Business Opportunities and Internet Marketing Systems that Don't Work |
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Online Web BuildersWe are not talking about HTML software here, we are talking about online do it yourself web building services.Most online web builders come with a monthly fee. There are a few free ones out there though, usually they come along with hosting, and the company tries to persuade you that it makes your hosting more valuable.I suppose that sounds a little negative. And it is true that I have no great opinion of web builders! There are too many reasons why they just don't produce a fully functional and effective website, and why they will stand in your way of presenting a good image for an online business. Many free hosting services offer a web builder. I don't recommend free hosting for any business that seriously needs to earn. Since professional quality business hosting costs less than $10 per month, it is hard to justify using a free service that interferes with your marketing messages, displays ads for your competitors, and which tells your clients that you are not serious about your business. But back to web builders. Basically, they do the same thing that free hosting does - they interfere with your ability to convey an effective marketing message. So far I have not seen one that does not have most, if not all, of these annoying limitations: 1. They are template driven. This means that you pick a template out of a page of templates, and use that. Simple, but no flexibility. Usually they have just a single layout, a few have as many as three different layouts, and otherwise the only difference between the templates is the colors and the stock images that go with them. 2. Since you cannot change the layout, you can only have the menus they give you. Usually that means one menu, sometimes two. Fine for a small site with no plans for expansion. Deadly for a larger one, or for any business that hopes to grow. Navigation and menu arrangements are one of the key elements in making customers and clients feel welcome on your site. 3. You are limited to putting certain things in certain places. You can only put an image where they allow an image to go, and you can only put text where they think it should go. There is no scope for creative placement or image use. 4. The overall layout looks plain no matter what you do to it. This seems to be a result sometimes of inexperience on the part of the user, and sometimes a result of a poor match of site content with template, but even when you do everything possible with the template, it never quite meshes content and template into a cohesive presentation. 5. They typically use space poorly. Since they cannot predict what you will put into the space, they cannot match it to your contents. This means that spaces for titles and headings may be too large or too small. 6. You may be limited to using certain font sizes for certain areas. That reduces the flexibility for use. 7. Typically the sidebar space is used poorly. Many do not allow you to add anything to the sidebars below menus. This is great space for special notices, disclaimers, advertisements, specials notices, etc. 8. Some have limits to how many pages you can build - this is normal for free hosting, and even for some paid hosting that has free web builders. Page limitations are a serious problem for businesses, since a good business site will usually require a minimum of 10 pages to include both standard (expected) info pages, and descriptive business pages. A good site will have room for expansion, and will have regular updates and new information added, to attract additional search engine traffic, and to provide more resources for visitors. A 10 page limitation severely hampers the site's ability to attract traffic long term. 9. The resulting site virtually always looks like it was built by an amateur. Even a professional cannot produce a professional site with one of these - so it is not a matter of ignorance on the part of the user. The software is simply not flexible enough to produce a high quality, integrated, and cohesive marketing message. There are two instances where you might need to use a site builder: 1. When the site is not of commercial importance. If the site is not business oriented, then it won't matter so much. 2. As a temporary means of getting information up in a hurry, while a better site is being constructed. Long term, use of a site builder to maintain a business site WILL hurt your business. If you lack the experience to really know whether this is true or not, take a look at the difference between custom built sites, and those built by web builders, and see which looks more professional. There are a few other services that overlap into this area, which have slightly different issues overall, but which retain the elements of lack of flexibility, no individuality, and serious long term limitations. These include real estate agency template driven services, insurance agency site services, online shopping cart services, blog services that put their ads on your page, etc. Each one will have some useful functionality, but in most cases, their limitations will sabotage the efforts of small businesses for which personality is critical. A large corporation can be impersonal, and can rely on its reputation to overcome that issue. A small business, having no national reputation, MUST be personal. A website that is either coldly professional, OR unprofessional and impersonal, will drive customers away. Services are available for under $500 to set up a flexible site that you can expand yourself, and which allows you a customized template that reflects your business message. Contact us from http://www.firelightwebstudio.com for options. Written by Laura Wheeler, MicroBusiness Website Developer, and founder of the MicroWebmasters Alliance |
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