DIY Template Builders
Wix, Weebly, WordPress.com, Squarespace, and literally thousands of other do-it-yourself services are online offering free websites for the small business owner, the hobbyist, or anyone new to internet marketing.
At face value, in my humble opinion, they look like great ideas.
In practice, however, using “free” template-builder services can hobble businesses; by giving negative first impressions, losing leads, abandoning Search Engine Optimization capability, lacking ability to process payments, sacrificing much-needed support, and be a huge waste of time, money, and emotional energy.
So you can quickly see how something seemingly-free could end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a few years.
I’ve written other blog posts here about essentially bootstrapping a business for free and why DIY doesn’t work as a approach to business management and marketing, but here I wanted to tackle just some of the reasons why committed business owners should beware of the “free sample” approach to growing a business.
Why Do DIY Template Builders Wreak Havoc?
“You mean I can get a website for free?! I’m definitely going for that!” many people feel immediately, and it may not appear to be a big deal. You get a free website, now you can promote your business online, tell everyone that your business idea now has a site, and best of all, it costs absolutely nothing.
What could be better than that?
In fact, why would anyone pay thousands of dollars (or even tens of thousand of dollars) for a professionally-developed website when you can just go online and get one made for you for free in a few minutes?
Well, let’s dig a little deeper to unearth the truth as to why some business owners are happy to invest for a professional online presence while most still opt for the seemingly-free template…and later either go out of business or live to regret the move.
Value Is Key
Well, the simple reality is that nothing in life is free that has lasting value.
Your job won’t pay you to look out the window and daydream and no professional businessperson will provide any kind of quality work for free.
The Hook
Restaurants may offer you free samples, but they won’t provide meals for free. Dentists may have their receptionist talk to you for a few minutes for free, but no dentist with an education and credentials will fill cavities or perform root canals on your teeth for free. No mechanic will work on autos for free. A lawyer may provide an initial free consultation but it’s primarily to find out what your issue is and if they can help you. That’s the extent of the free offering. (I’ve offered free initial consultations similarly, in the past, but almost always found them to be experiences where a simple email or blog post would answer the potential client’s question which usually is related to budget.)
Even enjoying the beauty of nature requires work to reach certain altitudes, to find best locations, to travel to parks, to get close enough to wildlife to be able to watch them in their natural environment without scaring them away…or pay entrance fees. You pay for transportation, membership, entrance fee or in gas.
So why do these companies offer websites for free? Is there a catch?
The Catch
- That catch is the same as with the other service professions we mention above:
- The mechanic will give you a free calendar, free refrigerator magnets, and pens.
- The restaurant will provide a free chicken nugget or other meager sample.
- The dentist will provide a free chat with his or her receptionist, possibly a free pen, or bottle of water as a gratuity.
- Costco and Whole Foods are famous for offering free samples to customers, banking on customers buying items they otherwise might not.
By the same token, and by the same standard, the catch with free DIY website template generator services is a big one: You “get” a template that is shared by thousands if not millions of other people online and if you want to add any kind of value to it, you will be nickel-and-dimed until you have spent much more than anticipated…and even then, after all of that, what you get in return is an empty handshake: a website that looks cheap, has poorly-written content, little to no Google visibility (which is SEO), and does nothing to promote your business or help it grow.
“But David,” you say, “I love my free website. I know you’re expressing your opinion, and you have experience, but I should never have to pay for web design when I have this!”
The Lure
This is how self-deception begins. You get the free sample, not knowing (unless you’re a professional developer, programmer, internet marketing expert, or someone with extensive digital marketing experience beforehand), that the site that looks so great is actually not what you’d planned.
You’re offered a free empty template for which you can fill in the blank spaces but is that what you really need?
If you’re a business owner, what you need most are more customers calling you. The assumption is that a website, any website, even a blank one with generic content, will attract the customers you need to bring in more revenue.
The truth you’re not told is that you get what you paid for: a blank slate, not more business.
Connecting with Customers Is a Process, Not an Item
Websites are more than just electronic business cards or online brochures; they are where you start the process of internet marketing.
Professional-level websites take weeks and in some cases months just to set up and trouble-shoot, to plug into different social media outlets, and to simply get up and running. Branding must be devised to match company identity, SEO has to be researched and selected or you’ll be invisible to Google searches, long-term campaigns have to be set up and automated in order to compete in large cities, and the more money you need to make, the more effort is needed.
What is offered for free is not offered unconditionally, and no one walks away from such deals unscathed.
Let’s Review Eight Ways DIY Template Builders Are Bad for Business:
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Negative Appearance
While larger, more established businesses have websites that work on all mobile devices (being “responsive”); the free website looks like many others, may or may not work on mobile devices, and often has advertisements promoting other competing businesses on your own website. More consumers today use smart phones and tablets than use PCs or laptops, and are quite savvy and can tell free sites from those businesses that paid professionals to develop for them, those created with care to detail and content and user experience, and those that are created by an automated program.
