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Free Online Website Builder! (or Not)

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What are Free Online Website Builders?

Free online web site builders are proprietary tools provided by web hosting companies that cater to people who wish to build and publish their own websites without learning the technical aspects of web page production.

The person who wishes to use a website builder typically signs up with the hostong company and chooses the design that best suits his or her purpose. Some companies' tools allow the user to see the source code, that is, the HTML behind the page he is building. Many do not, with only certain designated areas on the page that can be modified. Usually, these areas are: headers, text and some graphic elements.

So why would you want to pay ScottBinnie.com to provide you with web services instead of these "free" options?

Cost of Free Online Website Builders

Let's discuss this word "free". Does it mean that it doesn't cost anything? Well no actually. You generally have to sign up for hosting to be able to use the software. The hosting may be as little as $5 per month (CDN), but reviews all over the web report that the cheapest hosting packages provide poor downtime statistics, for email, the software, and the servers themselves. In other words, you get what you pay for.

Free Pages from Online Website Builders?

Does "free" mean that you are free to create custom pages? Well no actually. Generally you are limited to a small number of pages (5-10 typically) and only able to choose from pre-existing colour palettes and page themes.

Free Online Website Builder Options?

Does "free" mean that you are free to add new parts to your websites, such as importing Youtube videos, Flickr albums and images, or entries from your Twitter, Facebook or other 'social networking' accounts, ? Well no actually. You are restricted to the 'off-the-shelf' offerings that the company provides.

Advertising on Free Online Website Builders?

Does "free" mean that you can sell advertising on your site? Typically, no. The provider generally reserves the right to display the advertising (that's often one of their profit centers). And, the resulting ads that are displayed on your site may even promote a product or service that directly competes with you.

Free Online Website Builder SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

What about Search Engine Optimization? I don't mean the expensive services that guarantee you placement in the top 10 of Google for your keywords, but basic optimization such as tagwords, titles, headings, etc.. Well, these services cannot provide SEO, because in order to do so, they would have to give your access to some of the insides of their proprietary system.

Summary

So, why use ScottBinnie.com instead?

We custom taylor a site template to your colours, graphics, logos and other design specifications;
We provide you with the framework for you to add your own content - as much as you wish;
We can add or subtract functionality (such as the importing mentioned above, or forums, e-commerce, chats, links, community-extensions, social networking options, email publishing etc.) when you need it, and fit it directly into your custom template;
We can set you up to display your own advertising, and even help you with determining what ads you should run, and where you can get them from;
We design your site with SEO in mind. Even without a thorough optimization, your pages will register higher with the search engines that any provided by the 'free guys' and,
In addition, we are constantly researching new technologies and options to make sure that you get to use the best available at the least expensive price.

However, if all you want to do is run a personal website as a hobby, then the free site may be for you.

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