The Friend Who Makes Websites: 7 Brutal Truths in 2025
Thinking of asking your friend to build your website in 2025? Discover the 7 brutal truths about hidden costs, missed deadlines, and why it might cost you more.
Ethan Carter
A veteran web consultant helping small businesses navigate the digital landscape effectively.
The Tempting Offer You Should Probably Refuse
We've all been there. You've got a brilliant business idea, a side hustle ready to launch, or a personal project you're passionate about. The one thing standing in your way? A website. Then, a lightbulb goes off: "My friend Sarah is great with computers. She makes websites!"
It sounds perfect. You'll save a fortune, get a custom site, and help out a friend. But in 2025, asking a friend to build your website is one of the riskiest moves you can make for your project and your friendship. The digital landscape has become a complex, high-stakes arena where good intentions pave the road to broken sites and awkward holidays. Before you send that text, let's unpack the seven brutal truths about hiring "the friend who makes websites."
Brutal Truth #1: "Free" is the Most Expensive Price
The initial build might be free or cost you a case of beer, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. A website isn't a one-time product; it's a living entity that requires constant care. The real costs are hidden beneath the surface:
- Hosting and Domain Fees: Who pays for these annually? Is it on their personal account, giving them total control?
- Security Updates: In 2025, unpatched websites are prime targets for hackers. Is your friend committed to performing weekly or monthly security updates on plugins, themes, and server software?
- Maintenance & Bug Fixes: What happens when a new browser version breaks your layout, or a plugin update crashes the site? Your friend's "free" work suddenly requires hours of unpaid troubleshooting.
- Scope Creep: The initial "simple blog" request inevitably morphs into "Can we add a shop? And a booking system? And maybe a forum?" Each addition adds complexity and cost, which is rarely discussed upfront.
A professional quote includes these long-term considerations. A friendly deal leaves you holding a bag of unexpected and ongoing expenses.
Brutal Truth #2: "Web Developer" Isn't One Job Anymore
Saying your friend "makes websites" is like saying your cousin "works in medicine." Are they a brain surgeon or a podiatrist? The skills are not interchangeable. In 2025, web development is hyper-specialized.
The Specialization Mismatch
Consider these roles, which are often mutually exclusive:
- Frontend Developer: Focuses on what you see—the layout, design, and interactivity (React, Vue, CSS). They make it pretty.
- Backend Developer: Manages the server, database, and application logic (Node.js, Python, PHP). They make it work.
- DevOps Engineer: Handles deployment, hosting, and server security. They keep it online.
- UI/UX Designer: Researches user behavior to create intuitive, user-friendly interfaces. They make it easy to use.
- SEO Specialist: Ensures the site is structured to rank well on Google. They make it findable.
Your friend might be a brilliant backend Java developer, but do they understand responsive CSS, Core Web Vitals, and user experience design? Asking them to build a full-stack, SEO-optimized, user-friendly website is like asking a cardiologist to perform your knee replacement. They might attempt it, but you won't like the results.
Brutal Truth #3: Your 'Urgent' Project is Their Last Priority
Your new business is the most important thing in your world. To your friend, it's a favor. They have a full-time job that pays their bills, a family that needs their attention, and a personal life they cherish. Your website project will always come after those things.
Expect:
- Delayed Timelines: The initial "I'll have it done in a couple of weeks" will stretch into months.
- Ghosting: When they hit a difficult problem or get busy with their real job, communication might cease for days or weeks.
- Rushed Work: To get it off their plate, they might cut corners on testing, security, or mobile optimization, leaving you with a fragile, half-finished product.
A professional freelancer or agency has a business reputation to uphold and contractual obligations to meet. Your friend has no such incentive.
