It’s no secret that people spend HOURS everyday online, browsing the internet on their phones and computers. In fact, a recent study estimate that the average American adult spends over 12 hours a day consuming media in some form or another. That stat is absolutely bonkers, but the craziness doesn’t end there. Because we are spending so much time online, we are also doing more shopping online and online sales are estimated to reach $39 billion in Canada alone by 2019.

Businesses of all types are realizing that they NEED to get online if they want to profit from all this traffic because if they don’t, they risk being left behind and missing out on untold amounts of money.

Most businesses know that they need an online presence of some sort and more often than not, that comes in the form of a website. They (mistakenly) think that all they need to do is throw something together and that they will get around to fixing it later. But will they actually?

As a web designer/developer, I see people and businesses make this mistake all the time and it truly breaks my heart! Because here’s the thing: “later” doesn’t always happen. The updates to the starter website keep getting pushed further and further and further back and before you know it, it becomes a major undertaking. While a business might have created a starter website with good intentions, the truth is that it can actually do more harm than good in the long run.

In this post, I’m going to give you my professional opinion on starter websites, go over the pros and cons, and let you in on everything you need to know about them before you get started. You might not share my opinion but I hope see my perspective and that it gives you something to think about if you’re considering a starter website of your own!

Let’s take a look.