There's a pretty big selection of Website Builders available to businesses now.
They all promise ease of use and flaunt the features and benefits that make them "the best option". But what about the short comings of each builder and what negative side effects they can have on your business?
Stef has been building on WordPress for longer than she would care to admit! And in her time, she's seen plenty of website builders come... and go again.
As for me (Caity) - each 9-to-5 job I've had seems to have their own preferred platform. Some I've been able to talk into using WordPress... Some spent up to $5,000 in training me to use a different platform which ended up being limited, clunky and a pain in my ass to work with!
How to choose the right website platform.
When looking for the perfect website platform (or website builder) we recommend looking at the following key areas:
- Ease of Use - how easy is the platform to use for you and your visitors?
- Pricing - which one is going to give the most bang for buck?
- Design & Features - which has the most creative control / flexibility?
- Data Ownership & Portability - who owns your website, what are the terms of service & can you change platforms if you choose to?
Also remember that your online presence is a Business Assets!
When we say Business Assets - it's easy to think of your computers, your office furniture, your car, inventory ect.
But what about your online presence?
When we talk about online presence, we're talking your website, Google listing, social media accounts ect.
Anything that helps your customers find you online is an online presence and it's your most valuable and powerful business asset.
Maybe you've spent the last few years building up 10,000 Facebook followers
Or maybe you have 1,000 subscribers on your website which isn't a massive number to some - but they're active and engaging and a single newsletter burst can generate good sales.
It's possibly THE most valuable of them all yet we're so accepting of putting them entirely in the hands of a third party.
Remember 2021 when Facebook decided to block news articles?
All the Facebook Groups for businesses we're in were full of desperate business owners who were losing their minds and money as their Facebook Pages became tangled in the mess and accidentally shut down by the social media giants.
It was horrible to watch and there wasn't a single thing any of us could do to help them.
It was about that time that business owners started to realise that relying on social media for most of their marketing really wasn't a stable or reliable option any more.
As we'd just seen - they could change the rules of their platform literally over night and there wasn't a thing any of us could do.
Luckily for some - they got their Pages, Groups and ultimately their businesses back.
Some lost everything.
Your MUST own your Website!
You need to own your website, be in control of your website, make your own rules, be able to add any functionality you want, and mostly to be able to build onto your website if you want to add a...
- membership site,
- ecommerce store,
- digital delivery sales,
- events management,
- online coaching & training area,
- job board,
- online community,
- blog … the list goes on!
Let's compare...
When your business grows or you need new functions on your website...
WordPress
You just add a plugin, tweak a few settings and voila - you have new functions on your website.
You can do all of this on your own WordPress website.
You don’t have to find a new platform when you want to add another aspect to your website to grow your business.
One platform, one admin area… nice ‘n easy!
Other Platforms
First you need to make sure your current platform offers the function you want.
If they do, they very often charge extra to turn it on – and this can get expensive really fast. If they don’t, you have to find another platform to handle it.
Imagine needing a different platform for your:
- website
- membership site
- online coaching platform
- ecommerce store
They are 4 basic functions that you may need which means...
- 4 different platforms to handle
- 4 different websites to log into
- 4 different website for your customers to remember
- 4 different billing amounts, accounts & cycles!
When you want to work on your SEO to be found by more clients...
WordPress
If you want to change hosts with WordPress you just do it!
Most Hosting companies will completely transfer your website for you.
Everything stays the same.
Your email settings stay the same.
You don’t lose a thing!
Other Platforms
You have to start again… from scratch!
You have to completely build a brand new website.
With Other Website Builders they use their own software and code… it’s not transferable so you can’t just download a copy of your website and move it elsewhere.
When you outgrow your current hosting or you don't feel looked after well enough...
WordPress
Out of the box WP just shits all over Other Website Builders!
Google LOVES WordPress websites and will always prioritise these website over other website builders.
WordPress also has a whole heap of extra SEO Capabilities that can really take SEO to a whole new level!
Other Platforms
Let’s talk about Wix for example..
A couple of years ago Google ignored thousands of Wix websites from their search results because Google couldn’t read the code in those sites so they got completely skipped.
These days things are a little better- but there are still SEO limitations with Wix websites.
The problem is these website builders aren’t necessarily built for SEO – they are built ‘cause they’re easy to build a pretty website.
But pretty websites aren’t the be-all-end-all if they aren’t being found online!
When you already have a website on another platform...
Don't worry - it's not all doom & gloom for you!
We actually come across this plenty with our clients and it's exactly why we've put this post together.
The good news is we can absolutely build you a brand new website on WordPress that will be able to grow with your business and will make sure you're being found online.
We can even make it look (pretty much) exactly the same as your current website if you really love the design you have... or this is your chance for a website make-over!