Why Online Site Builders Just Won't Do!

They are EVERYWHERE! All promising to let you build a site in just minutes!

In the first place, they really aren't any easier to use than a good HTML editor, with which you can drop images, type text, and move things around easily.

In the second place, they are FAR more limited.

Most require that you use their templates. You are allowed to fill certain content blocks with text or images of your choice. Sometimes they allow you to choose what you fill it with, sometimes they specify whether you have to fill it with an image, or text, etc.

You cannot change the layout. This can be a big problem, because a lot of site builders only have a single layout, with all of the templates formed around a basic layout. It may or may not be appropriate for what you want to do with it.

You cannot change the design elements. You can add a logo, or text, or an image here or there. You cannot change the color scheme unless you choose a different template.

Now, you may feel that these are not problems, that you can use a template just fine. But it isn't that simple.

• First, someone else's generic template will never be capable of producing anything unique, or personal. In today's web world, a custom template is easily recognizable, because it suits the topic better (if it is done right), and expresses some individuality. 
• Second, Individuality is EVERYTHING with setting your site apart from the masses. Where visual design is concerned, you need something with some personality, and some kind of unique feel to it. A canned template will never be able to achieve that. 
• Third, you will not have the flexibility to truly optimize the site for search engines or AdSense. Optimization is more than just title and metatags, it has to do with site structure, coding, and layout as well.

The alternative is to use a WYSIWYG editor (try NVU if you need a free one), combined with a template that you can customize. The difference is, that with a good basic template in an HTML editor, you can change the layout, the individual element colors, and you can take a basic template and turn it into something individual.

This site started out with an extremely basic template, in gold and burgundy colors, with nothing but a text header. It had no right hand navigation, and no top text bar. The second, light blue text bar, was also added. The design of this site is not spectacular. The layout is nothing special. But the header is a drawing that you will see nowhere else. It is not amazing, but it is unique.

Individuality is important with an infosite - it can make the difference between being memorable, and being passed over. But with a business site, it is CRITICAL. A site design MUST suit the business message precisely. If it does not, it won't be effective.

It takes only a little more time to learn to use a good HTML editor, and long term, you can learn how to do an incredible number of things to customize your site, in a way that a site builder simply cannot do. No canned template that cannot be altered will ever be able to match that, in flexibility, or in performance.

Written by Laura Wheeler
Owner, Firelight Web Studio
http://www.firelightwebstudio.com  
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