Are DIY Website Builders Bad for Business? (Spoiler: Yes, They Might Be) (DUPLICATE)
Your cousin’s band, your neighbor’s candle biz, and your barber’s side hustle all use Wix. Should you?
Back in the early days of Johnnyo, we were hand-coding sites with one eye on the “View Source” tab and the other on Notepad. Today, we’ve graduated from boxed mac & cheese to Michelin-starred meals—and we’ve seen what happens when businesses try to cook from a boxed mix.
Here’s the bitter truth: DIY website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy are built for their success, not yours. They thrive on your desire for speed and ease. But that shortcut can lead to a long detour.
Table of Contents:
- What You Think You’re Getting vs. What You’re Actually Getting
- SEO Woes: Why Google Isn’t a Fan of Your DIY Site
- The Limitations of Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy
- When DIY Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)
- Final Take & How to Grow Your Dough the Right Way
What You Think You’re Getting vs. What You’re Actually Getting
What You Think You’re Getting:
- A sleek website in under 2 hours
- Full creative control
- Budget-friendly launch
What You’re Actually Getting:
- Bloated code that tanks your SEO (DIY website builder SEO issues are real)
- Template lock-in that limits your future flexibility
- Surface-level design not optimized for conversion
- Painfully limited integrations and performance analytics
A study by FirstSiteGuide found that 70% of small business websites lack a call-to-action on their homepage. Builders like Squarespace and GoDaddy make it easy to slap a page together, but they rarely help you think like a marketer.
SEO Woes: Why DIY Website Builders Are Bad for Business
Let’s break some eggs: your Wix site might look tasty, but under the hood, it’s a soggy mess of unoptimized code.
Google’s PageSpeed Insights scores reveal that DIY platforms like Wix and Squarespace often load 2–4x slower than custom-built WordPress sites (Source: Backlinko). Slow sites mean higher bounce rates—and that means lost sales.
Keywords like “problems with Wix websites” and “DIY website builder SEO issues” are trending for a reason: small business owners are learning the hard way that visibility = viability. If your site isn’t showing up in search, it’s not working for you.
Messy Code = Missed Opportunities
DIY platforms inject a lot of extra code that slows down load times and confuses Google. Your site might look fine to you, but search engines are gagging on the markup.
Squarespace vs Custom Website: Can You Really Tell the Difference?
Yes—and so can your customers.
A custom website isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s built to convert. Think:
- Better UX (user experience)
- Integrated tools like CRMs and email marketing
- Scalable back-end for growth
Squarespace templates, while pretty, aren’t flexible. Need a custom booking feature? A unique user dashboard? You’ll likely hit a wall—and fast.
Template vs Custom Website: What You’re Really Choosing
| Feature | DIY Template Site | Custom Website |
| Design Flexibility | Low | High |
| SEO Optimization | Poor | Excellent |
| Conversion-Focused | Rare | Standard |
| Long-Term Scalability | Limited | Built-In |
Why Not Use GoDaddy Website Builder for Your Business?
If you’re asking yourself “why not use GoDaddy website builder?” here’s the short answer: it’s like cooking with plastic utensils.
GoDaddy’s builder is limited in functionality, offers little control over design hierarchy, and has sluggish load speeds. The UI may feel familiar, but the backend lacks the depth serious businesses need to grow and scale.
GoDaddy might work for launching a passion project or proof-of-concept, but it’s not the platform you want once the orders start rolling in.
When a DIY Site *Does* Make Sense (But Only for a Bit)
We’re not total snobs. DIY website builders can serve a purpose—for a season.
If you’re:
- Testing a brand-new idea
- Just trying to secure a proof of concept
- Operating with a shoestring budget and zero team
- Don’t fully believe in yourself or your idea and aren’t willing to risk it for the biscuit
Then yes, a DIY site can help you get on the map. But don’t get comfortable. Those early pages are the frozen pizza of web design—fine for survival, not for scaling.
Website Mistakes Small Business Owners Make (And How to Avoid Them)
Too many small business owners make these common missteps:
- Prioritizing “easy” over “effective”
- Confusing “looking good” with “working well”
- Ignoring SEO from day one
- Using templates that don’t reflect their unique brand flavor
The truth? Your website is often your first impression. Don’t serve something bland when you could wow them with a house-made masterpiece.
Final Take: Are DIY Website Builders Bad for Business?
If you’re serious about feeding your family and growing your business into something that lasts, you need more than just a plate of pixels. You need a website that’s custom-built to your goals, your customers, and your future.
Don’t settle for a half-baked solution.
Reach out if your site’s tasting a little stale. We’ll cook up something handcrafted, performance-optimized, and SEO-savvy—something designed to help you grow your dough.