The Downside Of DIY Website Builders

15 Sep The Downside Of DIY Website Builders

DIY website builders have experienced growing popularity in recent years due to their low cost, quick build time, and ease of use, but are they really the best solution for you? While they advertise the ability to build a cheap, fully functioning website in minutes without needing to know how to write a line of code, they don’t take the time to explain the potential pitfalls. Here is a look at the big selling points and the other side of the coin:

You get what you pay for.

Though they typically are advertised as free or a low monthly fee, in the end you may pay as much or more for a DIY website than you would for an actual developer. Typically, the free or extremely cheap options provide you with the barest of functionality in your page. Looking to have e-commerce, payment gateways, or any other even moderately advanced functionalities? It will probably cost you quite a bit extra, and will most likely not work as well as you need.

They are quick to make.

The reason that you are able to build a website in 30 minutes is because you choose your layout from a list of template designs. The downside to template designs is that your website, while in some ways customizable, will ultimately look like and feel like other websites built on the same platform. If you are trying to build a personal or event website that may be fine. If you are looking for something that will set your business apart from the rest and display your brand effectively, a cookie cutter website isn’t going to serve you in good stead.

They include website hosting for free.

Though most website builders typically provide free hosting, this should not be read as an added value. The way that they are able to provide free hosting to so many websites is by providing what is called shared hosting. Shared hosting means that there are potentially thousands of sites that are all hosted on the same server, and each site is battling the others for resources. All these sites and all of their users sharing bandwidth mean slow site loads for your customers, and a decrease in your search rankings.

They create search engine friendly sites.

Though WYSIWYG (or What You See Is What You Get) style drag-and-drop editors may make it easy to create a web presence without knowing how to actually write a line of code, they are not so good at creating Search Engine friendly markup. This in conjunction with slow site speeds and a liberal use of Flash results in lower search engine rankings. Unfortunately, that means you’ll be missing out on many new potential customers while your competitors who paid for web development and have good rankings are happy to snatch up.

I can change my hosting or template at any time.

Are you going to want to transfer your site to another host, template, or platform? If you are using a DIY website builder, this is more than likely not going to be possible without completely re-creating your site from scratch.

 Parting Thoughts:

Though website builders can be useful, there is a time and a place for them. If you are looking to make a website for a party, hobby, or personal project on the cheap, then they are most likely exactly what you are looking for. If you are trying to build a website that will accurately display your brand and give your customers a professional first impression, you should definitely consider speaking to a professional web firm.

Fawkes FX is a digital design studio specializing in responsive websites, branding services, graphics, photography, and animations. We partner with businesses of all sizes to boost their online presence and help them build the brand they’ve dreamed of, providing the best quality work for their budget. For an estimate on a web project, contact us today!