A well-designed website is a critical asset for any business. With so many tools out there to help build a website, it may seem easy to do on your own. However, you may not give your website the kind of launch it needs if you go it alone. Today’s website builders feature plenty of tools and make it easy for nearly anyone to build a great-looking website, but professionals can offer superior results that make them more ideal for many businesses.

If you’re not sure which to choose, here we’ll go over the pros and cons of website builders and professional web design and development.

 

Why Use a Website Builder?

 

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A website builder can provide you with myriad tools and templates to help you create a custom website. There are certain advantages of using a website builder, such as:

 

Affordability

 

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Generally, website builders are more cost-effective than professional designers and developers. This can be beneficial to you at first, as it costs little to initially set up your website. If you’re on a tight budget, starting with a website builder might be a good way to get your site up and running.

 

Fast Setup

 

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Website builders often make website design and development fast and easy for beginners. You can simply choose a template, customize it, upload media, write content, and publish pages in no time. There’s no need for coding expertise, either.

 

Third-Party Integrations

 

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When using a website builder, you can easily integrate various third-party tools to help you make full use of the builder. You can integrate your website with Google Analytics, social media, event registration, ad networks, and much more.

 

Plenty of Features

 

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You can also integrate a wide range of features with a reliable website builder. For example, you can add all types of custom widgets to your WordPress website, which enables you to customize your sidebar. You can also integrate scheduling tools, e-commerce features, and more.

 

Easy Optimization

 

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If you want to make any adjustments to your website and change certain elements such as the layout, most website builders make it easy to make any necessary changes.

 

The Downsides of a Website Builder

 

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Although website builders offer certain benefits, they come with several cons that may hold your website back in different ways.

 

Gradually Increasing Costs to Scale

 

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On the other hand, the costs of a website builder will likely increase over time. You may need to pay for hosting services and upgrades as you scale your website to meet growing business demands, which can become more costly than cost-effective in the long term.

 

Difficulty with SEO

 

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Website builders can assist with your search engine optimization (SEO) and help you rank in search engines. The problem is these capabilities are limited. You’ll only have access to a limited number of tools to help with SEO, which could prevent you from successfully competing with industry leaders.

 

Limited Mobile Responsiveness

 

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A website builder may allow you to optimize your website for mobile devices, but responsiveness is relatively limited. You may need to make some changes to your website to optimize it for different mobile devices, such as new Apple or Samsung devices, but you’ll need to do this manually through a website builder.

 

Minimal Support

 

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Website builders offer a degree of support to their customers, but they may not be particularly helpful with more technical issues. For example, you may struggle with a certain third-party integration, but customer support staff may not be familiar with this specific tool and its compatibility. They also won’t have the level of familiarity with your website that a dedicated team will have.

 

Why Use Custom Web Design and Development?

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Website builders may be helpful to an extent, especially for those with a very limited budget, but it often pays to work with professionals who offer custom web design and development. Some benefits you’ll get with these services include:

 

More Versatility of Design

 

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Website builders tend to offer limited design options that don’t enable you to craft an entirely original website. With professional web design teams, you have complete control over your design from top to bottom. 

 

Increased Scalability and Cost-Effectiveness

 

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You might wind up paying more for professional design and web development at the start, but the right company will make it worth the investment. Your website will look and function at its best, and it will have more room to grow with your business as you see increased ROI over time. Meanwhile, a website builder can make large websites cumbersome and costly to manage, and you may struggle to move to another platform when needed.

 

Improved SEO

 

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Another advantage of professional design and development is the potential boost in SEO performance. The right provider will have experience with SEO and can help integrate various technical SEO elements, including Schema. Website builders can make it more challenging for you to get ahead in this regard.

 

Better Customer Support

 

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If you need better customer support, professionals can learn every aspect of your website to effectively troubleshoot and otherwise help maintain your website. Any issues with integrations or technical challenges won’t be beyond your team with the right company.

 

The Downsides of Web Design and Development

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Like website builders, web design and development services may not be for everyone. These services may not be right for you if you’re working with a very limited budget or if you’re in need of a quick solution to launch your website. However, as your business grows, you may benefit from making the transition to professional services to help you gain and maintain traction online.

 

Choose the Service That’s Right for You

 

Which service is right for you will all come down to what you specifically need at the moment. If you don’t have the funds for professional services, you may benefit from getting started with a website builder. If you want to give your website a stronger start and benefit from the many features you won’t get with a builder alone, it may be time to consult with experienced web designers and developers.

 

What we do - Vigor Seorchers

 

If you would like to learn more about the web design services available from Vigor Seorchers and what they can do for you, reach out to us today. You can also discover how our other services can help you get the most from your website.

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