Sledgehammer Infosystems
Smashing through your information & communication problems since 2021
WordPress and Squarespace and Wix and all of the other easy site builder tools out there are great, don't get me wrong - I've built & helped to maintain a couple of of WordPress & Wix powered websites throughout my career and there's a reason that everybody & their brother uses these things and that a rediculously high portion of the top websites in the world are run on WordPress. But, I've also had to rescue a few people who have managed to accidentally completely break their site. That's just one of the many reasons that I don't generally build websites, especially small business sites, with these kinds of tools.
One of the big selling points of these easy to use site builder tools is that it makes it so easy for you, a normal, not particularly technically inclined, human being, to update your website content & add lots of bells & whistles without a lot of technical know-how. That is true - but that's not always a good thing. "With great power comes great responsibility" applies to a lot more than just superpowers. It also makes it easy for you to do things you shouldn't!
Unless properly managed and designed, the sites generated by these tools tend to be slow. This is particularly true for WordPress, which often requires managing a complicated back-end hosting infrastructure that many hosts don't handle well. Several factors contribute to this slowness, including inefficient code generated by WYSIWYG content editing tools, unoptimized CSS definitions, and unnecessary use of JavaScript for simple content display. This slowness not only affects your users, especially those accessing your site from slower mobile devices, but it can also hurt your search engine rankings.
Out of the box, DIY site builders often lack robust search engine optimization (SEO) features. While they offer basic SEO tools, they may not cover all the bases. For example, automated meta tags, poorly structured URLs, and lack of control over site architecture can hinder your search engine rankings. A hand-crafted site can make sure that all of these things that help search engines fully understand - and therefore better promote - your site, ensuring your site is fully optimized to rank higher in search engine results.
DIY website builders provide a range of templates and design options, but these often result in cookie-cutter websites that fail to stand out. Or, even worse, you can set yourself up with a site that is impossible to navigate or content that's difficult for your audience to read through. A professional web designer can create a custom design tailored to your brand, ensuring a unique and engaging user experience.
Building and maintaining a website using DIY tools can be incredibly time-consuming, especially if you lack technical expertise. Troubleshooting issues, optimizing performance, and staying updated with the latest trends can take away valuable time that you could be spending on running your business. Hiring a professional allows you to focus on what you do best while leaving the technical aspects to an expert.
Accessibility is a crucial aspect of web design that DIY tools often overlook. A professional web designer will ensure your site complies with accessibility standards, making it usable for people with disabilities. This includes proper use of HTML elements, ARIA roles, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility. An accessible website not only broadens your audience but helps enhance your SEO efforts and helps avoid potential legal issues related to non-compliance with accessibility laws.
DIY website builders can be vulnerable to security breaches. This is mostly a problem for WordPress because is a very common target for hackers due to its popularity. Keeping the site secure involves regular updates, security plugins, and proper configurations that the average user might not be aware of. This is something that the static site approach we take to building websites here at Sledgehammer Infosystems largely avoids.
As your business grows, so will your website needs. DIY builders may not be equipped to handle increased traffic, more complex functionalities, or integration with other systems - or may be happy to do so and charge you an arm and a leg for the expanded service. Our approach to building sites and our depth of technical know-how allows us to build a scalable, cost-effective websites that grows with your business and offer custom solutions to meet evolving demands and ensuring smooth performance as your audience expands.
By choosing a professional web designer, you ensure your website is fast, secure, optimized for search engines, accessible to all users, uniquely designed, scalable, and free up your time to focus on your core business activities. While DIY tools may seem cost-effective initially, the benefits of a professionally designed website far outweigh the potential pitfalls and long-term costs associated with DIY solutions.
Ready to start working together?
Say "hi" at hello@sledgehammerinfosystems.com or book a discovery meeting