A lot of websites I come across are often built with free (or cheap) and nasty website builders. Why? Because people think they are getting a top of the range website for no more than £15 per month. But they’re wrong. Here’s a list of 10 reasons as to why you shouldn’t use a website builder…
1) You don’t own the website
When using a website builder, you don’t actually own the website you create. The company who operates the service you are using own the website.
2) SEO tends to be a no no
Website builders do almost nothing to optimize your website for search engines. The structure of the content they produce is poor, and no care seems to be taken when a website is generated. Not forgetting that a lot of site builders use Flash, which Google cannot read or index.
3) Poor designs
Despite the fact that website builders offer hundreds (or even thousands) of ready made templates, they all tend to look like they’ve been stolen from Microsoft Powerpoint’s template directory. They are old and amateur.
4) A website can be built in 30 minutes
Seriously, it takes longer to bake a cake, or cook your dinner. If you value your business or organisation, then surely you’d put more time, effort and money into the website that will represent you. A website is usually the first thing people see before contacting you. It has to reflect that you offer a quality service or product, and that you are professional.
5) You don’t have a proper domain name
Is a web address such as mybusiness.webs.com really that professional? I think not. Your website needs to be at a memorable domain, such as mybusiness.com.
6) Adverts
Is having “THIS WEBSITE WAS CREATED BY 1&1 MY WEBSITE” plastered all over your website ideal? Just think about it…
7) You’re paying forever
So £30 per month seems cheap, right? Total that up for a year. Or even 3 years. It’s not so cheap afterall. Yes you will find plans that start off free (or at a discounted rate), but they do not stay free forever. There’s not a lot of free things in the world today.
However, if you was to hire a professional web designer or web developer, then you’d end up paying a one off fee that usually costs less than your site builder fees.
8) They don’t care
The people who make these website builders do not value your business and they do not care about your success. However, an agency or a freelancer works with you for as long is possible to ensure you get the success that you wish for.