Well ive recently built a website, i decided to build it myself, as i thought it would be a skill that would stand me in good stead for the future, plus i was quoted £1,200 for a 5 page site in a particular CMS, its money for oid rope with half of em. My site currently has about 140 pages and growing.
Building the site was a tough struggle, the SEO is another, and an ongoing one. But if it was easy everyone would be doing it wouldn't they!