Aeon Blog Article - 6-25-14 Why FREE Websites Are a Bad Idea: Now youve probably heard people say that a FREE website is a bad idea. Like many you just didnt totally believe them did you? Of course not! Youre a crafty business owner who can figure things out on your own! You do that all day long and youve been doing it for years, right? You want to save money and youre good at it! Why cant you do it yourself? How hard can it be? And why spend thousands when you can get something for FREE!? A few hours a week, maybe more and youll have a company website that will do the trick, right? WRONG! First of all, when was the last time you saw something that was FREE for your business that was actually worth anything? Id wager there may have been a thing or two, but in general when was the last time anything free (Other than advice) was worth something to you? Now lets not get philosophical here and go into things like Love, Air, Praise, Sympathy. Im talking about material items; things that can be measured for value. And the truth is that while a FREE website is ideal for some, it is NOT ideal for most, especially for a business which showcases its products and services in a marketplace. Why? Well first of all, FREE websites LOOK Free. Over 90% of the websites Ive seen look like they were slapped together by.......an amateur. An amateur. Thats YOU! Honestly it isnt much different when we talk about the plumbing in your home. I mean yes, you could probably watch some videos on YouTube and figure out a LOT of things. You may even be able to re-pipe your entire house! Maybe youre very mechanically inclined and can actually pull that off. But the question that comes up is: Do you honestly trust yourself to do the type of job that will give you total peace of mind? Honestly? Most would say No to that question. And its not because they arent capable of figuring it all out, or do not have the time, its because YOU/They are NOT an expert. Now its true that free website templates do not require you to know anything about websites in order to build one. Its not a requirement – but as having the correct monkey wrench for a specific size of pipe is important, so is a basic knowledge of marketing, design and programming when creating a website. Now when you think about it, what makes a free website so appealing? Cost, correct? After all thats what makes them most attractive isnt it? It’s the fact that theyre free and that pretty much anyone can create one, right? Now again, a FREE website is really OK for some. It is, depending on what you want it for. Say youre a teacher and you want a website so that you can be closer with students, family, friends, or you just want a place where you can post pictures, blog about something, but not SELL anything. This is social, and youre not a business that offers services and products. You just want something that you can call your own and talk about your life and whats going on in it. For YOU a FREE website is perfect! However, if youre a business owner in an area of the world where there are others doing what you do, or selling similar products / offering similar services, a free website will accomplish one thing: It will make you look like every other Tom, Dick and Harry out there. Understand that some of your competitors ARE in fact spending the money on a custom website and are working hard, and doing things by the book to get noticed by the search engines. These competitors are doing what is needed to stand out. They are driving traffic to their websites. They are blogging about their services and products and engaging visitors. A free website will make you look no different than the guy down the block.....who also decided on a FREE website. In all seriousness what you are saying to your customers/patients/clients is that you really are not any different from every other company out there and that your image isnt that important to you. Your website is an official representative of your business. And a free website says: Meh.... Im nothing special, but hey, I can change my background to any color I want! Isnt my design pretty? This is a critical moment as a business owner. If youre reading this you are probably contemplating utilizing free website software and I want you to understand the risk of doing so – here is a breakdown of the pros and cons: Free Website Pros: 1) It’s free! 2) Fairly easy to build it yourself, at your own pace – usually no need for a professional developer. 3) One size fits all – templates can generally provide the basics that you need. 4) FREE. Wait I said that already. Free website Cons: 1) Free websites won’t optimize your site for the search engines. Even “Google friendly” templates won’t do anything for your search engine rankings if you don’t know how to optimize them. 2) Most free website builder services, such as Wix or Site Cube, are actually MORE expensive in the long run with higher monthly fees for hosting. 3) You can’t take it with you: With these hosted website builder services, what happens when you’re unhappy with the service and want to move on? Bad news is, you can’t transfer your website files – which means you’re either stuck with what you have, or you have to build a new website. 4) Longer load times: Since free templates are one-size-fits-all, they require a lot of extra code in order to provide many options to suit many people. Bloated code can greatly contribute to slowing your site down. If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, you risk losing potential business. 5) Limited customization: If you want to customize your website with features that your free template was not built to do, you would need to hire a professional to do it for you. 6) Time consuming: Every minute you spend working on your website is time that you could be spending on what you do best – your business. 7) Free websites arent marketing or design experts. An effective website is structured to provide an experience that is VALUABLE and EFFICIENT for your VISITORS. If you want your website to generate customers, just placing words into a website template that you think is pretty will not cut it. 8) A free website will make you look just like everyone else, and it will make you look like an amateur. 9) Many templates still require a developer to set up properly – complicated user interface, occasional broken parts. What do you do if the website breaks? Yes, they can break! 10) Many free templates are not mobile friendly – over 65% of people who surf the internet do so on smartphones, and your website should be able to handle that traffic effectively. Also, if you’re serious about your search engine ranking, you will need a mobile friendly website (either responsive or dedicated mobile). Google gives preference to responsive websites. Keeping these points in mind, you need to evaluate just how important your business is to you, and whether or not a free website will get you the results that you desire for your business expansion. I hope you all flourish and prosper beyond your dreams! Thanks for stopping by! Tim St. John Managing Partner
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 17:50:46 +0000
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