Should I Use a DIY Website Builder?
When a business first sets up or is thinking of updating its online presence, one of the key areas that needs to be considered is whether they are going to opt for a DIY website or a custom design website. There are pros and cons for each method, especially for start-ups where the budget constraints might be such that they require the cheapest solution possible.
The DIY Website Builder
With DIY website design you basically get the building blocks for you site such as the CSS design templates and various plugins which you can add on to give you more functionality. They are widely available and are relatively easy to set up. Examples would be Wix or GoDaddy which advertise on national TV.
DIY website designs are great if your requirements are pretty simple and you have a reasonably good idea about what you are doing. The trouble is, if your needs are more complex then there is a high likelihood that you will get things wrong, not only with areas such as metatags and site maps, but the entire structure of your site.
A Custom Designed Website from Experts
The other option, of course, is to go for a custom design where a website design company drill into your needs and what you want to achieve with your online presence and then develop a tailored package on the back of this.
If you want a stronger SEO presence online, then a custom design is much better because search engines such as Google get more out of the underlying code than they do with DIY website designs. In other words, custom sites are more robust and come with premium structure.
It’s all about the things you don’t see in custom web design parlance, the “back end”. All this stuff is there to impress search engines such as Google which is actually pretty interested in the deeper workings of websites.
- If you want a unique presence online, customizing your website is the way to go.
- It gives you more control over important SEO and the underlying structure and navigability of your site.
- A good website design company will be able to raise issues that you may not have thought about that could have a huge impact on the popularity of your site and your online presence.
- Your website design will be up to date and fit for purpose and you won’t be stuck with a template that doesn’t quite match your needs.
A custom design is delivered by experts who know what they are doing which means you can include all those value added extras you need as well as keeping on track with all the best practice that impresses today’s search engines.
DIY Websites – The Problems!
The major problem with DIY website options is that they often don’t give you the scope that your business actually needs. You have to undertake a large amount of research to find out what’s best for you rather than going straight to the expert who will be able to talk you through the process and explore your full range of needs.
It may seem like the most cost effective measure, particularly in the start-up phase, to buy a site off-the-rack but, in the long term, it could damage your ability to attract customers, engage them effectively and get yourself up the rankings so that you are more visible.
Talk to us about a new website, do the professional way and see the difference in your new website – 01484 940 400
