Why rent a basic website from Wix, Weebly, or SquareSpace when you could – and should – own your business website? Plus, these online site builders do not support a local business.
It’s better to have a simple website than nothing at all, and DIY website builders are a great solution for creating the most basic of websites. Maybe renting is a better option for a start up.
If your business needs more sophisticated functions, however, a professional website is a better place to start. With a website that you own.
Renting Your Website
One major drawback to Wix, Weebly, and SquareSpace is you do not own your website. Their software is proprietary and your site cannot be moved “as-is” to another web developer.
Another drawback is these types of websites are rental options and you pay a monthly fee. Your website rent does not support a local web design business in your community. Where are these DIY companies located?
- Wix: Tel Aviv, Israel
- Weebly: San Francisco
- SquareSpace: New York City
Your website should be viewed as an asset. Should you be “renting” the key marketing piece for your business? It is better to lease an asset or own an asset. For most local business owners, supporting another local business matters.
Basic Shared Design
With DIY site builders like Squarespace, you are renting their design templates.
And so are hundreds of other businesses.
Their designs are limited, too, meaning your website will end up looking like hundreds of others out there. That’s not very unique. But maybe that doesn’t matter?
Are These Rented Sites Optimized?
The goal with a website? To be found in the search engines.
That means you need access to SEO tools. While you can access a few tools, there are fewer options with your rented website for customizing key elements like header tags (H1-H6) and unique page titles.
Of the different website builders available, SquareSpace is the least SEO-friendly on the market. Squarespace will not let you edit your title tags and meta descriptions for product pages and blog posts. And, you do not have the option to customize your image’s alt tags.
If you want access to advanced SEO options on Wix or Weebly, you can pay an additional fee. This would be an add-on and would increase your monthly rental fee. Cha-ching!
Closed for Business
What if Wix, Weebly, or SquareSpace closes their doors one day? That means your website closes, too.
And since you do not own your website, you will have to start over from scratch somewhere else.
I will say it again. Your website is an asset, not an expense. Your business should own your website.
