I’m a HUGE believer that your website should be a living, breathing extension of yourself…and by that, I don’t just mean it’s somewhere to add a new blog post once in a while (sorry ladies)
If you have the inclination, I’m über passionate that small business owners should be empowered to create and make regular changes to their website THEMSELVES, so that it becomes an evolving thing.
Yes, this may mean refreshing gallery images and availability, but it also means feeling confident about making changes to existing structure, adding a page to showcase a new service, owning your look & feel and knowing how to tailor your SEO (search engine optimisation) to show up!
Technology should not be a barrier that feels scary - it should be an enabler!
It’s boring to be tied to a designer for all of that stuff…hanging around with a great idea…waiting for a gap in the designers schedule…waiting for someone else in your industry to have the same idea and act on it first.
Eeek.
Having control of your website means you can strike while the iron is hot, be reactive to opportunities as and when they arise and, ultimately…take ownership of steering the sails of your business. It’s why I love template building sites such as Wix & Squarespace.
Where will you sail?!
This next bit is controversial (but what is life without controversy? ha ha)...
Here goes...most small service-based businesses don’t need a Wordpress website unless they're building something very technically advanced.
I’m pretty tired of the attitude in the industry that 'Wordpress is king' and everything else plays second fiddle, because it’s exactly like choosing a car and what's right for one person is wrong for another. We all have different needs and requirements.
My minimum requirements for my website are that:
I can update my site and add new content and pages quickly
I have complete creative control over what it looks like
It ranks highly for my chosen key search terms
It generates a constant flow of enquiries
The process of making updates is fun, not stressful!
For me, Wix ticks all of these boxes very nicely and in many cases knocks the ball out of the park.
I had Wordpress for a different business years ago. Whilst it was ok on 3 & 4 for a time, having my hands tied in terms of structure, updates and look & feel meant I couldn't react quickly to changes in the industry, which eventually lead to a decline in SEO and enquiries.
Now I know that Wordpress has moved on since then...but for me it left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a dealbreaker.
So whilst the Wordpress designers will be rolling their eyes at all of this rather than opening them to the changing landscape, I’m liberated from the shackles and free to steer those sails anywhere I want. As a small business owner, THAT feels amazing.
If you're interested, in another post I'll be giving you my run down on whether Wix or Squarespace could be right for you.
Plus I'll also be writing a couple of myth busting posts on Wix and showing you a comparison of how my client's first page ranking improved dramatically within the space of 24 hours after making the switch from Wordpress to Wix (yes, just for all of you Wixsceptics out there).
By the way, if you want me to do the same for your Wix website, you know where I am - Did you know that I offer a standalone SEO service?
PS. It's worth saying that Wordpress is an amazingly powerful platform, especially for bloggers, and I am good friends with many brilliant WP designers! You know who you are and I love you to bits. Wordpress is the perfect fit for some businesses, but not all...so how about we just agree that the roads are a more colourful place with the variety of car makes and models on offer? Mwah.
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