With so many DIY website builders available these days, a lot of people opt to design their website themselves. This is by far the most low-cost option, but is it the most cost-effective, long-term? The pros of building a website yourself are obviously the cost factor, as well as being able to design something exactly how you want it. So how would you do this? The most popular website platforms people DIY on are Wix, Weebly and Squarespace. Some people also dive deep and head straight into WordPress. The problem with the cheaper options such as Wix and Weebly is that they aren’t just cheap, but they look cheap too. And when you’re trying to run a professional looking company, it doesn’t give a good image to your brand. Probably one in every 5 or so jobs we take on are rebuilds from people who have previously designed a Wix or Weebly site themselves. What’s even more frustrating is when the client has previously paid a designer who has built a Wix or Weebly website. It’s definitely not industry standard, and for good reason. Yes, we’re biased against these platforms. Like a third of the entire internet, we build our websites using WordPress. This is for a few reasons, in particular, including
- WordPress is self-hosted, which means that we are not limited to their servers hosting our website. Many cheap website hosts can lower your ranking possibility in Google and other search engines. Generally the better the host, the faster it will take to load your website.
- The possibilities for functionality are endless. If you want some feature on your website, chances are that someone has already created a plugin to do just that. And if it’s not 100% what you need, it can be simple to customise it.
- When configured correctly, WordPress is fantastic for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Visually it’s easy to customise in terms of layout and style. You can use pre-made themes or create your own. And if a visual page builder is installed it’s extremely easy to make updates.
Obviously, we recommend that you hire professional Digital Marketing Companies to build your website, so you can achieve your full potential and get the best result. A professional website designer will do the research required to understand your industry and your target market, they also know the best practices, tips and tricks and know what is required to help convert leads. There is much more to designing a website, than simply making it look good. If you are going to DIY your website, please stay away from Wix and Weebly and consider using WordPress. Check out our 5 Essential WordPress Plugins to help you along. We also strongly recommend using the Divi theme and page builder.
