The Downsides of DIY Websites
If you’re in need of a new website, you might be tempted to build one yourself. We get it. This is a way to save upfront cash, and there are several platforms that enable the average person to establish a web presence.
But we don’t recommend doing this. For a number of reasons. Here’s why.
Your Audience Can Tell Something’s Off
User experience (UX) is the most important aspect of a website. Consider it digital hospitality. The whole point of your site is to connect with your audience, build trust, and prompt them to engage with you. But if it’s homemade, it might lack the professionalism and functionality your audience expects, inadvertently tarnishing your credibility and reducing your chances of them utilizing your services.
Creating an aesthetically pleasing website requires an eye for design, and an awareness of design principles. Users can subconsciously tell a website doesn’t look right, even if they can’t quite articulate what’s wrong. And cookie cutter design templates never wow anyone. They’ve seen it before.
Information hierarchy is key, too. Your audience needs the right info, in the right place, in the right way. There’s a skill to this, and a DIY site might have all the necessary information but have it organized in a way that gets lost in translation.
At Mabble, we’re fluent in the art of user experience, designing sites that lead to more clicks, more enrollments, and more sales. We have your audience in mind every step of the way, and can build you a website that gets the results you want.
Your Site Could Have Performance Anxiety
DIY sites are prone to functionality failures. Getting it to run smoothly on different browsers and devices is challenging, and you might get your site to work properly on a PC while the mobile version is hot garbage.
And don’t forget about speed, either. Unoptimized assets can bog down your site, creating just enough lag to cause someone to bounce.
We optimize sites to be blazing fast, functionally sound, and perform at the highest levels. Every millisecond counts.
You Might Be Building the Right Site for the Wrong Strategy
Effective websites are built on a sophisticated strategy. This requires research on market competitors, aligning business and website goals, and identifying metrics of success.
We do the hard work to develop a solid strategy in the planning stages, ensuring that every site we build will hit the right target.
You’ll Waste Your Time
How much is your time worth? Is building your own website distracting you from working on the company your website represents? Plus, you might eventually have to pay someone to fix the site you built, wasting more time and costing more money in the long run.
By hiring us, you not only save the energy that goes into building a site, you free up your time to focus on what matters most. That’s a pretty wise investment.
You Could Get Hacked
Creating a secure website is not automatic. Your DIY site can be a sitting duck for cyber terrorists, or any bored 14-year old looking to pull a prank.
We ensure your site is protected, immunizing you from ransomware, data breaches, and any other security threat. Your site is yours. Keep it that way.
If You Build It, They Might Not Come
Creating a website is one thing. Getting people to see it is another. Without a good understanding of SEO principles, the site you spent your energy and time building might get buried by search engines to the point that it might as well not exist.
We are mindful of SEO from the very beginning, setting your site up for success in the competitive digital landscape.
You’ll Alienate Users with Disabilities
ADA compliance is a big deal. Not only is it humanitarian to make your site as accessible as possible for the most people possible, it can cost you if it’s not. If your site is restrictive for those with disabilities, you can be prone to litigation.
Our web team is certified and experienced in accessibility. There’s a science to ADA optimization, and a lot of technical details to keep in mind. Whether it’s the copy, strategy, media, or branding, we build websites for all folks to perceive, understand, and operate by eliminating as many barriers as possible. This is the right thing to do, for humanity and for the law.
You Have No One to Blame… but Yourself
Once a site is built, web maintenance begins. If you make a DIY site, and problems arise, it’s on you. And issues are bound to arise, whether it’s a third-party plugin that fails, a link that breaks, or a design element that trips out.
But when you hire an agency like Mabble, and your site malfunctions, we take the responsibility to fix it, saving you the headache and getting your site running smoothly without delay. And we do everything we can on the frontend to eliminate potential problems in the future.
The Bottom Line—Do It Right the First Time
Having a professional build your site is an investment, but it’s worth it. In the long run, it’ll save you time, money, and hassle. And you’ll end up with a website that you’re proud to share with the world.
The possibilities for web design are endless, and we have the experience to create a unique online experience for your audience that gets you the best results. Contact us today to get started!