Consumers stay away from sites that don’t look modern, sleek, and professional. This can cause many to not give your business a chance, and not give it a second look. Think about it. If a consumer visits your site and can’t find what they want right away, why would they come back when they can simply go to Amazon, Google Shopping, eBay, or just go to Google and find another site that gives them what they want?
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Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a necessity. What good is a website if no one can find it when searching Google?
And yet the vast majority of small business websites today have little to no SEO at all and can’t be found online in Google/Bing/Yahoo searches.
So it stands to reason that those businesses that are found in Google searches, and land on the first page of search results, get more phone calls, more in-store visits, and make more money as a direct result.
Most free website template generator services do not provide SEO by default. If they do provide some space for you to type something in, keep in mind that you will not be consulting with an experienced SEO programmer and developer during this experience and you certainly won’t get experienced insight for free. So, you’re essentially guessing as to what your SEO should be, guessing as to who you should be competiting with, and doing that with limited knowledge as to what SEO is and how it works, and may be unable to change what you enter after the fact.
It’s like entrusting an unpaid intern or volunteer with the keys to your business. Why would you knowingly do that?
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Flash Blocks SEO & Limited Tool Box
Everybody loves eye-catching animations and images vying for reader’s attention.
The problems with this, and this is a standard used in many free web template generator services, is that flash effectively blocks SEO from appearing in search engines like Google.
Not only that, but the flash effects won’t work on most mobile devices, can cause browsers to crash, and limit what Google looks for – unique text written by a human being.
So by going with perceived fancy effects, you’re “cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
But if you’re not a developer, you probably don’t know this, and the freebie template generator service providers do not have a personal interest in whether or not your business increases market share.
You’re a number in a very long list of other numbers and the only way to warrant any help is to open your wallet.
And the “help” is limited in scope because the tools you’re using are not equipped to build business so much as they are to provide starter kits.
Now for the sake of playing devil’s advocate here, let’s say that you have a “free” DIY template website that you love. The odds of that template site working on all types of devices equally, being able to take payments for services (in a post COVID-19 reality), or that it will show up on the first page of search results are slim to say the least. Even if flash isn’t used, the idea is to increase lead conversions, not put up a static website, walk away from it, and then hope it attracts customers.
Now, let’s say you’re using a free template that doesn’t have flash. That’s great. Now all you have to worry about is whether or not your template looks professional, works on all mobile devices equally, has content that Google can index and find, and attracts new customers by itself fast enough to gain traction. Let’s say that these requirements to gain traction are no problem for you, “free” DIY template builder websites often have tool sets or Content Management Systems (also called a “CMS”) that makes editing your website extremely difficult, can make backing-up a website difficult to impossible, or just have such limited capabilities that you won’t be able to expand features and do more with the website if or when you ever want to automate more features or provide a broader depth of services.
This is why no established business has a free, do-it-yourself site.
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Ads for Competitors
Let me ask you a simple question for the purpose of illustrating a point.
If you were starting a business, let’s say for the sake of example, a law firm or accounting practice, would you want your site to have ads all over it for your competitors?
Of course not! Why give their businesses free publicity on your own site!
And yet this is what many new businesses unfamiliar with internet marketing do.
To get rid of the ads costs money.
How much will you be charged?
The answer depends on the service you’re using.
In some cases, you end up paying more per month to eliminate the ads than you would in just getting a professional online presence built right the first time.
Some services don’t put ads on your site unless it gets enough visitors – so the more traffic your site gets, the more ads it has to cover.
Would you respect a doctor if when you entered you saw a jewelry stand in the lobby and stands for other vendors?
Of course not.
But this is the impression that ads on a site create – cheap, generic, and impersonal.
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Domain Names Can Cost Quadruple
Most free sites will give you domain names that don’t look or sound very professional, such as superaccountingfirm.myfreewebsiteservice.com.
To update or change that website address, you have to pay more to change it.
What do you change it to?
That’s up to you.
How much will it cost?
Usually triple or quadruple what it would cost through a hosting company such as Go Daddy, Blue Host, or Host Gator.
How do I know?
Because I’ve tried it and done it and found where one free site service would charge me $50 to change my website address (URL) to a professional-sounding domain name, I could’ve done the same thing on my own through Go Daddy for $2.99 and even get their input on what type of domain name is most preferred.
But again, these template builder companies have to remain profitable, and this is the approach they have to business, and the one that you agreed to use.
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Watch What You Say
When you use a free site service your site is legally their property.
If you post on Facebook, you know for a fact that they update their privacy terms regularly to accommodate their changing policies. They’re not wrong to do this. They’re simply protecting themselves and their investment. If you post something someone doesn’t like, it can be removed. You could be blocked or banned from Facebook.
