Choosing to have a go at building your own website is common for new businesses in an attempt to keep costs down, and we completely understand why you may choose to do this!
Builder services such as Wix, Shopify and Square Space give the opportunity to get your online shop up and running within a couple of days. With many pre-programmed design options, it is a popular choice for small start-up’s who are self-funding.
Here are some helpful pro’s and con’s to consider when using these services:
Pro’s & Con’s of pre-set builders
Pro’s;
- Basic package is low cost.
- Drag and Drop builders.
- Online Support.
- You could have a very basic template brochure website up within 48 hours.
Con’s;
- Limited personalisation.
- Got a .co.uk domain? Sorry – Wix doesn’t support this!
- Additional processing fee’s if you don’t use the platforms payment gateway.
- Additional widgets and plug-ins hike the overall price and are usually charged monthly.
- You cannot export a website off of Wix (this means if you want to leave their services, you would have to completely rebuild your website)
- If they close or ‘go under’, you may lose your whole website.
- Increased prices of app’s and transaction charges.
So what is a great alternative?
It is time to stop thinking WordPress is only a good platform if you are a hardcore coder! Of course, we are a little bias towards WordPress but that is simply because it has proved itself to its 409 million users wordwide, including us!
We create all our new build websites on WordPress in an easy to manage and easy to update system for our clients and there are a few ways you can do this for yourself, to make it even easier.
- Install WordPress. Try a manual install if you can, this will save you £2 per month for the life of the website that ‘one click WordPress costs’.
- Start with a theme. You can get free themes from theme forest or just google search > WordPress Themes
- Install a builder. Divi or Elementor have some great free options.
- Don’t stress about little details. With a WordPress site most little issues can be solved by a web designer or developer and there are many experienced WordPress gurus out there, you can shop around for quotes and read reviews.
Pro’s & Con’s of WordPress
Pro’s
- Millions of free plugins.
- Safe and secure against hackers.
- Royal Mail Click & Drop Integration.
- Ability to export the whole design of the website.
- Woocommerce integration (sales software, unlimited products and easy to add variations.
- Scheduled sales prices.
- Ability to add custom code (this means if you want something like a pig to fly across your screen.. you can!).
- Very SEO friendly.
- Multilingual language conversion.
- Mail chimp integration.
Con’s
- One-click WordPress costs £2 per month (this can be avoided with a manual instal)
- Looks overwhelming at first sight.
- You will have to manage or have someone manage your WordPress plugin updates.
If you are having a little trouble with your WordPress website, you are welcome to give us a call or pop us an email and we may be able to give you the directions to solve your query there and then over the phone. If you are looking to develop your current website or have your website redesigned, we are here to help.