When it comes to building a website for your business, there are options that don’t require you to learn coding. DIY website builders such as Wix and Squarespace exist to help you create a website in mere minutes. You could also hire a professional website developer if building isn’t your thing. Depending on the type of business you’re in and what you want out of a website, that might be the best route to take. If you’re unsure of what to do, here are the pros and cons with using DIY website builders vs. professionals.
DIY Web Building: The Pros
- Create when you want to: Because DIY website builders work entirely online, you can build your website anytime, day or night. For people running small businesses or people working from home, this is helpful as you’re likely working during odd hours.
- Little cost to you: Wix is free to use and Squarespace offers a free trial period, with both websites offering reasonably priced premium plans.
- Having a wide variety of templates to choose from: DIY website builders have many website templates available that suit a wide variety of industries. From business to photography and wedding pages (plus so much more), you can have a dazzling website in just a few clicks, drags, and drops.
DIY Web Building: The Cons
- Limited customization: According to an article written by Andrea Ferguson on her website AndiSites, “once you choose a Wix template, you’re stuck with it–you have to start from scratch and build a new site in order to have a different design.” In addition to being bound to your first website template, despite the many choices at your disposal, these builders may not have the exact look you want for your website. Maybe the pre-made templates just aren’t cutting it for you.
- Lack of results: DIY website builders may give you the prettiest website on the internet, but it means nothing if people can’t find it. This is because they lack in key SEO features, such as researching keywords, targeting, optimizing your titles and pictures and much more, according to an article on Conversion Strategies Inc. The goal of your website is for people to find it, so consider these factors when you’re working with a DIY website builder.
- Dealing with unnecessary features: Something else to think about is your free/basic plan could come with features you don’t want, such as ads, Ferguson explains. There’s a chance that “every time a user views your site, they’re going to hear or see an ad, often placed in the header or footer of your site.”
Using a Web Professional: The Pros
- Your website will be tailored towards you: If you have a specific look you want for your website that a DIY builder can’t quite provide for you, it’s time to turn to a professional. They will turn your vision into a reality. According to Conversion Strategies Inc., “A great website designer will take the time to understand your business, not just the niche you are in but also what is unique about YOUR business, and then design and build a website that’s customized to you. This is very different than having to stuff your business into a pre-designed and predetermined box.”
- Web designers know the ins-and-outs of technology: This means they can design the more complex parts of your website and help with updates or problems that DIY builders can’t.
- Having your website be found: Professional web designers will be able to help you with SEO tactics and generating leads so you can be found online by others faster. Even better according to Conversion Strategies Inc., “one of the many benefits of hiring a professional web designer is that they should understand how to maximize local SEO so your business comes up in a variety of Google searches.”
Hiring a professional has one real con and that is of course, money. According to Conversion Strategies Inc., “most web designers will charge a one-time cost to custom design and build your website. You can expect the cost to be a minimum of $2,000.00 and can go up to $10,000.00 or more, depending on your specific business needs and [the] type of web designer you contacted.”
Can your business afford not to be found online?
Getting your website up and running quickly does not equal quick results. There’s much more to a website than simply uploading some photos and text.
Many small business owners are quickly disappointed when they don’t see results from their DIY website efforts.
You can build the most beautiful website in the world, but it won’t matter much if no one sees it. There is more upside to hiring a web professional, not just for proper branding and design, to guidance with proper optimized content and search engine optimization (SEO). Additionally, your web professional can provide monitoring and fixing of issues that arise, they can work with you on lead generation strategies, keyword research and targeting, user analytics and so much more.
Hiring a web professional may require a significant financial investment, but a well-planned professional website that focuses on your business & goals, will pay for itself in increased business and a better, more professional online presence.
