The 5 best things about having your nephew build your website

Written by: Jeff SokolWeb Director

We all have that one nephew. You know… the one who can do it all. And yeah, before you ask, that’s definitely me. You may think it’s a good idea to have that nephew (or niece) build your website on the cheap. That’s a GREAT idea; let me tell you why!

Your nephew is the best marketer, designer, writer, and coder on the planet.

I mean seriously, he’s definitely better on his own than he would be with an entire team of professionals that work together with their own strengths and weaknesses. Even if he “builds websites for a living” (ahem), there is an immense amount of value in working in a team. I can tell you this from my own experience, the websites I build for my own family pale in comparison to the sites I develop with my brilliant, creative Phoenix marketing team at Avenue 25.

It’s so easy to speak your mind to family.

Go ahead, break that little guy’s heart. At this point it’s not a job. He’s building that site for you because he loves you so much. Tell him you don’t like it. This will be great table fodder while chowing down that Christmas ham. It’s way easier to speak your mind and get the RIGHT product for your business when you don’t have a personal connection to the people doing the work for you. Clear communication regarding your web design, graphic design and branding preferences and other requirements is so much more achievable without family and friends' involvement.

He’s available to build my website on nights and weekends.

Yes! I still get to run my business during “normal business hours” on Monday through Friday 9:00 to 5:00. My nephew only bugs me when I have extra time and I don’t lose any productive hours during the day. Sounds great? One problem: “productive hours” are the ones you want HIM to be working. If you really want the attention to detail your website deserves, you don’t want him rushing through your custom web design in his free time so he can binge the newest season of Stranger Things on Netflix.

Your web design will be his number 1 priority.

Since you are family, he’s bumping you to the front of the line. Forget that client that’s been around and used his company for years. Forget that proposal he needs to get out by Friday to land a big fish. Forget all of it because he’s working on your site first. However, let’s be real… It’s much easier for me to push off my dear Uncle Butch. I just bat my eyes and tell him how he’s way cooler than my other uncles. Hook. Line. Sinker.

Your new website will last forever.

Because it’s so totally perfect and awesome, right!? Uh. No. It’s because you HAVE to use him now… for everything. Time for a new website? Well, Johnny just got married, he’ll get back to you after the honeymoon. Guess what Uncle, he just found out his new wife is pregnant. Then he was about to get started but the baby’s almost here. Your great niece just started daycare, your nephew is trying to catch up still. That little baby just loves to dance, here comes classes every day of the week. I’m seeing a pattern here. Oh and don’t think about taking your web design needs elsewhere, you're family, and family doesn’t turn their back on each other.

Bottom line. Your web design might look fine — heck, it may even be fantastic, but chances are, like most things in life, you'll get what you pay for. So if you decide to hire your nephew, do yourselves both a favor and actually hire him and pay him what he’s worth. Forget the family discount. Tell him that you want to be an actual web design, marketing, or graphic design client, not just his cheap aunt or uncle. He’ll treat you better for it.

Family Favorite Nephew Jeff Sokol is the Avenue 25 resident comedian as well as our gifted, bottomless pit of technological web designer and web developer information, ideas and know-how. His expert abilities extend deep into other areas as well, such as search engine optimization (SEO), website analytics, graphic design, woodworking, jiu-jitsu and all things football related.

Since 1991, Avenue 25 has been recognized as the leading boutique advertising agency, branding and marketing firm in Phoenix. We also provide the finest, customized SEO, PPC, graphic and web design Phoenix has to offer.