- REQUEST A QUOTE
- CONTACT US
- < Go for it. Click one.
It's pretty difficult to ignore the 1&1 commercial that was recently released. It doesn't matter if you're watching a football game, checking out your favorite primetime shows, or watching an awards ceremony, that 1 & 1 commercial is everywhere, so it makes sense to wonder if it’s a viable solution for new or small companies looking to get their companies online. Sure, the information sounds amazing, but the reality of what’s being offered, and more importantly what’s missing, makes it easy to see that 1&1’s Website Builder is probably not a viable solution for your brand.
The first thing you should know about the 1 & 1 building process is that it’s so easy for beginners because they use cookie-cutter templates. Sound confusing? It’s really not. Cookie-cutter templates are basic designs that are used over and over again for a variety of different websites, much like you would use a Christmas tree cookie-cutter to create a large number of sugar cookies.
The sites use basic two column layouts that can only be customized with a few different plain colors and very simplistic text. These templates are definitely outdated. In fact, they look like they were created in the late 1990s. This makes your brand look as though it's been around without any serious updates for years. You might think having a website is better than not having one at all, but the reality is that if you’re trying to build credibility with your customer base, having a boring, outdated website is actually worse than having none at all.
Content management is another big selling point of the 1&1 system, but even here, there are holes in the theory. If you opt to have a website through 1&1, you won’t have the ability to control the look of your page. Their content management system is handled through a visual editor, but you aren’t going to be able to log into any sort of administration panel. This company’s cookie-cutter templates only allow you to edit text in different spots on your pages, not to actually control where the text is placed.
If, on the other hand, you have a content management system built specifically for your business, you will have a great deal of control over how the website looks as well as its functionality.
One of the best ways to get a great deal of attention for your website is to have high-rankings on search engines like Google. If you don't have a high-quality content management system in place, you will not have any sort of easy or convenient way to make sure that your content is fresh and new which will bring it to the top of search engine much faster.
A hot, fresh look is king, and using the technology that’s available right now is the only way to get it. 1&1 certainly isn’t going to offer that to you. In fact, a site built through 1&1 doesn’t have any sort of social media plug-in, nor does it have any web 2.0 elements or even Ajax technology. This means that any competitors who have built a website using a website creator using these elements are already a few steps ahead of you. Their sites are going to have the professional touch yours just can’t with 1&1. So while you may be saving a bit of money, you're likely pushing potential customers away simply because of how your website looks.
The phrase that "you get what you pay for" is definitely true when it comes to 1&1. From the way your pages are designed to the lacking technology they employ, it’s all going to add up to one thing for your customers – a bad first impression. One way to make sure that your potential customers get a very good first impression of your business is to have a company like Farin Innovations help you to create a unique, up-to-date, and very individual website for your business. This website design company, based in Miami, FL, specializes in SEO and social media strategies in order to help get their clients companies not only up and running online, but able to compete toe to toe against other competing companies.