Using Free Website Builders are Not a Path to Digital Success
June 9, 2020
Success in the digital realm requires more than fast & free.
Digital accessibility is the trend of trends in the age of the internet. With the desire to develop side gigs into full-scale businesses and blog-style journaling at an all time high, it seems like everyone needs a website now. While the market answered the demand for fast, free website creation via build-you-own services, are those services the best way forward to your digital success?
Starting with the basics of free website builders – they are free, generally quick to set up, and come without much support. While each building service comes with its own set of instructions, most have the same basic restrictions.
- Page limits – Most commonly, free services some with page limits. This means that you cannot build the in-depth, interesting site that your passion deserves.
- Limited templates – The amount of design options with free-builders is restricted heavily. While many of the designs are clean and efficient, how many other websites will have the exact same look as yours? While you can often change the color pallets for your website, the design is likely to be the same as countless other users of the building service you’ve selected.
- No custom domain names – Free builders do not allow you your own domain name. While this may not feel like a detriment at first, the impression of “yourbusiness.freebuilder.com” is felt by potential clientele.
- Free-builder self-branding – There is no escaping the branding from free-builder sites. Whether the branding is a set of badges to be placed throughout your site, or a favicon (the small avatar next to the website title in the tab) that represents the building service, the service that you used to build your website will make it known to your clients that you used a free service.
Many e-critics will credit free website building services as being a good starting block for developing a business’s internet presence, but those services leave you just there – the starting block. If you’re looking to run the whole race, the internet marketplace is an environment where you generally get what you pay for. When searching for the best options in your web-development needs, be sure to make sure you’re getting what you know you need. Paying for website building should include:
- Ad-free options – Unlike free-builders, paid services come with the option to leave your website ad-free. If you would like to generate ad revenue on your website, you can choose the placement and sometimes the advertisements themselves.
- Service bundles – When working with a paid service, whether it’s build-your-own or not, you should be given options to bundle the cost of building, hosting, and optimizing your website. This becomes especially important when seeking Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your business. Paying for web development often comes with SEO options that free-builders will neglect.
- Customer service – For the betterment of both you and your customers, paid services will come with vital professional support for your website. Many paid services also monitor your site for you, lowering the risk of problems lingering under your nose.
As the shape of the internet remoulds and adjusts to market demands over time, the need to stand out above the competition will continue to grow. While more free website builders continue to launch, the monotony of preselected designs will become more glaring. If you’re seeking web success for your business, MysticMedia Dot Com has the tools to help you down the path; please contact us for any of your web-service needs.
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