The pitfalls of DIY website platforms: why local business owners often outgrow them
I want to tackle a common headache for local business owners: DIY website platforms like Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy. They’re sold as quick and affordable solutions, but once you’re in deep, you realize they can become a time-sucking, money-draining burden.
It’s that moment when you spend hours trying to change a simple layout or update your services, only to end up frustrated because the platform just won’t let you do it the way you need.
Sound Familiar?
If you’ve ever felt like your website isn’t:
- Reflecting your business properly
- Bringing in the right customers
- Or has become a nightmare to update
Then this post is for you
Let’s break down the 4 biggest struggles business owners face with these platforms—and what to watch out for so your website works for your business, not against it.
Table of Contents
1. Limited customization options
One of the biggest problems local business owners run into with these DIY website platforms is the limited ability for customizing their website. Most new business owners are looking for the cheapest, fastest, and simplest way to promote their business online, and most go to DIY website builders for this reason.
They think, “I just need something simple that is not expensive for now.” That approach makes sense when you’re just starting out. But if your business offers multiple services, charges premium prices, and delivers high-quality work, you need a website that reflects that.
It’s important that your website showcases the uniqueness of what you do so that you stand out from your competitors. Using a website template that’s used by thousands of others doesn’t make you stand out very well.
At Rain Marketers, we build all of our clients’ websites on WordPress, which is open source and highly customizable. About 43.5% of all websites on the internet are built with WordPress—that’s about 835 million sites.
If you’re having a hard time making your website stand out and accurately represent your business, it may be time to make a change and look into some more professional website design companies and services.
2. No ownership
Local business owners often don’t realize that when they build their websites on DIY platforms like Wix, Squarespace, or GoDaddy, they don’t fully “own” their websites in the traditional sense. These platforms operate on a closed system, meaning your site is built entirely within their ecosystem.
If you decide to leave the platform, you may not be able to transfer your design, structure, or content in a usable format. With a platform like WordPress, you can move your site to wherever you want without losing your design or website content.
3. Growth limits
DIY platforms are great when you’re just starting out. But as your business grows, you might find yourself needing to add new services, support more customers, or offer more products. That’s when these platforms can become a headache.
You’ll quickly hit limits that make it hard to expand—forcing you to either stick with a site that doesn’t meet your needs or spend extra time and money starting from scratch on a new platform.
Depending on your business and how fast you expect to grow, it may be better to get something more custom that your business can grow into.
Check out this video on how we helped a construction company upgrade from their outdated Wix site to a professional, growth-ready website—with ongoing support from Rain Marketers.
4. Lack of ongoing support
As your business grows, your time becomes more limited, and your website needs become more complex. Maybe you want to implement advanced SEO strategies, keep your content updated, or add new features to attract more customers.
But with DIY platforms, you’re often left to figure it out on your own. There’s no dedicated support team to handle these updates, so you either spend too much time making changes yourself or end up hiring outside help.
What started as a “simple” solution ends up costing more in the long run because these platforms aren’t built to support the evolving needs of a successful business.
If expanding your digital marketing is part of your growth strategy, it’s smart to plan for that growth in your website from the start.
How Rain Marketers can help
Digital marketing mistakes are easy to make. If you need assistance starting, fixing, or getting support for your website, feel free to reach out. Rain Marketers specializes in website design, development, and ongoing support for local businesses that don’t want to deal with the hassle of managing their online presence.
We make it easy to incorporate advanced digital marketing strategies as your business grows, so your website always stays up-to-date and professional.
