Build it yourself or have it done?
For many businesses a builder genuinely is enough, and we say that as someone selling the alternative. The question is not which is better but whether you have the time.
When a builder is the right choice
- You need three to five pages and no special functions.
- Someone in the business enjoys working at a computer and has a few evenings free.
- The content rarely changes. A restaurant with a fixed menu, a trade with a fixed set of services.
- Budget is the deciding factor and sits below 500 euros.
If that describes you, take a builder. You do not need us, and we would be too expensive for what you have in mind.
When it is not enough
- The site needs to be found. Builders can do SEO, but nobody maintains it, and without maintenance nothing happens.
- The content changes constantly. Listings, dates, offers, prices.
- It needs several languages. In a builder that quickly becomes double work with every change.
- Nobody in the business has the evenings to spare. That is the most common case and the most honest reason.
The item missing from every comparison
Builder comparisons line up monthly prices. The largest item is missing from them: your time. For the first version of a five page site, reckon realistically with 20 to 40 hours spread over weeks. Add one to two hours a month for changes if the site is to stay current.
What that means
Value your own hour at only 40 euros and the first version in a builder costs between 800 and 1,600 euros in working time, on top of the fee. The difference is not whether you pay but with what.
Side by side
| Point | Builder | Agency | Subscription with us |
|---|---|---|---|
| First year | 0 to 400 euros plus your time | 2,000 to 5,000 euros | 957 euros |
| Your time | 20 to 40 hours to build, then ongoing | Review rounds, then nothing | One sentence per change |
| Changes | You, whenever you like | Billed individually | Included, usually within 48 hours |
| Ongoing SEO care | Only if you do it | Usually a separate contract | Included |
| Who owns the site | You, but it cannot be moved | Usually you | Buyout of 6 monthly fees |
Common questions
Can I rank on Google with a builder?
Technically yes, the common builders bring everything needed. In practice it almost never fails on the technology but on nobody maintaining the site regularly. Google favours sites that are visibly worked on.
What happens to my builder site if I want to move?
You can copy the content but not the site. Builders cannot be moved to another provider, so it gets rebuilt. You take the domain with you, and that is the more important part.
Is a subscription not dearer in the long run?
If you never change the site, yes. If you change it once a month, no: billed individually, twelve changes a year cost more at usual hourly rates than the annual fee.
What about the free AI website builders?
They deliver a presentable first version in minutes, and that is genuinely impressive. The problem starts afterwards: the copy is interchangeable because it comes from the same patterns as everyone else's, and the site still does not maintain itself.
Not sure what fits?
Write and tell us what you have in mind. If a builder is enough, we will say so.
- Changes usually live within 48 hours
- You report a change to your content, we publish it. Building the site itself takes about a week, that is a different matter.
- Rather speak or type
- The assistant on this page takes both, around the clock. It listens to what your business needs, answers questions about the offer and passes it on to us.
- Rather speak to a person
- Half an hour, Monday to Friday. You pick a free slot yourself.Pick a time
- Prefer email
- info@sidrano.com