Anyone can make a nice looking website design, trying to make their business stand out on the web. You don’t have to take our word for it – just turn on your TV (or visit YouTube), and watch one of the dozen ads that show you how “easy” it is to create your own website.
The only problem? This isn’t a good solution for the vast majority of business professionals out there, who need their website to be a marketing tool, and not just a nice design. DIY websites help you save money in the short term, but at an incredible cost to your growth and bottom line.
To help you understand why, and to keep you from making a very expensive mistake, we want to shed some light on the two major problems with DIY websites-building platforms…
Problem #1: DIY Websites Just Aren’t Sturdy or User-Friendly
The most valuable thing a custom website designer does for you isn’t putting pixels onto pages in a way that looks nice; it’s getting to know your business, your customers, and your goals. With that information, they can start to create layouts and flowcharts that move visitors from one idea or interaction to the next.
In the industry, we refer to this as information architecture or usability. It’s all about increasing engagement and conversions. That means you get real business results from your new website, not just a few pictures that seem vaguely interesting.
You don’t get any of that research or planning with the DIY website. Instead, you get lots of extra coding for features you don’t need. So instead of driving new leads and sales, your pages just get slower and harder to view on certain screens or devices. That’s certainly not a recipe for long-term Internet marketing success.
Problem #2: Cookie Cutter Websites Do Not Stand Out
DIY website templates are built to appeal to the widest possible audience of business owners. That means they have to look just sharp enough, at first glance, to seem credible. However, it also means they aren’t customized enough to be distinguishable from one another. This increases the chance that your closest competitor could have the same website design that you do. Well that would be awkward…
Whether you’re marketing to customers through Google, Facebook, or some other platform, your closest competitors are literally just a click or screen tap away. Industry observers point out that you have less than three seconds to impress a potential customer before they take their attention elsewhere. Why would you waste your valuable chance to make a first impression by showing buyers a website that looks like it could belong to any other business?
Customization is becoming increasingly important to digital marketing. Your website needs to stand for your company and your brand. It has to jump off the screen for your customers to take notice. Otherwise, you don’t have anything that’s useful from a sales or lead generation perspective.
Don’t Fall for the DIY Website Hype
It’s very easy to understand why business owners and marketing managers like the concept of DIY web template services. Who wouldn’t be attracted to the idea of getting a visually appealing Internet presence without paying the cost of a professional design team?
Once you get into the details, though, building your own website is roughly on par with giving yourself dental care in terms of money-saving wisdom. It might keep more cash in your pocket, but you’re going to be pretty disappointed with the results – with some sharp pains in the beginning and a growing sense of regret over time.
If you’re serious about using the power of the Internet to grow your business, then make a small but serious investment in the cornerstone of your digital marketing campaigns. Contact our experienced creative team today to show you how we can turn our expertise into bottom-line results.