As a small business, free web design is a tempting offer. Always looking to save money, the promise of a free, high-quality website seems too good to be true. And, in many cases, the old adage is true: you get what you pay for. A website designed using a free platform like Wix simply can’t compete with a professional, results-focused website designed by a professional.
When operating online, you need to eke out every advantage you can to overtake your competitors. Inexpensive – and free – platforms are built to make web design easy. They’re built to facilitate cookie-cutter designs. And, well, it shows.
If you’re hoping to compete, you need a professionally built website that leverages a wide range of digital marketing tactics. You’ll need to adhere to SEO best practices to ensure you get found online. You’ll want top-quality photography and copywriting. And, more than anything, you’ll want to design your site in a way that facilitates conversions.
Free web design is cheap
No pun intended… sites built with free web design platforms look cheap. When you use a platform like Wix to build a free website, you’re limited to an extremely small number of predesigned templates. Because of this, your website will resemble thousands of other websites.
Your company deserves more than a cheap, nondescript Wix website. Your website, just like your company, should have a personality. It should compile all of the important aspects of your company into a simple, straightforward, and – above all else – engaging presentation. And, no matter how creative you are, your website will never represent your business if you’re forced to use generic, predesigned templates.
Free sites aren’t built to perform
When it comes down to it, free web design is a Band-Aid. Sure, you can get a website built and launched incredibly fast. But, if you’re hoping to actually do anything with it, you’re out of luck. Lacking plugins that help you make solid SEO choices, most free websites can’t be finely tuned. They lack the tools. And, because of this, they languish at the bottom of search results.
Beyond tools and plugins, free websites aren’t built for performance, they’re built for ease of use. As you ‘write’ your website, the free platform creates code to turn your design into a functional website. While this is great for usability, it’s terrible for efficiency. Resulting in a ton of unnecessary code, sites built using free web design platforms load slowly, break easily, and perform poorly.
Free design platforms can hold your site hostage
While it’s not true of all free web design platforms, many of them can result in your website being held hostage. When you sign up to build your site with them, they may ask for control of your domain, your hosting, or any number of other important things. Unfortunately, in the fine print of many of these sites, they state that the domains and assets you utilize with them become their property.
What does this mean for your company? Essentially, this means that you’re locked in to using their service forever. If you want to migrate your site away – a difficult task without unneeded obstacles – it won’t be easy. Worst of all, you could be forced to change your site’s URL… which could jeopardize all of your search engine and digital marketing activities.
Get a professional website for no money down
Fortunately, there are low-cost alternatives to free web design. At Creative Marketing Group, we offer a range of website design packages that aim to deliver professional websites at affordable prices. Built by Kalamazoo’s most experienced team of web design and SEO experts, our websites are designed to perform. And, best of all, they don’t require any massive down payments!
Don’t fall prey to the promise of a free website, no matter how tempting it is. Your company is your livelihood. It provides for you. It deserves a website that truly communicates its mission, its values, and its benefits. So, if you’re in the market for an affordable, high-quality website that will beautifully represent your business online, reach out to us today to schedule a free web design consultation.