When you create a business website for your business, whatever you post can be used in commercials or simply taken by that company if they wish to do it.
Would you post company logos on a free site, carefully-crafted writing or white papers knowing another company can have it and use it? New business owners or aspiring entrepreneurs don’t care because they have nothing of value yet.
If you use a DIY template builder site service, if anyone complains about your site for any reason – site is too similar to theirs, you are a direct competitor they don’t care for, any reason at all…they can complain.
Your site, as a result may be removed, deleted, or suspended.
When will it be put back up? What will you have to change?
Again, the answer depends on the service and their terms.
And they don’t owe you an explanation unless it’s stated in their terms and legal conditions.
You used to have a free website for your business and now it’s gone? Too bad! It was free! I’ve had this happen myself, to a very basic, very simple business site. I was never given any reason why the site was taken down, nor informed when it was done, or told when it was restored (years later). Is this how you’d want to run a legitimate business? Just as if you put an ad on Craigslist for free, it can be removed by anyone, for any reason, at any time, and it’s virtually impossible to get a response or explanation from a human.
But again, this is what you get for free.
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Cheap Hosting
The more visitors you site gets, the more likely its free website hosting servers will crash or be “metered.” They’re not set up to handle repeat visits, lots of visits, or visits from lots of different computers/smart phones at the same time and could crash, indicating to consumers your site is down or doesn’t exist, or is just too cheap to be able to work effectively.
Nice message, huh?
So if consumers visit your site and it’s gone, or crashed, or shows an error message, in most cases you will never be notified and the only way to prevent this from happening in the future is to pay more for server space. Much more. More than what regular hosting companies such as Go Daddy or Blue Host would ever charge.
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No Guidance
One of the biggest draws to working with a professional, experienced developer is becoming part of an ongoing internet marketing process that brings in more revenue for your business.
If you own a store, an experienced developer can help craft a strategy, implement that strategy, and build a website that will be found in local searches quickly, cut overhead, and help you prosper long-term.
Corporate agencies offering free template services don’t have a vested interest in your business or in advising you on best practices.
They want you to buy smaller services, pay top dollar for them over competitors, and they deal with thousands if not millions of other people going through the same process daily.
And these same services aren’t poised to change site layouts for you if you want something altered, or advise you in SEO, or how to add eCommerce to your specifications.
So more often than not, you are stuck with what you get, and again, it’s free, so service is at a minimum if it’s there at all.
DIY Template Builders & The Bottom Line?
Some things you just can’t scrimp on, and building a professional online presence for a legitimate business is one of them.
There will always be services catering to the uninformed, inexperienced, economically disadvantaged, and those just trying to save money by cutting off their nose to spite their face – but ultimately you get what you pay for and first impressions make a big impression in the business world where competition is fierce.
Often with SEO, also, it can take months to years to undo and repair damage done to business rankings by amateur DIY creations, and most consumers won’t revisit your site repeatedly to check to see if you’ve now added content, or fixed that weird glitch, or made that contact form work, or finally added eCommerce so they can pay you online, or finally added the ability to work with them remotely. They simply go to the competitor who does do it. Why cede to competitors and leave money on the table when you don’t have to?
Hobbling Your Business Before It Can Walk, Much Less Run
Give your business the strength and integrity it needs by taking internet marketing seriously and investing in the future of your business, empowering it to really flourish.
Work with professionals who know what they’re doing and take pride in forming a partnership with you, and seeing your business grow.
Professional web developers clearly display credentials, references/testimonials, samples, ask why you want certain things over others, try to get to know you as a person, track results, use Google Analytics, and see your success as their success as well.
And, finally, professional web developers and internet marketing experts will want to see you as the business owner, make tangible returns-on-investment.
What’s their motivation?
They know that by helping you to their utmost, their path leads to greater professional fulfillment, more clients in the future (because they’re producing a higher quality of work with greater value and usability, are gaining more referrals as a result, have higher quality work for their portfolios, can charge higher rates because they deliver greater value to their clients, and on and on).
Business owners and professional entrepreneurs and investors and others in business know that printing their own business cards and cutting them out along a dotted perforated line looks bad.
Most don’t this, but many, believe it or not even in 2019, still do. They’re better off without cards at all.
Many restaurant owners will serve up reheated frozen meals to customers, and then scratch their heads over negative reviews on Yelp.
Doctors will be rude to prospective patients, sending them and their money elsewhere.
Mechanics will do shoddy work, plumbers cut corners, and many, if not most business owners who are new to running a business focused on long term profitability will try to create their own websites by using a free service.
Hopefully these eight reasons not to bite temptation’s apple will save many out there from experiencing disappointing experiences and start their enterprises on the right foot.