Your company, regardless of what you do, almost certainly requires a website. Popular website builders like Squarespace and Wix appear to provide an affordable solution: construct your own website for less than an agency or a developer would charge. Why would you pay someone to accomplish something that you could do yourself? (website builder)
I’ll tell you why: website builders are more expensive than their price tags suggest. Using a website builder rather than an agency might cost you credibility, flexibility, fresh sales leads, and, most importantly, time.
It’s up to you as a business owner to decide whether these fees are justified, so let’s look at why individuals use website builders in the first place.
What Is a Website Builder and How Does It Work? (website builder)
Website builders are tools that enable people to design websites without knowing any programming languages. They frequently include “drag-and-drop” editors for generating pages, giving users a pleasing visual experience. The idea behind website builders is to provide users with a DIY alternative for building their own website rather than employing a developer or agency to do it for them.
What Are the Advantages of Using a Website Builder?
The following are some of the advantages that companies that provide website builders as a service frequently tout:
User-Friendliness (website builder)
Drag-and-drop editors in website builders are objectively easier to use than learning a programming language. They have a very gentle learning curve, in particular. Anyone who knows how to use a computer and a web browser will have no trouble picking up these tools.
Infrastructure & Maintenance (website builder)
Companies that sell website builders frequently say things like “You’ll never have to worry about fixing or upgrading anything again.” Most of the time, these services will manage all of the software that your website uses behind the scenes, so you won’t have to do anything manually.
Costs incurred up front
Page builders appear to be the less expensive alternative when compared to hiring a web developer on an hourly basis or signing a contract with an agency. At the time of writing, Squarespace’s options vary from $12 to $40 per month, while agencies will want a bigger down payment to get started.
What Is the Cost of Using a Website Builder Rather Than an Agency?
Paying an agency to design your website may appear to be more expensive than utilizing a website builder, but what will it cost your company if you chose the latter?
A Professional Appearance
The process of selecting fonts, colors, layout, and positioning for pieces on your website (as opposed to web development) is known as web design. While website builders allow you to avoid having to know how to program, they won’t make you into a designer on their own.
Hiring an agency ensures that the designs for your website are created by specialists. Designers understand how to blend your company’s uniqueness into your website, which helps to reinforce your brand. Self-designing pages may result in an amateurish appearance, perhaps diminishing your credibility with visitors.
Making your site appear credible and professional is the first step toward gaining trust.
— Nielsen Norman Group’s Aurora Harley
Customization
It’s by design that website builders are black boxes. Because the purpose of a website builder is to allow people with little or no technical experience to develop websites, the inner workings of these platforms are deliberately hidden. As a result, the amount of customizability for these sites has come to a halt.
It’s not uncommon for a Squarespace or Wix-based company to outgrow the platform in some way. This is especially prevalent when a company wants to move to an online storefront or an e-commerce website. While some website builders include these tools, their rigidity can prohibit users from achieving their goals.
Pre-designed templates, which are frequently included with website builders, can limit your creativity. You’re usually forced to use a template for your pages, some of which can’t be changed or customized at all.
While this rigidity may be acceptable to some, it may be unacceptable to others. It’s difficult to tell if the tools provided by website builders are the proper tools for you if you lack technical knowledge.
Agencies, on the other hand, can provide technologies that will not limit your creativity. They’ve worked with clients before, listening to their needs, recognizing obstacles, and deciding on the ideal platform to fit your goals, objectives, and budget.
Decision-Making Based on Analytics
“Built-in analytics” is another feature that website builders like to offer. This usually translates to a simple approach for consumers to integrate Google Analytics and Google Search Console with their websites. While being able to establish these tracking systems is beneficial, making judgments about how to use that information necessitates a significant amount of knowledge.
Analytics tools and how to evaluate data are familiar to website development businesses. They can provide you advice on how to increase traffic to your website and convert more visitors into leads. To put it another way, an agency knows how to put together a strategy to help your company prosper online.
It’s Your Turn
When it comes to page builders vs. agencies, the most important trade-off is how you spend your time.
When picking a website builder, think about if you have the time to do things yourself. Do you have time to learn how to create professional-looking sites or to become familiar with a variety of analytics platforms? Do you have the time to mess around with a website builder’s e-commerce tools, and would it be okay if you squandered that time only to find out what you needed wasn’t possible?
If the answer to any of those questions appears to be “no,” it’s critical to comprehend the trade-off you’re making. It’s possible that your site won’t appear as professional as you’d like, or that it won’t generate much traffic. Some visitors may be put off by the e-commerce tools provided by your website builder.
These are additional expenses that should be considered while making a decision.
What is the best option for me?
These compromises are acceptable to some people. If you’re beginning a blog about your favorite hobby, those things probably don’t matter. Small enterprises, particularly those in competitive local markets, should exercise greater caution. Hiring an agency could save you time, money, and stress in the long run.
Source: website builder