Over the past few years, there has been a growing trend in website development where Do-It-Yourself (DIY) website builders have begun to appear. These platforms are basically utilizing an API graphics interface, wherein a person customizes modules to create websites. These platforms are relatively easy to use and are intuitive; this helps to explain their growing popularity, especially when taking into consideration the cost of website development. However, it must be questioned whether going for a DIY site builder would be the best choice when it comes to the type of website that you are after.
Examining DIY Site Builders
DIY websites are appealing since they enable ordinary users to create websites based on their own ideas and the tools that the site has available. With some DIY sites costing less than $10 per month, many people find them to be a more appealing choice, this is especially true for many small businesses that are looking for a site to merely display their products. However, it should be noted that one of the main limitations of DIY sites is that users have to operate within the set limits of the site’s programming. This means that if you needed to integrate a customer databases into the site, have an extensive purchasing platform or other such popular developments, most DIY sites would be unable to have these implemented. This is due to the fact that the very nature of DIY means that they are websites that are “for show” and not necessarily meant for the rigors nor functionality of a site created by a PHP developer for example.
Developer Created Site
The advantage of a developer created site is that it has a great deal more functionality as compared to DIY website. The reason behind this due to the fact that a PHP developer could create functions that are specific to that very website that enable it to track customers, create an information database as well as perform a series of automated actions that a DIY website simply cannot match. This creates a considerable edge that DIY simply have not been able to breach given the limited complexity of the tools they provide their clients.
We aren’t trying to say that DIY websites don’t have their place in the grand scheme of web development; rather, it is more appropriate to state that DIY is meant more for showing off a product or service rather than performing complex functions.
