Limited Customization
While website builders such as Shopify and SquareSpace may give users with little experience a wide variety of options to build their website from, these options don’t have very much customization beyond the basic templates provided.
This can lead to your site looking very copy-and-paste like, rather than unique and interesting. Not to mention if these templates don’t have a way to add certain features you may want, there could be no way to implement them.
Lack of Flexibility
Website builders often don’t have a way of switching to another platform. What this means, is that if down the line you discover that you need a specific functionality from your website that isn’t provided, you may end up having to have an entire website built anyway.
This also applies to any changes in policy on the website builder. When you use one, you’re pretty much at the mercy of whatever they say you’re allowed to do. And if they were to go out of business, you’d need to get a new website.
Poor SEO
Another disadvantage of website builders is that often have poor SEO capabilities. Using a website builder could affect online traffic and sales, which can be detrimental to businesses that rely on their online presence.
In the modern age, your company’s SEO is extremely important and should be a massive motivator to avoid website builders. A very significant portion of your online traffic is going to come from having a good search engine presence.
Dependence on Third-Party Platforms
When using a website builder, your website is hosted on their servers and makes you dependent on them. This can lead to slow loading times and limited control over your website. If you get sick of paying for their hosting, you don’t really have the choice to shop elsewhere for better deals.
Cost
Website builders may seem like the inexpensive option, but they typically will have various hidden upsells baked in. There are “premium” templates, as well as extra storage charges.
These various charges can really reduce the cost-effectiveness of your solution in the long run, and possibly even end up costing you more than if you had paid for a professional website.
Lack of Ownership
When you build a site using a website builder, you don’t own your website’s code or design. You can’t transfer it somewhere else. So, if you get tired of the website builder you’re working with, you’ll have no choice but to completely rebuild your website from scratch.
Conclusion
Website Builders can seem like an attractive option because of their ease of use, but their drawbacks can have a negative effect on your business in the long term. From poor SEO to limited customization, you may find yourself annoyed at the fact that a feature you really want to add simply can’t be added, all because your site was made with a website builder. Not to mention other fees that may build up over time such as premium templates and extra storage.
In conclusion, they can appear to be a good option at first glance but upon further research their flaws can be exposed. If you need a website with high customizability, the better options would be WordPress or custom-coded. Both these solutions allow the user to be in full ownership of their website’s code, as well as transfer it to other hosting companies if they choose to. While these options may have a higher upfront cost when compared to website builders, in the long run these costs are offset greatly, and the quality of your website will increase sharply. For maximum customization and flexibility, WordPress or custom-coded are the best solutions.
