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Web Design & Development 
by C O'Malley & Associates LLC Howell, Michigan
Powerful Web Design - JUST RIGHT!
(517) 548-3437
October 2009 Newsletter
Do-it-Yourself Site Builders
I have seen people who are so desperate to get a website up, they are going with site builders and free templates. There is nothing wrong with DIY but you need to be aware of the limitations as well as the benefits. They're free, they're easy, why not?
Here's why: The vast majority of easy site building software provided through online providers does nothing to help your web presence. Yep, that's true. What the search engine often sees is in the box:
Nothing! All sites are built with behind-the-scenes code. How that code is read is very important. If it's not read well, your site might as well be invisible. Curious if your site is invisible? Right click >View Page Source. Your browser will open a new window. Chances are, you won't see more than a few lines if your site was built with one of the free online site builders. And even if you do see some code there, odds are it's using the kind of code search engines dislike and penalize.
If nothing is there, it's because the actual code is encased a box called a "frame" that hides it so it can't be found by search engines. You are invisible on purpose! Even worse, if you got a domain or hosting through a code-builder type site you probably don't even own it. Say you want to build a real site (once you realize you are not getting the hits you should be) you will likely find you don't even have ownership of your domain name (www.yourname.com). You can check the whois data base and you'll discover that you may be paying for it, the Site Builder is the registered owner. The anguish you'll feel when you realize you've been marketing a site that is not really yours is quite painful.
Same goes for hosting - often site builders charge 10 times what you'd pay for stand alone hosting - or you can display their advertisements (which is not very professional). Not only are you paying for the convenience of doing all the work yourself, when the realization comes that you are overpaying or advertising for someone else and you want to move your site, you'll find it's been built using proprietary coding that is not moveable. It HAS to be on their server, and likely no one else will even be able to use much of it to start over. You are trapped! All your previous advertising and marketing has been in vain because if you don't own the site, the domain or the hosting - you don't have anything to show for all your time and any money spent. While a custom, standard built site might be more initially, it's portable and flexible. If you decide you don't like your designer - you can get a new designer a at any time and the new one will at least be able to work with the code and content you already have.
Site builders also have the added problems of browser incompatibility, page limits, and limited customization but that's more than we can get into here. While it may be a quick way to get your site up fast, it can hurt your business in the long run.
We'll help you develop a powerful message, provide proven design, and provide reliable maintenance. We guarantee you'll be satisfied with our work or we'll make it right. We promise to
- make changes quickly and accurately
- build your website on-time and to your specifications
- and improve your web site's usability and content for visitors and search engines.
This newsletter brings you interesting tips about the web, web design, search engines and more! We try and include something for everyone. We're hoping that you'll think of us when your web site needs redesign or updating, and recommend us to friends and colleagues that need web sites.
We appreciate your business and reward referrals generously. Contact us for a FREE PHONE ESTIMATE at 517-548-437. If you'd like to send this newsletter to someone that might be interested, click here.