Friend vs. Professional: A Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | The Friend Deal | The Professional (Agency/Freelancer) |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Cost | Low or free | Significant investment (thousands of dollars) |
| Timeline | Unpredictable, often delayed | Defined by a contract with clear milestones |
| Strategy | Builds what is asked for | Provides strategic advice on UX, SEO, and conversions |
| Support & Maintenance | Ad-hoc, unreliable, based on availability | Contractual Service Level Agreement (SLA) |
| Accountability | None. Relies on goodwill. | Legally bound by a contract |
| Quality & Testing | Often minimal or skipped | Rigorous cross-browser and device testing |
| Risk to Relationship | Extremely high | Low. It's a business transaction. |
Brutal Truth #4: You're Getting a Webpage, Not a Business Asset
Your friend will likely build exactly what you ask for. This sounds good, but it's a critical flaw. You are not a web expert. You don't know what you don't know.
A professional's job isn't just to write code; it's to be a consultant. They ask the hard questions:
- "Who is your target audience and what do they need to accomplish on this site?"
- "How will this site generate leads or sales? What's the conversion funnel?"
- "Is this content structured for optimal SEO performance?"
- "How does this design adhere to accessibility standards (WCAG)?"
Your friend will give you a functional webpage. A professional will deliver a strategic business asset designed to achieve specific goals, whether that's generating leads, making sales, or building a brand.
Brutal Truth #5: You're Paying with Your Friendship
Money is awkward, but a lack of money is even more so. When there's no contract and no clear payment, resentment builds on both sides. You'll get frustrated by the slow progress, and they'll get frustrated by your constant requests and unspoken expectations.
What happens when you don't like the design they spent 20 hours on? How do you give critical feedback without offending them? What happens when the site goes down and they're on vacation? Every business disagreement becomes a personal conflict. It's a fast track to ruining a good friendship over a project that would have been a standard transaction with a professional.
Brutal Truth #6: Zero Accountability When Things Go Wrong
Your business website is a critical piece of infrastructure. If it goes down, you lose money and credibility. With a professional, you have a contract that outlines uptime guarantees, support response times, and ownership of the code and assets.
With your friend, you have... their phone number. There is no legal recourse if they:
- Disappear and leave the project unfinished.
- Lose the source code or forget the server password.
- Build the site with pirated software or themes that expose you to legal risk.
- Refuse to hand over administrative control if you have a disagreement.
You are operating without a safety net. The fate of your online presence rests entirely on their goodwill and availability.
Brutal Truth #7: The "Simple Website" Died in 2020
In 2025, there is no such thing as a "simple website" for a serious business. Even a basic "brochure" site must meet a complex set of modern standards to be effective:
- Responsive Design: It must work flawlessly on desktops, tablets, and multiple smartphone sizes.
- Performance: It must load in under 2 seconds to satisfy Google's Core Web Vitals and impatient users.
- Security: It must have an SSL certificate (HTTPS) and be protected against common vulnerabilities.
- Accessibility (WCAG): It must be usable by people with disabilities, which is both an ethical and legal requirement in many regions.
- On-Page SEO: It needs proper title tags, meta descriptions, header structures, and image alt text just to have a chance of being found on Google.
- Privacy Compliance: It must comply with regulations like GDPR and CCPA, usually requiring a cookie banner and privacy policy.
Failing at any of these doesn't just result in a bad user experience; it actively harms your business by making you invisible to search engines and untrustworthy to visitors.
What Should You Do Instead?
Instead of putting your friend in an awkward position, consider these professional alternatives:
- For Simple Needs: Use a high-quality website builder like Squarespace, Wix, or Webflow. They handle the technical complexities, allowing you to focus on content.
- For Custom Needs: Hire a vetted freelance developer from a reputable platform like Upwork or Toptal. Review their portfolio, check references, and always use a contract.
- For Business-Critical Needs: Engage a small digital agency. You'll get a team of specialists (designer, developer, strategist) and a higher level of accountability.
If you still want to involve your friend, hire them as a paid consultant for an hour to help you vet other professionals. This values their expertise without burdening them with the entire project.
Conclusion: Value Your Friend, and Your Business
Your friend who makes websites is a skilled professional whose craft deserves to be compensated fairly. Your business is a serious venture that deserves a professional foundation. Trying to merge the two with a "friend deal" devalues both.
By investing in a professional solution, you not only get a better, more reliable, and more effective website, but you also protect something even more valuable: your friendship. Let your friend be the person you celebrate your business success with, not the person you resent for a buggy website.