If you have never built a website before, it is understandable you might have fears when considering a new website for your business. However, it has never been more pleasant and simple to create a website thanks to popular website builders such as Wix, Editor X, and Weebly.
Website building platforms make creating websites easier, quicker, and at a fraction of the cost. Sometimes, you will pay nothing for your website other than buying a domain name.
These builders use drag-and-drop features that allow you to move around the content, images, widgets, and other design elements with ease. There is no need to have web design experience and certainly no need to understand complicated programming languages. Whether you want to create a blog, build a portfolio website or start an eCommerce store, you can do it yourself using a website builder.
While website building platforms offer a ton of benefits, they do come with a few disadvantages too. This is why we will go through the pros and cons you can expect when using one of these platforms to build your business website.
The Pros of Using a Website Builder for Your Business Website
You will find many benefits to using website builders but the following are the most important:
More intuitive Design Process
Building a traditional website from scratch requires an in-depth knowledge of programming languages such as HTML or CSS. With a website builder, this knowledge is not required. All you do is move the design elements around the page until you are satisfied. Many platforms also provide hundreds of different templates already designed. You can just customize those to your liking and your site is ready to go.
Much Faster to Design a Website
Drag and drop web builders also ensure your website is ready in the fraction of the time it would take a web designer to build your site from scratch. The process can take a matter of hours rather than weeks. The platform will walk you through the design process too, so you can complete each stage quickly and effectively.
Website Builders Offer Tech Support
While designing a new website is simple on most website builders, there may come a time when you need some assistance. Most popular builders will give you access to a helpful tech support team that can provide the solutions to any issues you are having. You can reach support via a live chat feature or email at most online website builders.
Cheaper to Build a Website
When you factor in web designers/developers, hosting, and buying a domain name, building a website from scratch can cost a lot of money. Website builders offer you the ability to have a website for free. Some will even provide free hosting. Many will let you get additional features in return for paying a monthly subscription.
The Cons of Using a Website Builder for Your Business Website
These platforms provide a web design solution many will applaud. However, it is important to understand some of the disadvantages of using them:
Can Lack Originality
One negative with website builders is that your website is unlikely to be totally unique. Websites start to look the same when everybody uses drag and drop customised website builders. If you want your website to stand out from the crowd, using a generic-looking template from website builders might not be the best idea.
Limited Storage
This depends on the website building platform you use but most only offer a small amount of storage. Still, many give you this storage for free and allow you to upgrade to a paid subscription to get more. If your website is small, this won’t be an issue but if you ‘re planning on having a larger website, you might be better off hiring a web designer to build your site.
Company Branding
Practically every website building platform will insist on their branding somewhere on your web pages. This could be at the top of each page or in the footer of the pages. This might not bother some of you but others may not like this branding as it is aimed at directing your visitors to their own website. However, most website builders offer a paid plan that removes the ads from your site.
The Final Word
As you can see, website builders offer a variety of pros and cons. While they will provide the perfect solution to some, others may want to stick to creating a website from scratch even if it takes more time and money.
There will come a time when you know it is the right time to redesign your website and when that time comes, you should consider whether using a website building platform is the right decision. You can always create a website using a builder first, before coming to a decision on whether to send it live. It will not cost you anything after all. If you think using a website builder is a good option for you, take a look at the best website builders out there and take your pick!