Build Your Own Website? Do So at Your Own Peril!

Have you ever noticed one of those business card printing kiosks? There’s one at Victoria Station.

Have you ever wondered why they are rarely, if ever used?

The reason is quite simple – the cards they create are embarrassing.

Most business people would prefer to fall into a large hole in the ground should they ever have to actually consider sharing one to someone else.

Even if the business owner in question has a thick skin and doesn’t particularly care about other people’s opinions, the message these cards communicate is one of lethargy and disinterest, price before everything else.

From the cheap card, to the low quality printing, from the limited fonts to the over-used themes – these cards undermine rather than support a business.

What Echoes in the Real Reverberates Through the Virtual…

And, so it is with websites. In fact, it’s worse, because with a website you never see the reaction of a visitor to your website. It’s hidden from view, you can ignore it and not even bother measuring the traffic to see whether visitors like your website, or not!

And now, just like the business card kiosk, you can build your own website without any help from a designer or developer. In fact there are a number of businesses supplying these kinds of sites.

It is true: you can spend very little on getting your very own website live from any number of suppliers.

But, let’s just pause for a moment, and go back to the basic question: what is your website for?

If your answer is to put off visitors, cheapen your products and services, reduce your opportunity and communicate carelessness – then go ahead, do it yourself.

It’s rather like getting a cheap suit for a wedding: on the plus side, it is a suit and therefore you have fulfilled the criteria for the wedding. However, isn’t it always the case that the person who is least aware of the way they look is, of course, the suit-wearer? And those most embarrassed are their close friends and family.

If you ever want your website to do anything more than just occupy a domain name, then please take it more seriously – otherwise it will offer you exactly what it deserves to: absolutely nothing in return.