A Cheap Website is Not an Effective Website

The days of the do it yourself website builder have come, but will the cost-effective software solution be here long-term?  The answer is: probably.  The common consumer will always be drawn to the value of being able to save cash anywhere, but we hear more and more stories of people who have become frustrated by the limitations of the do it yourself options.  To be fair, the majority of our clients are small to medium sized businesses in need of a website solution for their business.  The DIY website builders are not the right solution for those types of people; but, having said that, the DIY website builder is still a great option for an amateur blogger.  It's also a great option for a student looking to develop a web-based skill set.  It's just not right for a business owner, and it will always end up costing time and money in the long term.

There are two types of do it yourselfers that come to us.  The first is the small business owner who decided to have a family member build their site.  It's usually a sore subject to bring up, but most business people see dollar signs hovering over their emotions ($$$).  Their niece or nephew built a personal blog with a DIY solution, and it came out pretty good.  It's a common story, and we understand why.  But, with money on the mind, the DIY option has failed them.  The website looks unprofessional, it lacks the functionality needed to sell the product or service; and, adding anything that would save the site is just too hard to figure out.  This type of client is very easy to work with because they now understand the value in our work.  We are almost always able to deliver for this client, and we've had a lot of long-term working relationships with people who have tried the DIY option. 

The second type of do it yourselfer has built their website by themself with no assistance.  This can be a difficult person to speak with because they usually have a pride in their finished product, and that makes our job like walking on egg shells.  They either want us to customize the parts of their site that the DIY tools don't allow the user to do, or they want us to perform an online marketing service to get people to the site.  Here's the problem:  DIY sites were not meant to have developers inside the source code, and it can be awfully tedious to modify a site.  Secondly, online marketing is increasingly difficult with an SEO optimized site; and, even though they promote it, DIY sites are never SEO-friendly.  They are usually short in content, a little dysfunctional in code, and the design always looks awful.  It would be a waste of everyone's time to take on that client.  They spend money on our service, we hardly produce results, they get mad, and we offer a refund.  That is worst case scenario, but it's happen and on more than one occasion.  Worst of all is that they believe a custom built website can be done for under one thousand dollars.

Website builders were built to help non-HTML-savvy people easily add to their website; not to create an entire website from scratch.  And, for that reason, they are still extremely effective.  In fact, all of our custom website projects end on our software platform, which includes a DIY web builder included at no extra charge.  Our clients use them, and they use them effectively.  In fact, we now have DIY landing page generators that include calls to action, contact forms and more.  The point here is that DIY website builders are not for building websites.  They are for adding to websites.  And, the DIY route is not a good solution for a business professional.  They are not for businesses of any size; and, yes, they are for amateurs.  If you're trying to get your food cart off the ground, a DIY website would probably make sense.  If you're doing anything else with the intention of turning a profit, then stop before you start.  A cheap website is not an effective website, and we believe the DIY website solution will disappear in business one day soon.