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The risks of using a freelancer or cheap web tool to build your website
A Free Website? No Problem. Just Beware the Pitfalls. In this blog post we highlight the risks involved in using a freelancer, small agency or 'free' web building tool to design your website.
Right now there are dozens of freelancers and small agencies willing to build your website for next to nothing. Hard to believe? It’s true.
But why would they do that? Think about it for a minute and it’s pretty obvious.
Sometimes, your need presents an opportunity for them to showcase their skills and gain genuine referrals and references. These individuals and businesses may be prepared to build a simple (or even a complex site) for next to nothing in order to break into a market or demonstrate their talent.
Bear in mind that there will always be a trade off, for example, they may not be quick, they might also need you to do a lot of the leg work, and the truth is they may be learning on your job!
These arrangements seldom work and can be very stressful. Be sure to enter into these in the full knowledge of the drawbacks outlined and try to mitigate some of the risks. You are getting what you pay for and no more.
In the past few years there has been an explosion in the use of website builder software, so much so, that many even use mainstream TV as a way of promoting to the mass market. Wix, Squarespace and GoDaddy spend millions each year on lavish TV advertising and paid online advertising campaigns.
The costs range from “nothing” to less than £10 a month. There are dozens of different options and the software offered by some is actually very good and can be relatively easy to use. However, beware of what you’re actually buying into...
The aforementioned web builder brands will pay up to £30 for each click they receive on their paid Google advertisements - many times more than their headline charges! So how does this work? Their business model is based on up-selling and lock-in. This is really important and something that you need to be fully aware of before signing up.
When you add up all the above, the cost might be a surprise to you. And then what do you have? You have a site similar to thousands of others, which may not accurately reflect your brand and ultimately not deliver a ROI. You have a website that you must carry on paying for month in and month out. Even on the most basic plan this can run into thousands of pounds.
And what about if you want to move it to another provider? How will you do that? Furthermore, you need to factor in significant time to understand how to use the software and to make sense of technical and marketing terms. How will this distract from the work you should be doing?
Would it not make more sense to have a partner that can offer a convenient full service package? We think so, which is why we developed the following option.
Web Foundry’s all-inclusive packages provide a professional website, built quickly and cost-effectively, and we can bolt-on marketing and support to provide overall excellent performance.
Each of our packages remove uncertainty and address all the above concerns. Our web design packages start at £995 and you will have a trusted design partner that will step you through the entire process and can scale your solutions as your business grows. Look at some of the benefits compared with the two options above:
For more information and to find the package that’s right for your business view our web design package options.