What Your Business Needs
Are you trying to decide whether to use a free website-builder or hire a professional designer/developer? Before choosing, think carefully about what your website needs to do for your business — and whether you’ll be comfortable with the trade-offs each option brings.
What is a website builder?
A website builder is a drag-and-drop online platform that lets you build your own site without needing to know HTML, CSS or backend code. These tools have pre-designed templates and built-in code so you can launch something fast and with minimal cost.
In 2025, many website builders also throw in hosting, security updates, and simplified SEO features.
So yes — your site can look decent and function well if your needs are simple.
What is a website designer/developer?
A website designer/developer (freelance or agency) works with you to understand your business goals, your brand, your customers — and then builds a site tailored to those needs.
For example, at Traverse Web, we start by listening — to your vision, your audience, your desired outcomes. Then we design not just a pretty site, but one aimed at generating leads or sales.
Free Website Builder vs. Custom Design: How they compare
Design
- With a website builder you’re often limited to a set of templates. Many other businesses may use the same frames, risk your site looking like your competitor’s.
- With a custom design you get uniqueness — control of colors, fonts, functionalities — making you stand out.
Branding
- Builders may struggle to fully support your brand identity beyond colors. Also, free or low-cost builders often force you into subdomains (e.g., mysite.mybuilder.com) which look less professional and hamper SEO/portability.
- A custom build supports consistent branding across all platforms (ads, business cards, web) and lets you own your domain and full set of rights.
Ownership & Portability
- With some builders you may not truly own the design or content; moving later can mean rebuilding.
- With a professional designer you typically own your site’s assets and can transfer providers if needed (with support).
Features & Functionality
- Builders often limit what you can do or charge extra for advanced features (forms, eCommerce, bookings).
- A custom site allows you to integrate the features you need, built-to-your-specs.
Monetization & Ads
- Free builder tiers may force ads you don’t control, and you don’t collect the ad revenue.
- With a custom site you control advertising decisions, placement, and monetization.
Mobile & Responsiveness
- Some builders only include mobile optimization on paid tiers; you must check carefully.
- A custom site should be responsive across devices from the start and reflect your brand identity uniformly.
SEO & Analytics
- Many builders give limited access to customization, analytics or sitemap submission.
- A custom site can be optimized for performance, proper SEO, Google Analytics integration, and sitemap submissions.
- In 2025 performance matters more than ever: fast load times, clean code, mobile-first design.
Time to Launch
- A builder can get you online quickly if you’re willing to put in the time yourself.
- A custom build might take 4-6 weeks (or more depending on complexity) but you’ll save time later and have a site built for you.
Dashboard / Training
- Builders often give a DIY dashboard but may frustrate you with limitations.
- With a custom build you typically get a user-friendly CMS (like WordPress), training, and support so you can manage updates easily.
Hosting / Speed / Security / Support
- Free builder hosting may be on heavily shared servers, slower, less secure, and you may have limited support.
- A professional designer/developer typically includes better hosting, speed optimization, backups, branded email, and support.
- Today’s users expect fast, reliable, secure sites — and search engines reward it.
So… how do you decide?
The key is: understand your needs, your budget, and what your website must do.
- If your budget is extremely tight, your business very simple (basic information only), and you’re comfortable doing a lot yourself — a website builder can be a short-term solution.
- But if you want a brand-driven, unique, growth-oriented website — or you expect to scale, integrate, or optimize performance — then investing in a custom site is likely the smarter long-term approach.
At Traverse Web, for example, even a custom site starts around $1000 and we let you know what the investment covers — the design, the brand integration, the code, the support.
If you’re looking for a website that works for your business and not just exists, it’s worth a conversation.
Why choose Traverse Web?
We’ve built thousands of websites, many with happy customers. We understand that your website is more than name, address, and services — it’s a tool for building trust, answering questions, positioning you as the right choice.
Your website is an investment. Choose wisely.
Free website builders have come a long way, and for some businesses they make sense — but they come with trade-offs.
If you expect your site to reflect your unique brand, generate leads, scale with you, and perform well — then hiring a designer/developer (and owning your site) is often the better route.
Start by defining your goals and budget. Then pick the solution that will serve your business now and as you grow.
Call us at 231-409-5999 and let’s talk about your business goals and what your website should do for you.