Did you know you can get websites for free? Yup it’s possible. But what is it they say about no such thing as a free lunch? Here’s our top 5 reasons to avoid free websites.
1. Trapped in the machine
There are a number of offerings available to get your site online, and I’ll be honest we think some operators could be more honest and upfront. Many small businesses aren’t technology savvy and they don’t necessarily know about ‘Storage’ and ‘Bandwidth’. That’s ok for our customers, as we go out of our way to abstract that lower level of detail. But some of these free websites have advertising included in them, and provide very little room for your content to grow before you need to start paying. If you didn’t plan for that upfront, you are unlikely to want to redo your site so you start paying and you become locked in a machine of proprietary technology with no one else to turn to.
2. Why can’t I add that feature?
You may be restricted to the functionality available to you. Remember that eCommerce option you wanted to add in 12 months time, well it might not be possible. Did you want to add a popup email capture form to build your email database, well that might not be possible either. Check before you sign up what can and what can’t be achieved.
3. There’s thousands like me?
It’s likely there are 1000s of other websites that look and feel the same as your free site. That’s because the templates are limited and you are restricted to the parts you can customise. You also have to be skilled at knowing what works and doesn’t work with design. You did want your business to stand out from the crowd didn’t you? At Rock Paper Digital, we get your content first, and design around your content. You don’t need to fit your round content into the square design with us!
4. Your brand or their brand?
There has to be something in it for these providers of free websites, and it generally comes down to advertisements placed unobtrusively on your site. Even unobtrusive advertising can take your visitors (potential customers) to another site. We’d argue the last thing you want from a free website is your visitors to be drawn away from your site!
5. Who you gonna call?
You may as well call ‘Ghostbusters’, as many of these sites don’t have people you can talk to. You often have to communicate by email or via forums. We like our clients to consider us as a business partner. As a client you can pick up the phone, Skype, or email us directly. We’ll tell you honestly the best way to achieve something, and provide ongoing advice.
At Rock Paper Digital we’re always looking to add value to your business. We are that that online digital partner you can rely on.
Drop us a line if you have a project you’re looking to get started.
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