There are many benefits of having a paid, professional website for your business that completely trump the “no cost” aspect of a free website. When creating or hiring a web designer it is important to create your website right the first time, so you don’t have to shell out more money or have issues limiting capabilities down the road. A paid website service is one in which a website hosting company rents out its server space for a fee to a website. A free website host, on the other hand, gives website owners free server space in exchange for displaying adverts on their pages. Free websites, to put it bluntly, are amateurish, unreliable, and extremely limited in terms of SEO, user experience, and plugins.

Also, remember if you are hiring a web design company, make sure you own the rights to your site or in other words your website is open-sourced. Having an open-sourced website means that your site content is not locked on a proprietary software and hosting can be transferred to other servers, rather than having to start over completely.

The following are the top ten advantages of having a paid website:

1. Paid websites are secure

Paid websites come with SSL certificates and significant security against hackers and malware. Having an HTTPS:// site not only improves your SEO, but it also protects customer information when filling out forms or making online payments.

2. Equipped for Search Engine Optimization

You have more tools and skills to improve your site for better rankings when you use a paid website. Paid websites provide you the option of choosing your own domain, which makes it easier for Google to scan your site and identify suitable users. You are also not limited to the number of pages you may have, so you can include a lot of content and organize it so that Google can crawl each page more easily. With free websites, title tags can be used to ensure that your site’s key terms and phrases are not limited. Because each title tag should describe what’s on each page and be accompanied by relevant material, title tags make it easier to be found under various words and phrases. Furthermore, because you are not sharing server space with hundreds of other websites, paid websites load faster.

3. Paid websites have more bandwidth

Paid websites have more bandwidth which is the amount of data transferred from server to user browser. Paying for server space will eliminate chances of your site shutting down because you exceeded your bandwidth cap, which is usually the case with free websites.

4. Compatible with advanced analytics

Having a paid websites ensures that your site is compatible with Google Analytics and other SEO analysis tools. Google Analytics is very important to track user statistics and monitor the health of your website.

5. Compatible with plugins and various building tools

There are so many plugins and tools to customize your websites capabilities and make the build process easier, most paid websites are compatible with these various tools. With free websites, what you see is what you get.

6. No other advertisers on your website

Third-party adverts are not allowed on paid websites since they are obtrusive, intrusive, and unprofessional. By removing display adverts from your website, you can keep it looking clean and professional, making it easier for users to navigate. You also have control over the ads, ensuring that competitors or off-brand advertisers do not appear on your website without your permission, and if you do want third-party advertisements with Google AdSense, you are the one who receives the money, not the free website provider.

7. Your contact information is safe

Paid websites do not sell your information, so you can sign up with confidence knowing you won’t be inundated with spam or telemarketers. Because free website providers must generate money in some manner, they sell your email address, personal information, and website address to third parties. They have complete legal immunity thanks to their terms and conditions, which customers usually don’t pay attention to.

8. Unlimited Templates to choose from

Paid websites provide a limitless number of templates from which to choose, ensuring that your website stands out from the competition. You’ll also have a slew of options for customizing your website design so you’re not stuck with a cookie-cutter template. Free website builders have a restricted selection of design templates, making it difficult to stand out.

9. User Friendly site building technology

If you are not tech savvy or have never constructed a website before, it is advisable to pay for a website builder that provides a user-friendly interface. Having the right tools and a simple setup will cut down on development time and make it easier to create a complete, well-rounded site.

10. Customer Service

Paid website providers have a responsive customer support team that can assist you with any issues that arise throughout the development of your website. It’s a good idea to have a support system in place if you’re a novice web developer.

Hopefully after reading this article you can make an informed decision on next steps to build your website. If you need anymore information or need an experienced web designer, our team at Ascent Digital is here to help.