Are Website Builders Good For SEO? - Semalt Expert
Do you want to set up a website? Providers of services related to running a business in the network provide solutions tailored to the needs of various groups of recipients. Some commission the agency's website, others use free CMS systems and try to launch the website themselves, others use website builders for this. How does the last of these solutions work? Is it right if you want good visibility on Google?
In fact, getting your own website up and running can seem like a difficult task for someone who doesn't have the knowledge to build pages. However, companies offering solutions related to running a business on the Internet have found a product with which even a person with no experience in creating websites is able to cope. The way to achieve the expected effect is to use the aforementioned website creator. What is this? And how do website builders and SEO interact?
What are website builders?
A website builder is an application where you choose a template and then personalize the website. You don't need to know anything about programming - you make modifications in a similar way as in a text editor. You enter content in individual places, optionally select photos, decide what functions you want to provide to Internet users, e.g., comments. In short - you plan how the website should look and what it should consist of. You also do not need to have your own hosting, as server resources can be obtained for the price of the wizard.
Of course, this is not new to the market. Wizards have been around for years, but the possibilities you get as part of such a service have definitely increased. Most often, using them is possible on the basis of a subscription payment - annual, quarterly or monthly. Ie. it is not said that you will have to pay for it - some hosting companies allow you to use the wizard for free, but then you have to pay for the server service.
In fact, having previously prepared content for your website, you are able to launch a simple website in a few dozen minutes, which will be a showcase of the company. But is a website based on such a solution a good choice? Will such a website be optimized to the requirements of the Google algorithm or will it meet the current standards and expectations of Internet users? It depends, of course, on which wizard you will use.
Advantages of using website builders
Of course, the popularity of using solutions that allow you to set up your website at an express pace is not accidental. These are tools that have many advantages, including:
- You incur a low cost or you do not pay any fees - you only have to spend time entering data on the website, adding the expected functions.
- No need to look for a hosting service - you get it for the price of a website builder.
- You can publish your website even on the same day you choose to do so.
- No need to know anything about page creation - you build your website using the drag and drop method. You add content in a similar way as in text editors.
- Easy integration of social media into your website - do you run profiles on such websites? You can quickly add links to them on the website.
So, as you can see, website builders have several advantages, but they are also not without their drawbacks. The limitations should be mentioned here, for example. You rely on ready-made solutions - there may be a lot of them, but of course, you shall not enter everything that comes to your mind. Such a problem does not occur when the website is created according to an individual project and is built by an expert. Another issue - website builders and SEO -: Does such a site have a chance of good visibility on Google?
Website creators and SEO
The simplicity of setting up a website is undoubtedly a great advantage of the website from the creator, but that's not all. The website should not only exist, but also sell. One important traffic source is the redirects from Google's organic search results. This is true for the vast majority of businesses. More researches show that SEO expenses were the second highest in the marketing budget for the respondents. Social media expenses were slightly higher.
Therefore, do not consider a scenario where SEO will be unnecessary for your business. Since the wizard will guarantee you savings, will you bet on it without thinking? It's not a very good decision. Check what is involved in choosing a site as part of such a service.
Unoptimized page code
One of the factors relevant to Google is the page code. You may be wondering - if you have an attractive-looking website that you like, what interests you in the code that the user cannot see? Indeed - it does not matter for the Internet user, but for the Google robot - it does. It is hard to expect that a website created as part of the wizard would have a more refined code than the one that was prepared especially for you by an expert.
Page loading speed
The waiting time of the Internet user for the website to load is important for many reasons. The longer it takes to load, the lower the conversion rate, the higher the bounce rate and, most importantly, the bad effects on the user experience. For Google, page loading speed is one of the ranking factors.
So, as you can see, nowadays a fast-loading page on the web is an absolute necessity. If the site's code is not optimised, this harms the time it takes for the site to load. This is the effect of, among other things, inadequate nesting of code on multiple pages. There is no way to refine this aspect - the work of the wizards is based on obtaining the most attractive effect in terms of visuals. Get help from the Dedicated SEO Dashboard, a powerful SEO tool that will help you solve any problem related to the loading speed of the pages.
Valid HTML code
You will see if your website is designed to high standards if it passes W3C validation. The validator checks the page for syntax and lexical errors. But does it matter? Sites with good validation are more likely to display and function properly - there is less chance of errors on them. This is also important for the Google search algorithm. Does this mean that your website code must be perfect, refined, otherwise there is no chance of visibility on Google? Of course not. You will find tons of sites with very good rankings that are full of errors, but fine-tuning your site in all respects can only work to your advantage.
You do not have access to the page code
To solve all sorts of technical SEO problems, you need full HTML access to the page. For wizards, you can only make changes to the code of the edited content, as long as this option is provided at all within the offer. You cannot tamper with .htaccess or web.config files, which make it easier to define massive page redirects.
If you are at the stage of selection, it is better to choose a website based, for example, on WordPress, where you really decide about everything yourself. You can edit the website according to your needs, and thus - you are able to adjust all solutions on the website to the requirements of the Google algorithm.
Website builder and SEO - what if I already have a website builder?
You already have a website, you want to appear on Google, but does the website from the creator even have a chance? It is definitely a more difficult task to perform and a lot depends on the service you use. You can come across one that puts a lot of limitations in terms of SEO optimization, but there are also suggestions that allow significant modifications. Most often, however, you will be able to optimize the basic elements that are important in SEO. As a rule, you will be able to:
- Add an individual title and description for each subpage.
- Establish friendly URLs as expected.
- Add 301, 302 redirects.
- Set up an automatic generation of the sitemap.
- Specify Alts or descriptions for image files.
- Take care of internal linking.
- Establish category structures as expected.
If you have already decided to use the website creation offer with the help of the wizard, consider only those proposals that are being developed. You will find various services on the market - don't be guided by the lowest price. It's best to ask the company what SEO optimization opportunities they provide. Also, check whether the entity frequently updates its solution and whether it is really thanks to this that their application is up-to-date with the available and currently used technologies.
Are website builders good for SEO? Summary
There are many advantages to using website builders - it is a relatively cheap and quick way to start a website. Unfortunately, this choice has many limitations and is not a good SEO solution. If you want to have extensive optimization options, edit everything that is important, it is best to put, for example, a website based on the WordPress system, set up on your own hosting. Thanks to this, the website can be fully consistent with your expectations and the Google algorithm. However, if you absolutely want to have a website from the builder, find a solution that gives you the opportunity to optimize for SEO and provides access to solutions that are currently standard.
FAQ
Can I transfer a website from the wizard to another CMS?
Moving is always possible, but what it entails is important. If you have already carried out some SEO activities, e.g. link building, for website subpages, then it would be best to recreate the same structure on the new page, and if not - set 301 redirects.
Certainly, such a transfer will not be as easy as, for example, in the case of a WordPress site, where everything may require literally a few clicks. If you are planning such a change, it is best to do so before you significantly expand your website. Then you will have less work to do when you move.
How much does a page from the wizard cost?
Most often, using such a site is associated with the payment of a subscription, at the price of which you get server resources. Often, the creator is also a free addition to the hosting service. As a rule, the fee for a wizard ranges from several dozen to several hundred dollars a year.
With the price at the upper limit, it turns out that a few years of using the service can be as much as creating a website based on a popular CMS.
If you need to learn more about the subject of SEO and website promotion, we invite you to visit our Semalt blog.