1. Unprofessional Look

Self-built websites are not professional enough for serious businesses. While these platforms provide templates and drag-and-drop interfaces, they lack the design expertise and attention to detail that a web design firm can provide. A website designed by a professional web designer will be tailored or customised to suit your business needs and branding and will also be more visually appealing to your customers.

2. Poor Search Engine Performance

Websites built with the likes of Wix, Weebly & Squarespace can be hard to satisfactorily optimise for SEO, which is crucial for ranking highly in search engine results and getting traffic to your website. Without a proper understanding of SEO and website optimisation, your website will not rank as highly in the search engines as a professionally designed website, which may hurt your business’ visibility and ultimately your sales and growth.

3. Lack of Functionality

Another common issue with build it yourself web platforms is they often lack a lot of the functionality that a professionally designed website can offer. This may include customised contact forms, ecommerce capabilities, or advanced integrations with other platforms.

4. Slow Page Loading Times

Bounce Rate, an Internet term used in website analysis, is defined as the percentage of visitors that leave a webpage without taking an action, such as clicking on a link, filling out a form, or making a purchase. Slow loading pages, the number one reason that people abandon a website, is the greatest contributor to bounce rate, where 40% or lower is considered acceptable.

DIY website builders invariably produce bloated source code, load unnecessary script and styling files and use poor image compression algorithms that lead to slow page load times and high bounce rates. A professional web designer will ensure that your site uses lightweight code, loads only necessary files to run the site and will optimise your images, all of which lead to faster loading times and lower bounce rates.

5. Bad Mobile Experience & Useability

Self-built websites also frequently lack mobile-friendly or responsive design. This means that the website may not look or function properly on different devices eg. smartphones or tablets which can result in a frustrating experience for your customers, which in turn may cause them to abandon your site without making contact or a purchase. With 58.5% of web traffic currently (and climbing annually) coming from a mobile device, it is critical that your website displays satisfactorily on these devices.

6. Inefficient & Time-consuming

Building your own website is a time-intensive commitment. You will spend countless hours trying to figure out how to design your website, how to make it look good across all devices and screen sizes, how to make sure the design & content are engaging and how to optimise it for search engine results. This is time wasted that you could be spending on other aspects of your business and generating revenue. By engaging a professional web design firm, you will save yourself time, money and stress, by focussing on what you do best – running your business.

Summary

In conclusion, while self-built websites may seem like a cost-effective and easy solution, they often come with many problems and limitations that can hinder your business’ success. A self-built website may not be professional enough for serious businesses, may be hard to optimise for SEO and page speed loading times, may not be mobile-friendly or responsive and can be a time-consuming process. It’s better to invest in a professionally designed website that offers customisation, search engine optimisation, faster page speeds, reliable security, full functionality, all while saving you time and stress.