Custom Website Design vs. DIY Website

 

Set Yourself Up for Long-Term Success and Don’t Go With the Flow

DIY platforms like Weebly, Squarespace and Wix all give you the tools you need to design and build your basic brochure website. They fill that need and offer a broad range of options for the DIY (do it yourself) website market.

The tricky thing is in DIY. By building a website by yourself without previous experiences or by using these platforms you literally trying to talk to your potential clients with a blindfold. Your website is usually the most important place where all potential clients and customers will purchase a product or make an inquiry.

 

 

The difference between custom made website and using DIY platforms like Wix and Squarespace is same as the difference between having a website generating greater engagement and measurable results and being present on the internet with your basic brochure website.

 

 

Will DIY platforms do that for you?

Do you want to implement online store or paid membership? Do you need help with local SEO strategy or do you even need someone who will implement it for you as well? Do you need help with new Facebook Pixel implementation so you can track, measure and optimize your Facebook campaigns?

In case of my clients all it takes is few skype calls and the rest is up to me. My clients can focus on what they do best either its running a yoga studio in Morocco, kitesurfing camp in Tarifa or a marina in Gibraltar.

 

My clients can focus on what they do best!

 

Don’t understand me wrong, these platforms are tools. Much like screwdriver; if you need to fix something in the house it will do the work its designed for no doubt about it but try to build a solid house with it and soon or later you will find out that you need more advance tools or maybe even someone who know why and how to finish the project the way it will serve you the way you want.

 

With years of experience, I know what works!

 

Where DIY Website Platforms fail

 

If you look under the hood on most of these websites, you’ll see an untrained web marketer in action.

Below is just few examples of what I found after spending 10 minutes on Weebly’s Featured websites page:

• One website named their primary homepage image, ‘presentation.jpg’ with an alt tag ‘picture’. Their product images are just as generic; ‘29686-product_6_small.jpg’ and no alt tag.
• Someone should tell one Weebly customer their site is completely broken and that when I open it, music immediately starts to play.
• Another Weebly customer might want to incorporate some way of capturing emails for her wedding planning company. Because no newly engaged bride-to-be spends time researching event planners or needs advice on planning a wedding.
• Another uses 100 words in their Meta Title and keyword stuffs it.

 

These platforms can help with things like the basic user experience, email automation and analytics reporting, but they still expect the business owners to do things themselves. They’re a tool, not an experienced UX designer or expert on SEO and Facebook marketing.

 

I have seen some pretty cool looking Squarespace websites and bookmarked them as inspiration. But when you look how these websites are structured and what they are missing in term of advanced SEO techniques, page speed, responsiveness etc. you start realizing what is the difference between having an online presence and having a website focused on generating greater engagement and measurable results.

 

Results Driven Website Strategy

 

 

While I am building my client’s website, I consult with them and guide them through the process.

 

I am the guy with right tool to build a stable house, so they can focus where is their biggest strength. In building a business and relationship with clients and students. 

 

I help choose the right photos, optimize them, add alt tags, then rename the file from ‘5839.jpg’ to ‘ibiza-yoga-retreat.jpg’ because I know it’s good for SEO. I even explain to my clients why it’s important and show them in search results what is the different between websites with and without alt tags and other on-page SEO steps if they want to be educated.

I help choose the right keywords for each page using informed research and SEO tools. I remind them that the logo they sent is too small and needs to be transparent.

 

 

 

Will the DIY website platform do that for you?

While I am building their website, I help my customers pull their content together. I help them collect and compile the right information to add to their website. I coach customers during the build on what information is critical for their website to work: testimonials; videos; maps; landing pages; calls to action etc. I will explain them what is email marketing good for and help them set up a MailChimp account, configure it, and get the code they need to include on their website.

I guide them on how to collect reviews and I write for my clients detailed blog posts on that subject. Like my latest blog posts about local SEO strategy. I explain what a ‘call to action’ is. I explain why they need dedicated landing page for latest Facebook campaign we are about to launch.

 

I’m building sales funnels for my clients not just websites.

 

Will the DIY website platform do that?

While I am building their website, I want to include their Google map on their contact page, but I notice that the phone number is incorrect. I help them to understand why claiming their Google Business accounts and correcting their NAPs are important and in many cases I do that for them. I show them that the 1-star reviews they received on TripAdvisor, Facebook or Google require a response. And I encourage them to start sending happy customers to the sites to counteract it and in blog post dedicated to this subject I explain why it’s important for them.

I’ll help them to fix broken link from TripAdvisor and explain them why it’s confusing to have two Facebook pages dedicated to one business and I’ll help them merge both pages into one.

 

 

I wonder if the DIY website would offer that information?

Code is just one part of a website. Custom development typically comes with expertise in other areas, including marketing consulting. Platforms for DIY can help with things like the basic user experience, email automation and analytics reporting, but they still expect the business owners to do things themselves. They’re a tool, not a consultant.

 

Design is amazingly important, and most businesses today realize this, but it’s not unique design that’s valued — it’s effective design.

 

 

With hiring a web designer, you´re getting more than somebody who will build a website for you. You´re getting his experiences and expertise. UX designer can tell a different between nicely design website and leads generating website. Designer understand importance of both. With results-driven approach designer will build a professional custom website for your business. Each element on your website has its place and it’s only an experienced web designer who understand where each element belongs to based on your websites intentions.

 

With hiring a web designer, you´re getting his experiences and expertise.

 

I wonder if the DIY websites platforms would cover all mentioned above ……. All what’s may not visible for regular website visitor but it’s important for you to succeed with your website.

 

If you want to set up your website for long term success, start taking your business more seriously and hire a professional website designer.

 

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