Reasons Why Free Website Builders Are More Harm Than Good


The latest trend in free websites is on the rise. But very few realize the shortcomings of it which can sometimes lead to disasters. Today we break down the operation, limitations, and reputation of free website builders as well as try to understand what exactly is the “Catch” these builders seem to offer.

 

Image Credits: TechLila
Image Credits: TechLila

 

It is believed that best things in the world are free. While that may be applicable to a lot of things such as air, sunlight, common sense but surely that may not be applicable to websites. Many people want to start their own website at a low budget which is understandable but it’s time to get a reality check for free website builders – coz the limitations are many from mild to potentially losing all work with absolutely no access to back up!

As soon as we encounter with the words “free website” we immediately think of WordPress, Joomla – but remember neither of them is free website builders as they are an open-source content management system based on PHP and MySQL, which makes them as different to builders (Go Daddy, Wix) as a tiger is to a toad.

1. Your Website Is Not Your Own

Image Credits: www.sasfetysigns.com
Image Credits: www.sasfetysigns.com

 

Sounds odd, right? Basically, all the site files, backend, custom style sheets, codes, etc are all owned by them, not by you. If you’re interested in migrating your website to another platform, upgrade your website, or increase the functionalities/capabilities of the website there’s no way in which you can do it there, and if they lock all that data you’d have to start all over again from scratch. Obnoxious, isn’t it?

2.The Pseudo-SEO

Image Credits: Designer Mag
Image Credits: Designer Mag

 

You must be aware of how important good SEO is for a website to achieve organic traffic as well as for visibility. Technically speaking, proper keywords usage, alt attributes, tags, meta descriptions are needed on all pages of the website and to have an effective SEO strategy for the same is crucial to the growth of the site. But how can you do so if you’re only given a limited and sometimes no access to all the backend files for your own website? Many users, despite having a fool-proof SEO strategy on such platforms end up having minimal traffic on their website which otherwise works perfectly on WordPress, Joomla.

3.The Slothful Loading

Image Credits: Soliloquy Blog - All About WordPress Slider
Image Credits: Soliloquy Blog – All About WordPress Slider

 

Perhaps the most talked-about disadvantage of free website builders like Wix, Go Daddy, WebNode, Weebly, Jimdo, etc – the speed at which the loading of the websites occurs are terrible enough to drive the users away! According to studies, most of the users leave a website if the loading time of the same is more than three seconds. And they can do nothing to get rid of this problem, as the server is shared with hundreds and thousands of shared websites like yours. With limited bandwidths and absolutely no access to server settings, there’s nothing even you can do about it.

4.Security Issues – Beware of Hackers!

Image Credits: AARP Blog
Image Credits: AARP Blog

 

Almost all the free website builders offer a flash-based website which is first, insecure to the most and secondly is terribly slow. According to studies, most of the hacked websites exist on the same server. Speaking of which, your website on the free website builders is shared on the same server with thousands of other websites, and if one of those thousands of websites gets hacked then it puts all the websites on that server vulnerable. And the worst part, with no access to the backend, you can’t do anything about it! Do we need to say more?

5.Unethical Web Address

Now everyone understands the importance of a proper domain name to your business, especially when it adds up to your credibility. But, when you’re building your website on free website builders, the web address provided by them is downright indecorous. For example: If you’re starting a website about reviewing popular products and services, a web address like productreviews.Freewebsite.com will only make things worse on your end as it wouldn’t be taken seriously by anyone. Moreover, if you want your own domain on the free website builders, you’ve to pay a premium of $19 – $25, which otherwise costs about $10.

In the world of business, according to the thumb rule there is no such thing as free lunch. If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product! If you go through the terms and conditions properly you’d see that you’re putting all your precious data into the hands of people who can anytime lock down, sell or even leave with all your data and legally they’ve all the rights to do so. The rest is upon you to choose from.