I’m going to take a guess and say as you are reading this, you may have a business (or hobby) that you want to share with the world. You may already use Facebook or Instagram and feel like you do well from just those. That’s great, and we will touch on that subject another time, but some of you may also be thinking of expanding online and what the next step is. Well, how about a website? Don’t worry, I’m not trying to sell ourselves to you…..yet!
So, you’ve had a look around and, as everyone does, you start to look for the quickest, easiest and least costly method of getting your own website. You may have a distant second cousin, whose best friends dog fiddles in a bit of web design. That’s one option, but let’s say you consider going it alone and using one of the many DIY website builders from a popular online company that you’ve seen on T.V.
These companies do have their purposes, but web design may not be one that suits your needs. In this post, we would like to bring to your attention, some potential pitfalls of these DIY website builders so that you can make an informed decision about what route to go down for your website. After all, you’re investing time and money into your business (or hobby) and there’s a reason that those successful companies spend a lot of money on their websites.
Domain Names
A lot of self-builder companies offer domain names that end with their website address, for example ‘www.yourbusiness.webbuilder.com’. I don’t know about you but this doesn’t look or sound very appealing or professional. First impressions are vital when it comes to your online presence and your domain name is often the first thing visitors see, especially when searching on Google. So, if your site sounds unprofessional, the chances are a visitor may think the same of your business. All professional web design agencies will provide you with a personalised domain name that suits your business (depending on availability). That way you make a professional first impression to your visitors and potential customers/clients.
Accessibility and Online Presence
A lot of these DIY website builders are known to use software that would be considered somewhat ‘outdated’ in today’s online market. The software they used was great a few years ago, but like anything, technology advances and it pays to keep up to date. There are many issues when it comes to using outdated software. The first one is that search engines like Google tend to dislike it. Google has a tough time reading websites created with older software and as a result, those websites tend not to rank well in search results.
Owning your website
From the research we’ve conducted, we can see that the terms and conditions of some of the big-name DIY website builders state that you don’t actually own the website you are building through them. So, the website you would be promoting, using and creating/editing won’t belong to you. Within some of their terms and conditions, they also reserve the right to change your website or the costs of running it for you and there is nothing really you can do to stop this. It all seems a bit restrictive for something that is supposed to promote your business and that you will be paying for, which brings me to our next point.
The Caring Touch
These website building companies are only really after one thing, your money on a regular basis. They don’t know who you are, what you do, or what the main objective of your website is and how you want it to benefit your business/hobby. Very few of them offer advice on your website and often the only way to communicate with them is via a chat box, or email system which can take some time (even for minor issues you may have). A professional web design agency, like us, will take the time to discuss your needs and objectives and get to know you and your business as much as they can. They are also only on the other end of a phone for a call or text, or even a quick email response. Web design agencies like Synergize Design are run by professionals that are passionate about helping their clients and want to help your business succeed.
How much are you really spending?
The most appealing factor that persuades many people to use DIY website builders, is the cheap costs. Monthly fees are a common trend for most and are usually around the £30-£40 per month mark. I know, that doesn’t sound half bad if it’s going to bring in business for you. Don’t forget what we found out earlier with regards to difficulty being found online.
Of course, £30 or £40 doesn’t sound a lot, but don’t forget you will be paying this for as long as you choose to use the site and again, the company has the right to alter this price at any point. Let’s say for arguments sake, they don’t increase the price. If you use the website for five years at £30.00 a month, this will cost you £1800. Now let’s say, for whatever reason, you cannot afford to maintain this monthly fee or have found limitations when trying to expand your website and feel it’s either become redundant or isn’t working as you’d like it to and you have no choice but to stop using it. Your website is then gone and so is the money you paid for it.
If you chose to go with a professional agency or company (ahem), you’d pay for the design and build of the website and then many other agencies charge around the £15 a month mark, for keeping it live with a top-quality hosting service. I feel it’s only fair at this point to mention that Synergize Design don’t charge any monthly fees, but we can delve into this later. Using an agency means you will receive a custom designed site that is tailored to you and your business needs, that you own, that you can have complete control over, and that can be found on search engines such a s Google.
Advertising
In a lot (but not all) of the cases we have seen, DIY website building companies will place advertisements on the sites you build with them, if they choose to do so. These can often be unattractive, slow down your page’s load time and scare off some of your existing and potential customers. Choosing a web design agency means no unwanted ads. If you did want to increase revenue and site visitors by adding them, they will help you with this and make them attractive enough to compliment your site rather than direct visitors away. As mentioned before, YOU would earn from these advertisements, not the DIY website building companies.
Analysing your website
Google analytics is the most accurate analytical tool for learning how well your website works, what your visitors are viewing the most and least, and where you may need to improve your site for these viewers. DIY website builders do not offer this tool. Web designers do. What more needs to be said?
Mobile Friendly
Google have recently made having a fully optimised website, an essential box to tick for search rankings. This means that having a website that isn’t mobile device friendly will suffer on the search results. A good proportion of website self-builders don’t offer this as part of their service. The majority of web design agencies provide this service as standard practise and shouldn’t cost you any extra money.
Having a fully optimised website suitable for all devices is an absolute necessity for websites in today’s online market.
In Summary,
When it comes to web design, you really do get what you pay for. Granted, using DIY website builders is a cheaper and even free option in some cases. However, just because these companies charge you less money monthly, doesn’t mean you won’t be spending more money in the long run.
Key points to remember when using these site builders:
- For a number of reasons already stated, you could potentially lose customers.
- You don’t own the website.
- The site could be slow and suffer technical issues.
- You could have an unattractive domain name.
- It will be difficult for people to find your website without a direct link.
- Potential customers may get a false first impression of your business.
- Your fees can be increased at any time.
- You won’t have access to Google analytics and won’t know how well it is performing.
- The site is custom tailored to your business and it’s needs.
- It may not be optimised for mobile devices.
So, I suppose this is where our little sales pitch comes in. Well If you’re looking for a website for your business or creative project, then why not get in touch with us here at Synergize Design. Let us help you avoid wasting any (more) time on DIY builders and get the most out of a professional website. Call us on 07973300063 or visit our website at synergizedesign.com. Alternatively, you can find and chat to us on Facebook.