What are web builders?
They’re a DIY option for websites. Web Builders are a type of content management system. There are different kinds popping up all over. They allow users to create a website without knowing code, databases, hosting or design.
How they’re growing.
Many new entrepreneurs search “how to make a website” and find a quick builder site, with a too-good-to-be-true price. This is fine for getting started, but be careful how much equity you build into it.
Below are some of the risks of this DIY Trend.
For our you techy friends
For the purpose of this article, by web builder we mean closed-source DIY user options.
Hidden Fees
Hidden Fees
Builder sites like WIX or Shopify. You’re not saving, affordability is a ruse. Eventually, you pay what you would’ve paid a developer through subscription fees.
They charge to take their name off your site, to run basic features, to use your own domain name, to use forms, to accept payments, to have SEO (which can be fraud), to add any basic function.
You’re Charged for Naivety
Like a mechanic stealing from an unsuspecting car owner. They know you don’t know, so they charge extra. Since non-coders aren’t familiar with hosting plans, maintenance, seo, plugins, etc., they know you’ll pay whatever they charge monthly to run the site. These add-ons would normally be a one-time developer fee or a one time annual fee now run you monthly charges of $50, $200 each monthly. This ads up!
You do the work and paying them
Suddenly, your site has hosting fees and plugins, and you’re paying $$$$ / month forever. So, you’re doing all the work and you’re paying for it for the life of the site. The more necessary it is, the more they can charge.
Why web builders are not a long-term plan
If they were good, we wouldn’t be paid to rebuild these websites.
Just like with business real-estate you have the option to lease or buy. With web builders, you’re forever leasing but instead of the building they own everything inside. When you go to move your store they tell you to start over and leave it all behind.
You don’t Own it
These are permanent rentals, which can be a huge loss if you’re faced with rebuilding years of work.
Closed-source
These sites are closed source. Meaning, they don’t offer access to the code. This makes you dependent upon subscription integrations.
A starter Option, Not a Forever website
After years of work, it can be a hardship to restart, but growth forces change. When your website starts generating traffic, you’re likely to want to expand its features, build more advanced tracking tools into it, and expand the SEO.
As you grow, these investments brings in large traffic flow and the weaknesses of your site become exploited. This is what drives change.
For the technical fans
Slow load speeds caused by large images, unused javascript, and php worker errors all prevent users from accessing your site during peak performance. Limited access to code causes you to up hosting, add paid optimization tools etc. to improve performance.
Can you make money on these sites?
Yes, you can use any website to get clients. However they cost more in the long-run in performance and hidden fees.
Shopify is a good example, you can profit off of shopify and the path to this is faster than a custom build on WooCommerce. However, WooCommerce has one annual fee while shopify charges that monthly. WooCommerce can be designed ( via code) to look as good as shopify. Once there you’re looking at a more profit month-to-month. You can take your WooCommerce anywhere, but Shopify owns your store.
For several reasons, we don’t recommend them. Ownership is the biggest. The ability of a business to control, price, rate-hikes, features, hosting-location, etc. Like all subscription plans once they have you, they raise the rates, add unnecessary fees, and you’re beholden to them for your business.
Why Open-Source is Better
Why open source is better
With open-source content management tools you own the site. You can host it, edit it and expand it without hidden fees. Instead of paying a builder for all these features indefinitely, you hire a developer to build it and configure hosting. Now that you’ve freed up cash-flow monthly you have funds for advanced tools like salesforce or hubspot that build your company. In the long-run you have more control over your site, more options, and more originality.
Who We Use
We almost exclusively develop on WordPress. You can keep your work, access code, and still have all the features of the builder Content Management System.
WordPress is the largest open-sourced content management system and one of the most supported by software service companies.
If you want to park it at a new host, you can zip up the files and take them with you.
Not all WordPress is created equal
Dodgy builder sites can still hold a wordpress hostage, they can force you into a re-used template, and they can certainly dump unnecessary code.
Make sure you work with a refutable company or developer and ask about your options.
Ready for a Professional Website?
If you’re an established business making over 100k a year, it’s better to consider building a custom website. This allows you to make something that grows with your company.