I got an email from a customer the other day that I thought would be helpful to some of you. If you’re looking to build a website and haven’t decided on which tool to use it might give you some direction.

“I just started a new site on Internet Based Family, but I’m finding that I can’t do the things I want with it–like HTML version newsletters and placing ads and/or banners along the margins or even in sections of the page. I think this is due to the limitation of the site builder program.

Now, I’m looking into Mom Webs. It looks like it would give me more features that I want.

I do well learning new programs on the computer even though I don’t know HTML.

Do you think Mom Webs would be a better choice for me?“

The Easy Site Builder can be somewhat limiting. Of course, it’s a great fit for certain people. More on that later.

First, it’s important to explain that MomWebs is a webhost – meaning they just host your files on the internet, they provide web space for your website.

You still have to figure out how you’re actually going to build and manage your site.

Wordpress is my website building tool of choice. I’m using it for all my sites now. It’s easy to use and adding content is a breeze.

However, if you’re not comfortable with the technical aspects of installing Wordpress and fiddling with the code that runs Wordpress, you might want someone else to build it. I use FreshNets for my Wordpress work and highly recommend their services.

Does That Mean Site Builders Are Bad?

Not at all.

Different tools are right for different jobs.

I still recommend the Internet Based Family site builder to certain people.

For instance, someone who has an offline business who just wants a good looking website to display their contact info, services, directions, about page, maybe a few articles.

It’s perfect for this type of business owner because they don’t have to wait on someone else to add a page to their site.

I run into this all the time – people pay thousands of dollars to have a beautiful site built, and then have to wait a month for someone to update their site when their business hours change or they need to make some quick, simple update to their site. Why wait and pay for someone else to do this?

It’s also risky not to OWN your domain and site, which may be the case if you hire it out to a web developer.

For online business owners though, it’s limiting, which is why I recommend WordPress exclusively for people who want to build an online business.

Different tools for different needs.

photo credit: tornatore