Should You Consider Using A Website Builder Or Hiring A Website Designer?
If you want to be able to create your own website but have a limited budget, then a website builder is a great
choice. Website builders are the right solution for individuals and small businesses to start a website without expense of hiring a developer.
Today there are so many web design tools available at very low or next to no costs, that many people are realizing that it is possible to design your own website even without any advanced design skills.
This is possible though the use of website templates. Most website builders offer an intuitive drag and drop user interface to build your new website.
There are many things to consider when selecting a website builder. It should be use and enterprise-grade
infrastructure for hosting your website. This allows you to focus on growing your business without worrying being
concerned about hosting.
The website designs should be able to accomodate completely all types of content, and be fully editable. Ideally you should be able to use multiple templates for the same website at once.
The website builder should feature pleasing, responsive designs that can also accommodate mobile screensk. It should have deep selling capabilities, including digital downloads like ebooks and audio files
There are 5 important features to consider. They are:
1. Ease of Use – The website builder must be easy to use for absolute beginners. It must come with a drag-and-drop builder, powerful editing tools, and customization options.
2. Pricing – Since it’s a competitive space, we look for which website builder offers the most value for the price.
We ask questions like does it offer a free domain, free SSL, free business email, fully integrated eCommerce
features, etc.
3. Design & Features – We want to ensure that the website builder offers tons of professional website templates that
can be customized to fit your brand. It should offer the flexibility to add other features like Google Analytics,
third-party marketing tools, etc.
4. Customer Support – While the website builders can offer an simply easy to use interface, it is also good to look
at 24/7 customer support is available when you need it.
5. Data ownership & portability – It's important to read up on the terms of service to ensure that your user content
remains yours, and it’s portable should you need to switch.
With the right website builder you can just focus on adding new products and taking care of the daily operations of
your store.
However you may decide that a website builder just isn't for you. You may not have the time or the desire to deal with design or technical aspects involved in the design and creation of a website.
In that case you might want to consider the alternatives indicated below: