If you are thinking of building a new website or a blog and you have done some research to understand what is the best solution, you have surely come across ads inviting you to use a free platform.
If you are considering this option, please think twice before making a mistake that will cost you time and money. Yes, you’ve read that well, money.
Wait, aren’t these platforms free? Actually they are only partially free, and I will explain why a little later. Instead, let’s start with the reasons why I do not recommend opening a free website or blog:
- Free websites look amatory and absolutely unprofessional. It makes visitors and potential customers think that you don’t take your job seriously. If you don’t believe enough in your idea or business to invest a small amount in it, how can anyone else trust it and buy anything from you?
- It makes your business appear unsuccessful. If a company does not have enough money to spend on a website, then it means that it is not earning enough (and that perhaps there is a problem with the products or services it offers);
- You will give up using it at the slightest difficulty. The truth is, we don’t equally appreciate free stuff as the things we’ve made sacrifices for. Admit it, a freebie can make your eyes sparkle for a second, but then you perceive it as a worthless and unimportant thing. As soon as you experience how much time and energy are needed to achieve a good result, you will be tempted to give up to your project “because I didn’t spend money on it”;
- As I mentioned before, these platforms are actually not 100% free, because you will need to pay for very important features. For instance, you will need to pay in order to have a domain with your brand name. A custom domain is extremely important, both for your brand and for the reasons I listed above;
- You cannot customize the graphics the way you want it, and your website ends up looking like everyone else’s. This doesn’t help potential customers remember it.
- These “free websites” are not optimized for search engines, so your website or blog will struggle to rank well on Google. As a result, most people interested in you or your products won’t find you.
- Your website will need to host these platforms’ advertisements. This is not only annoying and jeopardizes user experience, but also conveys an unprofessional image.
- If one day the free platform stops working, or if you want to switch to a regular website, the hard work you have done will vanish forever.
- Your website depends completely on these platforms. What if one day they fail and close? Or what if the terms of use change?
- Unfortunately, it is not possible to start with a free website, and then upgrade, and get the same result you would get if you opened a professional site immediately.
- When your website is built by a professional you also receive assistance and advice. In case of a free website, assistance and advice (if available) are not complimentary.
If you agree with these points, but believe that you cannot afford a professional yet, I am happy to inform you that there are affordable options even for small budgets. Contact me and I will be happy to assist you!
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