Over the years several DIY web builders have emerged, purporting to help individuals and small businesses on tight budgets to build and manage their own websites.
For some, these solutions work just fine. Maybe there’s a person at the company with a lot of time on their hands and a good technical mindset. Maybe the business just wants to get a page up with their phone number and call it a day. For $17 a month they’ve got a Wix site up and don’t need to touch it again. They may or may not get great customer support, but their website is not a vital part of driving customers to them.
For most though, these “easy” DIY website builders end up costing time, money, and a whole lot of frustration. If you do not have someone on staff who is not busy and has a technical mindset, trying to build and manage a company website yourself ends up being substantially more trouble than they are worth.
By their very nature DIY website builders are set up to minimize customization opportunities. The companies count on someone purchasing their services and using an out-of-the-box template. It is quantity over customization. If you need more help, or a more customized website they will happily charge you for professional support.
There’s nothing inherently shady about that. Most are very upfront about their pricing. What they aren’t as upfront about is your ability to build and manage a website that reflects your brand, and your business practices. They will also charge for basic requirements like email accounts.
WordPress is not a website builder. Rather it is what is called a Content Management System. It comes with templates that you can use out of the box, and there are plenty of free plugins you can install to build some very nice custom sites. There is still a learning curve though and although it is open-source, meaning free software, you will need to pay for hosting and email management. GoDaddy has a managed WordPress solution that is certainly adequate for those looking for a slightly more customizable experience that they could do themselves, still utilizing out-of-the-box templates but with a few more bells and whistles included.
Whether you go with a builder like Wix or a managed service like GoDaddy, what happens when you need help? If you are not okay with waiting in a support queue, or being upcharged for minor changes or additional functionality then a DIY website builder may not be worth it for you. If you do not have the time and interest in learning new software (and that’s what these builders and CMS are – software) then they are definitely not worth it for you.