Free Site Builders – The quickest way to kill your brand

Written by Christian on October 25, 2010 in Logo Design and Branding - 2 Comments

Dramatic name for a post right ?  Let me explain. I think free site builders are wonderful tools that help simplify life for people looking at a quick way to get web presence.

Whether you are blogging about tofu , or showing off pictures of your trip to cancun and want to share it with your friends , then yes free site builders are an easy , inexpensive way to get the information that you need out.

However , if you are trying to jumpstart a business , sell products online , or even become the next "it"  model , then you could be digging your brand and business an early grave.

But why Chris ? How does using one of those free site builders "Kill" my business ? There really is no nice way to put this , so I'll just say it : It looks cheap , and makes the user experience very impersonal.

Some free site builder sites include :

 Wix.com       

Moonfruit

Intuit

Weebly

Now , don't get me wrong , I am not totally against using them , but I think that if you are investing time into your "Business"  and are looking to make your mark on the internet , then using those free site builders , or even using free hosting for that matter , then it shows your potential clients , that you don't take your business seriously. Take a look at the following so that you can better grasp what I am getting at :

Which site would you purchase a new computer from ?

1.)       www.wix.com/computerstore  or

2.)       www.computerstore.com

Some of these free site builders brand the site with unsightly advertisements encouraging you to upgrade your plan. And some give you a site with some foul extension ( www.weebly.com/yourbusinesshere )

I will leave this thread open for discussion  , as I would love to hear some input on this topic.