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Why You Shouldn’t Build Your Own Website

The Super Bowl was earlier this month, and if you’re anything like most of the Smarter Searches team, your favorite part is the advertising. The ads were incredible (as usual), and the Audi, Bud Light, and Kia ads were a few of the most popular among our team. However, there was one Super Bowl ad that we couldn’t ignore — Wix.com. It wasn’t because of Jason Statham, his beautiful partner Gal Gadot, or their hardcore martial arts moves — it was how easy the company made building a website look.

Website building tools like Wix promote the idea that creating a website should be easy and cost-effective. All you have to do is choose from a variety of templates, drag and drop text and images, write a little content, and you have a perfectly functional and visually-appealing website…right?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Yeah, we know you might be thinking, “Of course this agency that offers custom-built websites is talking about why people shouldn’t DIY theirs.” But here’s the thing — if you want to increase your traffic, create leads, and ultimately generate a profit, hiring professional help is the way to go.

While there are plenty of DIY projects your business can undertake, building a website isn’t necessarily one of them. Here are three reasons why you might want to think twice about trying to tackle creating a website by yourself:

1. It won’t be customized.

Building a quality website is an art form. The templates on pop-up website builders are basic and not interactive. Think of it like buying a car — the base model is cheaper and it still gets the job done, but if you want a touch screen panel on the dashboard, four-wheel drive, leather seats, and other bells and whistles, you’ll want to go with a higher trim level. If you want extra features on your website in addition to the basic template, you wouldn’t have that option with an online website tool.

In addition, a custom, professionally-built website will be designed for your audience, not for yourself. This means that your audience members and their browsing habits are analyzed in order to create the best user experience for your website’s visitors. A customized website that looks professional and is easy for your visitors to navigate is worth investing in a professional.

2. It’ll cost you time.

It takes a lot of time to build a beautiful, user-friendly website. Even if you are simply using a template and drag and drop techniques, it’s not really something you can get done in an afternoon. However, building the website initially is only half the battle. What if you need to update your business hours, add a blog page, or perform any other type of maintenance? These things take time — time that you could be better spent on your business in other ways.

What happens if your website gets hacked, shuts down, or has dead links? Problems like these can be overwhelming if you are trying to tackle them yourself. When you hire a web developer to build your website, it often comes with technical support and a sense of security. You can rest assured that your problems will be taken care of by someone who is an expert on how to handle them.

3. It won’t get found as easily.

This is the big one. The entire purpose of your website is to get customers to see it — but how can they find it on Google when it’s not one of the first results when they search for the specific product or service you offer? The truth is, there’s a whole science to determining where your site ranks in the search results. Search engine optimization is incredibly challenging and it evolves constantly. Search engine optimization is heavily technical and complex, but a professional web developer knows what to do to increase a brand’s online visibility, something the average DIY-er might not. Furthermore, drag-and-drop type sites often pose significant limitations for developing a long-term SEO strategy because of the simple, heavily templated interfaces they use.

Just because you can do your own taxes, doesn’t mean you should. The same principle applies to building a website. There are certain times in life where it’s better to call in the professionals, and creating a beautiful, user-friendly, and optimized website is one of them. If this is something you may need help with, feel free to reach out to us!