middle path some people don't consider: use a builder to get a working first version live now, and revisit hiring a designer later if the business grows into needs a general tool can't meet. That avoids paying agency rates for a business that doesn't have its final requirements figured out yet.
FAQ
Often yes for the first year or two, many businesses outgrow a basic builder only once they need custom functionality or a much larger content footprint than they started with.
Paying for custom work before you actually know what the site needs to do, which is common for a brand-new business whose offering or audience is still shifting.
Hitting a wall on a specific feature a builder doesn't support and having to migrate later, which is more disruptive than starting with the tool that already covers that need.
Describe your site to Nova and see what a working first version looks like before deciding whether you need to hire someone.