Battle of the Websites: Custom vs. Free

Websites: an asset beneficial to all businesses. Yes, all of them. Consumer shopping behaviors have drastically changed over the years, with online shopping continually being on the up-and-up. Beyond shopping online, 97% of consumers also research businesses to learn more about what they have to offer. Bottom line – if you’re not online, you’re missing out on sales.

While exploring their options, consumers also expect a seamless online experience. Whether it be fast load times, an appealing design, easy navigation elements, or something else, your prospective customers have performance standards for navigating your website. Because of this, it’s important to consider investing in a custom website, versus the “free” options you may have seen touted online. As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.”

What You Don’t Get with a Free Website

While the allure of getting a website at little or no cost may be tempting, it’s important to remind yourself – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There’s always a catch with free websites and not actually owning your own site is one of them. Meaning, at any time your site can be removed, changed, or held hostage for no reason at all. Knowing you won’t have any control over your site should be enough to send any business owner running for the hills.

Another sacrifice you’ll be making: limited design features. Your website should provide users with a unique customer experience, brand messaging, and core values. 75% of people have judged a company’s credibility based on their web design, not to mention, one bad experience makes users 88% less likely to visit the site again. The limitations of “free” options not only prevent you from conveying your business properly, the lack of customization prohibits you from standing out among competitors, which can result in lost sales.

The goal for every business is to keep profits high and expenses low. As enticing as “free” sounds, we all know better. The companies building websites at little to no cost have to make money. While they may not charge to host your website, they will take advantage by promoting themselves on your web pages. When agreeing to terms of service with these companies, business (often unknowingly) give permission for them to place their branding on the sites. So, your customers will see their logos, ads, campaigns, and more when visiting your site. And if you don’t like it? You can have it removed… for a fee.

The shortcomings of “free” websites don’t stop there – they also lack search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities. Without solid SEO implementation, your website is not going to be discoverable online. And if consumers can’t find it, your website will serve little to no purpose in the digital realm.

What You Do Get with a Digital Marketing Agency

Now that you know what “free” website can do for you (or rather, can’t) let’s consider what a digital marketing agency has to offer…

For starters, you will own your website. Working with a digital agency means you don’t have to worry about waking up one morning to discover your site has been deleted, there won’t be request for hidden fees, and another company won’t splash their branding all over your web pages. You pay for it, it’s yours. No surprises.

Agencies can also create custom websites with virtually no limitations. Remember, consumers have expectations and they will judge companies for inadequacy. Partnering with a digital marketing agency ensures a professionally designed, lead-generating, sales-increasing, and brand-differentiating website. What business owner doesn’t want that?!

Additionally, as industry experts, digital marketing professionals know the value of adapting to new trends and technology. Studies show 57% of all U.S. online traffic now comes from mobile devices. A digital agency will ensure your site is responsive, making it easily accessible across various platforms and devices, allowing your business to reach more potential customers.

And we can’t forget about SEO. A custom website will be designed with SEO in mind, which will work to increase your site’s visibility and make it easier for consumers to find your business online. This is especially important if your business is in a highly competitive market, since it will give your business an edge over competitors.

With the foundation of your website in mind, it’s important to remember that the existence of the site isn’t enough. Like houses, websites require maintenance and upkeep in order to run efficiently. A digital agency will do all the heavy lifting by constantly monitoring your site to ensure it’s up-to-date and functioning properly. Broken links, expired domains, security features – the support and updates provided by an agency are invaluable.

Once you’ve invested in your website, it’s crucial to make sure it’s serving its purpose. With an agency on your side, you have a team who can provide analytics and reporting measures to better understand how users are navigating your website. This information allows business owners and agencies to collaborate on new ideas and an agency can make professional recommendations where they see need for improvement, all with your customer’s online behavior in mind.

Lastly, it’s a common misconception that working with an agency isn’t a budget-friendly option. In reality, hiring an agency can actually save money. By partnering with an agency, you’re getting more than a website build; they also offer hosting, SSL certificates, email integration, support services, and so much more. As a business owner, you can select a custom website package that fits your needs and budget.

At the end of the day, your website is the digital storefront of your business and you deserve to invest in yourself. Free websites may seem like an easy solution, but in the long run – they will never be able to represent your business adequately. Whether you’re ready to make an upgrade or start from scratch, we offer website solutions for businesses of all shapes and sizes! Contact Business House today.