If you want the job done correctly, and inexpensively, then it’s best to do it yourself (DIY). That’s a point of view many business owners carry around in their minds, but is it always correct?
In some situations, you certainly can save money, or even get a better finished result, by taking a DIY approach. But in other instances, going it alone just leads to more frustration. It’s one thing to change your own oil; it’s quite another to serve as your own lawyer or dentist.
I would advise you to keep that perspective in mind as you consider the growth of do-it-yourself website templates that seem to be advertised everywhere these days. The companies promoting them promise you can have a beautiful, fully-functioning website in just a few hours. Even better, they say you can have one for a few dollars, saving you big money on professional web design fees.
While that might sound like a great deal, the reality isn’t always so straightforward. Here are a few reasons why DIY websites aren’t always the big bargain they are made out to be…
Template Websites Look Generic
Website templates, by their very definition, need to be generic. They aren’t designed for anyone’s business (or even one type of business) because they have to be adaptable to hundreds of thousands of separate companies. That might not be a problem for the developers, but it means you can’t get the customized website you need to make a good first impression on customers.
DIY Web Templates Have Too Much Code
Web template companies like to tell you all the things their sites can do. However, most of the features shown aren’t going to be necessary for your business. So, in the background of your site is going to be lots of unneeded code that slows your pages down, causes conflicts, and could lead to issues with certain browsers or mobile devices. In other words, you get all the problems of a bloated website, without any of the customization to get the features that would actually help your company grow.
With a DIY Website, You Won’t Get Support
Having the support of a professional web design and development team is important. That’s because your site may eventually experience problems (like missing pages, slow performance, etc.), particularly if there is a lot of unnecessary HTML running behind the scenes. Unfortunately, you aren’t going to get any kind of personalized assistance from a web template company. One-on-one problem-solving isn’t something that can be included in a low monthly fee, so you’re on your own if something goes wrong in your business.
Ultimately, You Won’t Save Money with a Web Template
Over the course of time, your DIY website is going to cost you more money than it’s going to save. That’s because you aren’t going to get the sales and conversions you’re hoping for with the web template. Customers won’t be impressed if you seem like an amateur, and they won’t respond. More importantly, a lack of sales is going to cause you to re-evaluate your website. And then, you’ll probably end up paying a team of professionals to start from scratch all over again.
Custom Web Design is the Way to Go
For a brand-new entrepreneur working out of the garage, or a part-time hobbyist, to someone that just needs a basic web presence, a DIY web template might offer a good value. For a business with an eye on earning a positive ROI from your web presence in the future, however, opting for one of these services is both penny-wise and pound-foolish.