Starting and running a business in Atlanta isn’t cheap, and it can be tempting to take the DIY route when it comes to website design. After all, you reason, you can probably knock out a decent website in a few hours and save a bundle. Your clients don’t care about a fancy site as long as you’re doing high-quality work-right? The truth is that your site’s appearance is just one of many reasons why DIY’ing your small business website design is a bad idea. Before you opt for a free template from Wix or GoDaddy over hiring a professional, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting-and not getting. Here are 7 reasons Atlanta small business websites should never be DIY.
1) You won’t own the site you create.
Platforms like Wix, GoDaddy, and Squarespace require you to create, edit, and host your website on their servers, meaning that all your photos, text, and other files are essentially theirs. If their servers are down, so is your site. If they go out of business, you’re out of luck.DIY site builders are cheap because they’re just renting negligible server space to thousands of business owners just like you.
2) DIY websites are cookie-cutter websites.
“Choose from hundreds of professionally designed templates!” sounds great until you realize that your site is likely to end up looking just like hundreds of others (and maybe even some of your competitors). The savings just isn’t worth sacrificing your small business’s unique identity and value proposition.
3) DIY site providers don’t know you, your city, or your clients.
Personal interactions and even local knowledge are key when it comes to effective small business website design. At Red Tree Designs, we take pride in getting to know our clients, their business, and their goals, and it makes all the difference. Whether you’re a doctor in Decatur or a baker in Buckhead, who and where you are is critical to designing exactly the right Atlanta small business website.
4) There’s no (or limited) customer support.
DIY websites depend on their hosts (like Wix) to ensure the platform’s coding can support any changes to integrated tools (like a shopping cart). If new browser updates, for example, are incompatible with your DIY website, you could spend hours trying to get help from tech support (or worse, Googling the problem). With a professionally designed site, you’re a known, valued client-not just one of thousands.
5) DIY websites are not mobile-responsive.
2019, the average American spent nearly three hours per day on their smartphone, and that number continues to rise. Chances are, prospective customers are viewing your website on a mobile device-and forming their first impression of your business. If you used a DIY website builder, that impression may be less than stellar: platforms like Wix and Squarespace don’t offer mobile-responsive design, potentially leaving you with slow load times, awkward layout, and-worst of all-user frustration.
6) You’re getting what you pay for-especially when it comes to functionality.
Do you want to accept payments on your site? Book appointments? Maybe offer virtual tours of your facility? All of these require third-party integrations that DIY site builders may not support (or support only limited functionality). Worse, you may be required to use a specific software chosen by the platform you’re on (Wix, etc.). And finally…
7) You’re not a website designer.
You wouldn’t just pick someone “good at math” to be your accountant. And when it comes to something as important as your small business’s online presence, you shouldn’t trust anyone but an expert. Don’t waste your time trying to do it yourself when you can entrust your online presence to an experienced professional and focus on growing your business.
With over a decade of experience, Red Tree Designs has created dozens of Atlanta small business websites. We can do the same for you! Contact us today to get started.
