Squarespace. Wix. Weebly. GoDaddy. These do-it-yourself website services have come a long way since they first arrived on the scene, so much so that they’ve become a common approach to creating a web presence for many small businesses. At first glance it’s understandable. Choosing to build your website yourself with their easy-to-use templates and free add-on offerings seems like a no-brainer. But is it really?
In the age of DIY third-party web design and digital marketing platforms, why even bother working with a professional firm like Blink;Tech? We posited this question on our social media accounts, hoping to start a dialogue as to why it is still important to use professional web design and marketing services, and in this blog, we want to further that conversation.
Advantages and Disadvantages of a DIY Website
You may be using a DIY web service now. Believe it or not, we’ve tried them too. We are always assessing what’s available out there to make sure we are bringing the best value to our clients. There are so many options for web design and digital marketing that it would be crazy for us to think that there’s only one perfect way to do business nowadays.
Drag-and-drop design templates, easy to access images, a seemingly endless vista of options… all things that make DIY site builders so appealing to someone new to web design. And if you have a simple, single-page, informational website, honestly, the user-friendly simplicity can serve you well.
However, for those who have more substantial business goals a site builder can become cumbersome, limiting, pricey and infuriating, especially when the “small print” comes into play. In our modern web-centric world, even small businesses require complex marketing functionality from a website to succeed.
From our hands-on experience, most site builders cannot accommodate the next level client who might need advanced functionality, API integration, or even something as simple as multi-level navigation. Many also don’t offer stringent security or backups for restoring a site when problems do arise, which can be a game changer when your website is no longer available to your clients.
And when a growing business does come up against an unacceptable wall of limitation with a DIY website building service, the most frustrating and expensive problem rears its ugly head: you cannot export your website data!
Basically what this means is that you have no access to your data that is on their database. Working with a more professional platform means that you can not only export your data, but quite often your site can be rebuilt on another server or host for minimal expense and downtime. We cannot say it enough – “make sure you own your data!”
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Pro-built Website
There is only one disadvantage to having a website built by a professional firm: cost. At the outset, the DIY site builder service will always be cheaper, and because of this, many growing businesses opt to take this route rather than working with a professional firm. And everything is peachy until their business outgrows the limitations of the site builder.
The inflexibility of site builders, their lack of digital marketing functionality, and the impersonal experiences with site help has caused many business owners to turn back to professional firms. This is the rude awakening of the extra time and cost involved in rebuilding your current site from scratch since the data could not be exported. Even if you change from one professional firm to another, if the new firm has a good development staff, minimal work should be involved.
Lastly, a professional firm can build a website that is scalable. As the business grows, so can the website and marketing because it was designed to do so by the development team. Even if at first the website is just focused on basic startup needs.
In the end, the costs are steady and known with a professional firm and you have both ownership and control over your data. With DIY website building services, if their monthly fee goes up, you will be facing a much larger bill to move to a professional platform than if you had first chosen that option in the beginning.
Why Choose Blink;Tech?
So why should your company choose Blink;Tech? The ability of a firm like ours to optimize a website for your current needs while also focusing on your long-term success comes from years of experience and knowledge that a DIY site builder just can’t offer you.
While your company may want to find the most cost-effective way to launch an online presence, it’s imperative to understand the strengths and weaknesses of both who you hire, what you’re capable of in-house, and how those costs resolve in the end. A firm like Blink;Tech offers a team of highly-experienced marketing and web development professionals that understand what it takes to reach your digital goals. We have been in business for over 15 years and have seen the changes of the web landscape, as well as other providers, come and go. This understanding allows us to grow with your business, scaling your web presence effectively and productively.
At Blink;Tech, we consider you a partner: our bottom line is your bottom line. By choosing a professional firm like ours over DIY site builders, you end up having more control over your web presence, more awareness of business opportunities, and most importantly, the ability to respond to those opportunities to make sure the future of your business is bright.
Call Blink;Tech today and see what we can do for you!
