The idea of building your own website sounds like a great idea, right? Presumably, a DIY project means you get complete control, you get to work at your own pace, it’s affordable, and the list goes on and on. Sure, it’s tempting, but the reality is that this task is no easy feat. After all, if it was that great, wouldn’t we all be building our own web pages?
The fact is that building a website isn’t easy at all unless you’re already an expert. To get a better understanding of why you should leave this one to the professionals, let’s take a closer look at what all actually goes into a DIY website.
What Is a DIY Website?
These days, most of us have seen those advertisements for DIY website builders. You know the ones – they allow you to build your own site from scratch using set templates with the promise of having your business up in running in a single day. And sure, this standard package can be an easy start or place holder for people and even businesses who don’t yet have a solid hold on what they want or don’t have the budget to create what they really want just yet. But, it’s important to remember that just because it’s easy, doesn’t mean that it’s right for you or your business, as you’re often left with very little control, and therefore a site that’s entirely lacking.
So, is it really worth it? The short answer is no. And, just to drive the point home, here are a few more reasons why you should avoid DIY options:
- Restrictions – The biggest issue with DIY websites is simply that they are limited in appeal. If you use a DIY service, you put yourself at risk of losing out on all kinds of great features for content, design, and, perhaps most significant of all, SEO. This means that your newly built site may not even be seen by your intended audience if at all.
- Design – When it comes to design, the offerings of DIY website builders often fall flat with just your run-of-the-mill themes and templates that every other business out there has. There’s simply no option to personalize like you get with custom designed websites.
- Content Features – Another major limitation to DIY websites is that certain content features might not be available within a given template or package. And, if you aren’t able to host the content you wish to share with your audience, what’s the point? For instance, some DIY builders don’t come with a blog feature, an element that many businesses find incredibly useful in not only getting their message out, as they can be key to staying up-to-date with SEO trends, but in engaging their audience.
- SEO – For any business looking for online success, you absolutely cannot afford to ignore SEO, and a solid web design company knows this and can design your website accordingly. DIY sites, however, aren’t often enhanced for SEO, some don’t even have the operating technology to provide discoverable elements about your site to users.
- Domain Names – DIY sites lack the basic functionality to provide you with your very own custom web address (e.g. www.yourname.com). Instead, you’re required to use the domain that the website builder provides, which often ends up overcomplicating the whole thing, making it difficult for users to actually find your site in the first place.
While these are just a few reasons why DIY website design is a bad idea, there are many, many more that can wind up costing you customers and your valuable time. So, hire a firm that will give you full control over your website and its ability to perform so that you can successfully get your message out to the masses.
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