When you’re starting a business, or when it’s time to invest in an update to your website design, you may be tempted by a DIY template. With lower costs and a quicker time-to-market, plus a host of color schemes and design options, you may think, “Hey, I can do this myself!”
If you didn’t hear the dread-inducing music, it may be because most of us don’t know enough about website design to know the pitfalls of the DIY option.
Think of your website as a vehicle for making a first impression. Most visitors will take less than one second to determine whether they want to do business with you. Some of the most obvious offenders include:
- A page that is slow to load, and buttons that, when clicked, take too long to take the visitor to their desired page
- Design that is confusing or makes one of many design mistakes, including the improper use of white space or a lack of user-friendliness
- Design layout that looks undeveloped or chaotic
Even when you’re being walked through the process of website design by an online builder, you’ll likely still make some mistakes. The real problem is that you won’t know you’re making them. Remember Ross and his keyboard “talent?” Everyone else was horrified, but he had no idea. It’s likely because he never had any real music training, so his own creation seemed beautiful to him, and to him only.
Don’t be a Ross. Your website needs to be developed by someone familiar with the metrics that measure website design effectiveness. Areas like SEO functionality and mobile optimization, as well as small items that act as clues that you used a DIY site builder can all create added cost around website design.
The DIY option may seem like a great deal, but there are several reasons why it will cost you more in the long run. Not only are they not customizable for your business, so you’ll spend hours tinkering and trying to get it to do what you want, but it’s also less secure and requires an upgrade sooner than a custom website design.
In addition, it’s hard to quantify the opportunities lost through slow loading times, a lack of user-friendly design or an overall cheap appearance to your website.
If you’re looking for a website design that works hard for your company without breaking your budget, talk to our team at SJC Marketing. We have options that fit every size of business to help you meet your goals.