Guide

Is a DIY website builder worth it?

The pitch is hard to argue with. A few euro a month, drag some boxes around, and you have a website. Plenty of people do it successfully. Plenty more have a half finished site sitting in a browser tab since last March.

What they are genuinely good at

If you enjoy the fiddling and you have the evenings free, a builder can produce something decent looking. For a one page holding site while you get going, it is a reasonable option.

They also handle the boring technical parts for you, so hosting and certificates are not something you have to think about.

Where it goes wrong for trades

The two things that decide whether a trade site works are speed on a phone and being found locally. Both are easy to get wrong in a builder, because the defaults are set up for looks rather than for search.

The other issue is finishing. A site that is eighty percent done for a year is worse than no site, because people find it and draw conclusions.

The cost that does not show on the invoice

Count the hours. If a builder site takes you fifteen evenings and you would have billed those hours or spent them with your family, it was not cheap.

Then count the hours again every time you need to change something and cannot remember how the editor works.

A reasonable middle ground

If money is the only reason you are looking at a builder, a monthly plan solves the same problem without the evenings. Ours is a free build plus €59.99 a month on a 12 month minimum, and edits are done by us.

If control is the reason, tell whoever builds it that you want to be able to make changes yourself and agree that upfront.

How to decide

Ask yourself three straight questions.

  • Do I actually have the evenings free for the next month
  • Am I confident I can get this found in my own area
  • Will I keep it updated once work picks up

Common questions

Can I rank on Google with a DIY website builder?

You can, but the platform will not do the local work for you. Rankings come from your service and area pages, your Google Business Profile and your reviews.

Is it hard to move off a website builder later?

The content can usually be moved, the design rarely can. Expect a rebuild rather than a transfer.

Where to go next

Want us to sort this for you?

We build the site for free and look after the hosting, the updates and the local SEO for €59.99 a month on a 12 month minimum. Have a chat with us and see if it suits.

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