Can "Site Build It" Replace a Professional Website Designer? The Truth Revealed...

Site Built It Review

Can Site Build It really replace a professional website designer? Having had some experience in website design myself, I had always believed the answer to that question to be NO.

Of course not. Your average small business owner is not capable of building their own website. Only a "professional" is capable of doing that, right?

Yet, here was Site Build It claiming to have empowered small business owners around the world to not only build a website themselves, but to actually get targeted traffic to it and make it profitable!

Build a profitable website with Site Build It? Hah! Fat chance. Not only do DIY websites look boring, no-one ever finds them in the search engines, and the very few who do rarely go on to purchase or do whatever it is the owner wants them to do.

Hang on, what exactly is "Site Build It?"

Site Build It is a DIY website design, hosting and marketing system. For the price (a fraction of what you'd pay a professional website designer), you actually get a lot for your money. It even includes domain name registration as part of the package.

All very well. But build a successful website yourself? Nah, I wasn't buying it. I've been doing this long enough to know that there is a LOT to building success, and it takes a lot more than "putting up a website".

But then a friend of mine told me she had actually bought an SBI site and was having great success with it. What's more, she was having a lot of fun because it brought out the creative side of her and she had complete control over the project. No need to explain to someone else what she wanted to achieve or how to go about it.

"Ah!", says I, feeling a little betrayed, "I bet it doesn't rank anywhere in the search engines and no-one is visiting it".

"No", she says calmly, "it's getting good traffic which is growing day by day, and already I've made my first sale!".

Totally deflated, I thought I'd better check out SBI myself. First thing I did was check out some sample sites and examine some case studies to see if my friend's case was a fluke. OK, it wasn't. It was anything but a fluke. But I still wasn't convinced. Could anyone do this?

Then I looked for further proof. Did I find it? Yeah, found that too. Seems I had found a "system" that was harnessing the same knowledge I had gathered over several years and allowed small business owners and entrepreneurs to tap into it.

Only it did it better and at less cost than what I could ever hope to do it for. Or any professional website designer. Yeah, they'll scoff, just as I did. Website designers don't necessarily understand web marketing, or how to build a successful website, rather than one that just looks great and functions perfectly. On the whole, they care about things which matter to them, not to you.

Build it Yourself eCommerce Website

OK, that was several years ago. Since that first experience with SBI I've continued to do my own research and experimented with my own SBI site, to gain a good understanding of how it all works. But here's what sealed the deal for me;

I was contacted by a personal trainer in the US who needed a bit of help with a web design program he was using. So, Doug became a client.

Now, the purpose of this site was to sell Doug's course on getting fit and losing weight. The weight loss market is very competitive, so achieving success was never going to be easy. Knowing how well suited SBI is to building "content" sites I recommended Doug build his own SBI site and use it to funnel traffic to his sales site. Being a good writer and able to draw on his wealth of experience, I knew this would be a good strategy for Doug.

As it turns out, I was preaching to the converted. Doug already had his own SBI site. Doug's Personal Fitness Advantage is an excellent example of how to build a content site. It has achieved good search engine results in a competitive marketplace. I'm currently helping Doug update the site due to his work commitments but it's basically his baby, and proves that your average small business owner without technical webmastering skills, but with knowledge and passion, can build an effective website.

Build a Profitable Website with Site Build It - Action Guide

The SBI Action Guide is the actual guide you will use to build your online business. It's a great way to evaluate SBI before making a purchase. I strongly recommend you take the time to go through it.

How does SBI Work for YOU?

Here are some unique links that will explain how SBI works from your perspective. Simply click on the link that most sounds like you:

• Local business owner with local clients
• Service seller
• Professional Webmaster
• Existing website owner with no traffic
• Aspiring Infopreneur
• Affiliate Marketer
• Network Marketer
• Online Auction seller
• Work at Home Moms (or Mums, as we say down under)
• Students
• Real Estate Agents
• Thinking of starting a home based business

How Do You Build a Profitable Website With SBI?

SiteCentral is where you manage all aspects of your site. Here's a screenshot of a section of the page:

SiteBuilder is where you construct your site using a "block" system. It looks like this:

The block system is dead simple for beginners to use, but experienced webmasters may find it a little slow and cumbersome. For them, SBI's "HTML Compatibility Module" allows you to download a template, edit it in your own HTML editor (FrontPage, Dreamweaver etc) and then upload it directly to your site. Or, you can design your whole site from scratch using your own design tools.

Note to Aussies and Other non-US Users

The SBI package includes a domain name but this can not be a .com.au or other country-specific domain. SBI is used by small business owners around the world, but if you only service an Australian (or non-US) market and need to optimise your site to be found when "pages from your country " is selected on a local Google search, then you may prefer to have a .com.au or other country-specific domain.

The solution is to register a .com.au version of your SBI domain and have it redirect to your SBI site. In Australia, Melbourne IT can provide this service for a small annual fee. For other non-US countries, check with a local domain registrar. Most should be able to provide this service.

Don't Have Time to Build Your Own Website?

NEW! Don't fancy doing it yourself? SiteSell Services is now open. Click here for more info.

Is Site Build It Really Any Good? Need Another Opinion?

Contact an experienced SBI advisor who is also an SBI owner:

• Get answers via phone/chat/email from Site Build It Advisors here.

SBI Resources

• I Love SBI user videos See what real people think about SBI
• Make Your Content PREsell. This is a great book written by SiteSell (SBI) president Ken Evoy. Now free!
• Make Your Site Sell is now also free. Described as "The Bible of Internet Marketing" this was the book by Ken Evoy which evolved into Site Build It.
• Radio Event. Listen to an interview with Ken Evoy on a Montreal radio talk show

Still have questions? Get the answers you need here.