Thursday, June 26, 2008

7 Things to Consider When Choosing an Automatic Site Generator

Everyone wants an easy way to do things. Whether it?s making food or doing a job, they always want the way that is easiest. Sometimes, however, the easy way isn?t the best. Sometimes the best way is to simply take the time to do it yourself ? or use something good to help you do it.

When it comes to web site creation, people tend to go for an automatic web site generator. Some do it because they don?t have a lot of time to create a site; others do it because they don?t know how to create a site. Chances are, you?re one of those people considering using an automatic web site generator. You want to know if you can craft a good niche site using an automatic web site generator. In this article, we?ll go over the pros and cons of using an automatic web site generator.

The Pros of the Automatic Web Site Generator

We previously said that the easy way isn?t always the best. Does that mean you shouldn?t consider an automatic web site generator? No, it simply means that you should closely look at all the pros and cons of using one before making a decision.

Automatic web site generators are great for several reasons.

1. They are easy to use

Those who are new to web design probably don?t feel they know enough to create their own site. Perhaps they consider hiring someone. But what if you could get a good web site designed for a very low price? That?s the option that an automatic web site generator gives to you. You are able to create good looking sites without paying a ton of money or learning HTML/ASP/PHP coding.
2. An automatic web site generator creates a quality site in a small amount of time
If you do have experience in web design, but lack the time and energy to pour into designing your own site, that?s also where automatic web site generators come in handy. They do every single bit of the coding and design for you, so that you don?t have to do the time-consuming labor involved in manually creating a site. An automatic web site generator makes the job easy and convenient for you.
3. There is no need to figure out complicated coding?an automatic web site generator does it for you
Often the hardest part of web development is to fix coding errors. When you choose to use an automatic web site generator, you won?t have to fix errors because there will be none. The automatic web site generator is accurate in coding ? it?s what it does.

The Cons of the Automatic Web Site Generator

Virtually everything has its down side, The automatic web site generator is no different. Be sure to consider the following before deciding whether or not to use an automatic web site generator.

1. You might not be able to generate a site that you like

One clear con about the use of an automatic web site generator is that you aren?t able to really choose what you?d like on your site at design time. The automatic web site generator does the work for you and decides how to design the site. For those who want to pick and choose elements on their site, they will not like the automatic web site generator (unless some time is spent working on the underlying page template).
2. Your site won?t be fully customizable
Many people who have a site like to add a personal touch to the site to make it their own. You can?t do that with a site made with an automatic web site generator. What you get is what you see?you can?t really edit it to your liking at design time, instead you need to go and modify the pages after they?ve been generated.
3. The site won?t always be of a high quality
Some automatic web site generators create sites which don?t really look good. They look canned and unoriginal. That?s one of the disadvantages of using an automatic web site generator?the site is often not very good looking. This of course is down to the individual who?s created the site and can be over come by simply spending the some additional time on the page template that you?re using or spending some cash on a predefined template that you like.
4. The site?s design might be used by another site, thus making your site look bad
Because your site is created by an automatic web site generator, there may be several other sites on the web that look exactly like yours. This hurts your credibility and makes you look bad. Again if this is a concern (and for some it isn?t ? because they are purposely trying to brand themselves like a competitor) it is a very simple task to find a template vendor who has freshly designed templates that are for sale only to a limited number of clients.
When deciding whether or not to use an automatic web site generator, take all of the above into consideration. You should be able to make the right decision for you and your site. It is worth noting that there are many different products on sale which will automatically generate a site for you but only a handful that will consistently allow you to build high quality sites.

Paul Foley is the creator of the Cash Sense software and as such knows automatic site generation. Paul also provides a newsletter with lots of free information that will help the niche maketer make the most of opportunities. Cash Sense Newsletter

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