As the saying goes, “The best things in life are free..” however there are a few exceptions to this rule, and one of them is definitely using a so called “Free Website” to promote your business.

Would you give a potential client a ripped piece of paper with your details written on it, and call it a business card? – If so, continue using a Free Website.

Let’s be honest, if it was a good idea, everyone would be using one. If you are serious about your business, then don’t use a Free Website service.

Remember any professional website can and should at least pay for itself, which means it’s free, and if you spend time on it, it can even make you money.

Here are quite a few reasons why you should never use a Free Website to promote your business.

• Unprofessional web address
  Believe it or not, but the name of a business website is very important, and can either attract customers, or turn them away.
  If you are looking for a business online, which one of these are you more likely to contact – www.mybusiness.com OR www.mybusiness.freewebsiteforever.com –

 

• Terrible for search engines
  Search engines do NOT like mass produced Free Websites, so you are already losing potential customers, costing you money, now suddenly your Free Website is not so Free anymore..
  You will very rarely, if ever see a Free Website with a half decent ranking.

 

• You can’t run advertisements or make money
  The money they are making from using your site as an advertising platform, is money you could be making yourself with more professional and relevant advertising.  EVERY [paid] website can easily pay for itself.. making it in theory free as well.

 

• Irrelevant advertisements on your website
  Just ask yourself, is there anything more annoying than getting bombarded with completely irrelevant advertising? If I am looking for a plumber or electrician, I do not expect or want to be offered Russian Brides or Viagra 

 

• They can sell your information
  Remember that these services need to make money somehow to remain in the business. A good rule of thumb is if you are not paying for it, then you are the product.
  These companies find other ways to make money such as selling your email address, personal information, and your website address to other companies. Their terms and conditions which no one really reads provide them total legal immunity.

 

• Low credibility among your users
  When your site is hosted on a free service, your users will feel less inclined to trust it. If users are not comfortable sharing their information, then it will kill the whole purpose of you creating a website.

 

• You will be targeted with email offers
  Your details will be sold to third parties, that is how they make their money.. expect more.. lots more Spam

 

• No branded email
  Bob@hotmail.com is not the same as info@yourbusiness.com – using a free email address is not very professional. By all means use a Free email address, we actually recommend it, however  use a domain email to give to your customers, and have the emails forwarded to the Free service for backups.

Theses are just a few reasons why you should never use a “Free Website” to promote your business, for a lot more reasons check out 36 Reasons Why Having a “Free Website” is a Bad Idea

Remember, EVERY website should be able to at least pay for itself [ hosting, domain names etc. ]  and if taken seriously can make you a nice bit of pocket money, all while improving your website, reputation or business.

Contact us for more info about getting the most out of your site. 

 

 

Finding the right web designer for you and your business can be a very daunting task

Google is updating its search algorithms to favour websites that work well on mobile devices.

Sections of sites owned by the European Union, the BBC and Wikipedia currently fail the search giant’s Mobile Friendly Test developer tool.

“Mobile friendliness” will affect how prominently websites appear in Google search results pages from 21 April.

Criteria includes text size, the amount of space between links and whether the content fits across a mobile screen.

A Google representative said mobile friendliness was “one of many” factors used by the search engine to rank results, but in a blog post the company said it would have “a significant impact” on search results.
“As people increasingly search on their mobile devices, we want to make sure they can find content that’s not only relevant and timely, but also easy to read and interact with on smaller mobile screens,” the representative said.

Google is also offering developer tools for making websites compliant with the mobile-friendly guidelines.
Kevin Dallas, chief product officer at global payment processor Worldpay eCommerce, welcomed the changes.

“This move by Google should send a message to companies whose websites are poorly configured for smartphone users that optimising for mobile is no longer a matter of choice,” he said.

“This is particularly relevant for online retailers.”

The BBC said that while its bbc.co.uk domain failed the test, mobile users would soon be automatically redirected to a mobile version of the site, m.bbc.co.uk, which did pass the test, and was responsive, meaning it should adapt to fit the device on which it is being accessed.

The EU and Wikipedia have also been contacted by the BBC for comment.

The European Union’s home page appears to be the only part of its site to currently fail the test.

Google clashed with the EU last week when European Union competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced a complaint had been filed against Google over alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

Google has denied the allegations, which include promoting links to its own shopping services above those of rivals.