The Downsides of DIY Website Builders Part 1
It should come as no surprise to anyone that a company website is a necessity in today’s marketplace. No matter what industry you’re in, having your own website offers your business several advantages. First, it allows you to make better use of digital marketing strategies like social media, pay-per-click ads, and search engine optimization. Second, it gives your business credibility, especially considering how reliant the average person is on the internet as a resource to learn about local businesses.
Knowing all of this, some companies decide that they want the benefits of a website but they don’t want to pay for professional development. They get sucked into the hype of “free” and low-cost DIY website builders. It seems like the best of both worlds: a new website with minimal cost. The truth is that these DIY websites aren’t suitable for everyone. Tools like Wix and Squarespace are great for personal portfolios and resume sites, but they’re not meant for professional businesses who want to maximize their web presence. Before you sign up, you need to know about the important ways they can fall short of meeting your company’s needs. Our two-part blog series aims to make these disadvantages clear.
One-Page Web Design
There are a variety of DIY website template builders to choose from. Most of the free or low-cost ones, though, primarily offer one-page websites. These sites look like traditional websites originally, with a home page and a navigation bar at the top. When you click on any of the items in the navigation bar, though, it doesn’t take you to a separate page. Instead it scrolls down to a specific section on the home page. In other words, the home page is the only actual page on the website.
Not only does this make your business look cheap but it’s a major problem if you’re trying to gain strong search engine optimization. When search engines are showing search results, each result represents a page – not a full website. Let’s say your business is a medical spa and you have a one-page website. That means you have one opportunity to pop up when someone Googles “med spas near me.” In its most simplistic form, if your competitor has a site with 20 pages on it, they have 20 opportunities to pop up in that same search.
Free Doesn’t Really Mean Free
This is a problem companies tend to find out early in the process of building their DIY website, but it’s a problem nonetheless. A business always needs a way to make money, and that includes “free” website builders. In most cases, they make money by requiring you to buy your hosting through them. This is far more expensive than if you were to buy hosting directly from a web host.
In some cases, website builders can get their money in a way that hurts you even more: by putting digital ads on your site that you have no control over. You could end up with an ad for your competitor on your own website with no way to remove it because you handed over that control to the website builder in the fine print.
Lacking a Full Website Team
For your website to be successful, it needs to do several things right. On top of a professional-looking, brand-specific design, your website must have well-written content, search engine optimization strategies built in, easy functionality, and more. If you use a DIY website builder you may have a basic website, but you have to do all the other steps yourself. Unless you’re a marketing expert, there are limitations to what is available and you won’t be able to do the job effectively to give your site the best chance for success.
When you hire a professional marketing company to create your website, on the other hand, it’s a completely different experience. If you choose a reputable and skilled company, you’ll get the services of web designers, developers, copywriters, graphic designers, search engine optimization specialists, and more. That team of people knows how to combine their individual skills to craft a professional website that will bring you real results. They’ll be able to prominently incorporate your brand into your site while also refining your URLs for strong search engine optimization.
You’ve heard the saying that you get what you pay for. When it comes to free DIY website builders, that’s often true. Your website is an investment in your company’s future, and it isn’t one that you should take lightly. To get started on your truly professional customized website, schedule a meeting with McCauley Marketing Services. For more information about why a DIY site won’t offer you the benefits you need, look out for part two in this blog series.