Why you Shouldn't get your Website from a "Rinse-and-Repeat" Company

I've recently been bombarded with "sponsored" posts and ads from a certain company that shows you how to create your own websites to "rent" to customers. He calls these "itsy-bitsy websites" that display basic information about the company, helping to generate leads. He justifies charging companies every month for their site by saying "they're too busy running their business to worry about this 'website stuff'."

See this ad, below.

Now let me tell you whats wrong with this business model. 

Faceless

There is more to a website than uploading your logo and <insert business name here>.
A site that isn't created with the client in mind doesn't think about the message it's sending. It doesn't capture a feeling or a sense of trust for the company, and should your competition use the same service you might as well be saying "Theres nothing special about my company."

Never in my life have I worked for or with a company who felt like they were "nothing special." As business owners you take pride in your work and believe that you are a competitive force to be reckoned with - if not, you wouldn't put in the daily effort it takes to run a successful business.  So be that competitive force! People want to know who YOU are. They also love do business with people they like. Whether its your companies quirky sense of humor or your strict policies on confidentiality, let those qualities come through all aspects of your communication with clients - and that communication starts with your website.

Maintenance

If you're looking to set up a website today and never change anything about your business, ever - then this kind of thing is for you. But that's not the case for most businesses. Sometimes businesses move or new services are added. You may decide that you're getting way too many emails from your website and want to set up an online form to organize the information coming in. I know from the professional experience of my clients (too many to count), companies like this HOOK you with a LINE of bologna, about all of the things this website will do for you and all of the ways they will help you, and then watch you SINK as the site becomes your enemy when you can't get just one person to respond to your requests for change; and the outdated and inconsistent information hurts your rankings.

Speaking of search engine rankings, the standards in SEO change so frequently that creating a website without a plan of regular maintenance is dangerous.  If you aren't updating your websites' coding and SEO to comply with current standards on a regular basis, your website is becoming outdated in a hurry. Unfortunately that is the reality of technology. Almost all of our clients who have come from a 'rinse and repeat' website service like this only had their website for less than a year and what they invested was a total waste.

DIY Websites

These aren't the only website services to be wary of, DIY website services should be used with caution and be a thoughtful decision. DIY websites I can respect.  Certainly I think there is value in doing for yourself, what could otherwise cost you or your company more than you can comfortably afford. But if you CAN afford it, hire the expert. One of our motto's around here is "do what you do best, and let everyone else do the rest!"Because here's the thing: if you can't afford to hire someone to fix your plumbing - can you afford for the damage caused when your own handiwork fails you?

Some of the DIY website services are Wix.com and Weebly.com -- while these sites are good in theory, its not until you get into them that you find they aren't as easy and customizable as they appear to be at first. They end up looking less like your vision of a fresh and modern website design and more like a first grade child's science fair project.

Morally Speaking

What's troubling about this ad most of all is that it's bragging about snagging customers through a simple email, throwing together sites for businesses with little to no thought or care, charging them month-after-month for years and if they decide to leave, its no big deal because they didn't actually invest anything in the website.  But there are real people behind these businesses, who trust their website company to help create their online presence.

Let me be clear, these companies do NOT care about your business. They care about a contract that says you own them $X each month.  But the demand for this type of service will persist as long as people choose not to see the value in the many techniques we implement to provide the best experience and product that we can, keeping with the tech standards of the time.

Or in other words, you get what you pay for... and, in this case, not even that.