Quote:
Originally Posted by toban  I purchased SBI based on Steve's recommendation. I trusted that Steve had the integrity to recommend only the best products. I was thoroughly disappointed with SBI, and wrote about it: A Negative Review of Site Build It (SBI).
I find it very strange that there aren't more negative opinions of SBI. Perhaps it's because SBI users are almost all new creating websites, so they have nothing to compare it to. I had a bit of webmaster experience before starting, so I found SBI to be a very mediocre product. The free alternatives out there are just so much better. After trying SBI, I started using Wordpress. I can't tell you how much better it is  .
I honestly think that Steve should reassess his recommendation of SBI. He's doing a disservice to his readers by promoting a lousy product. There are much better alternatives available. I think one would be much better off starting a Wordpress site (it can do blogs and/or content sites).
Anyone else feel the same way? |
I feel exactly the same way!
Moreover, everyone keeps saying SBI is for the completely untech-savvy, in other words, me. I was first turned off by SBI because all of the SBI sites I saw were just...ugly. And I wanted a very specific look and I had a pretty good idea what I wanted it to look like.
The second misgiving I had was, when I went to the site, their advertising was so gaudy, like used car salesman advertising. I wondered why Steve would endorse something that is so flashy, which is usually an immediate "beware" sign to me; maybe someone trying really too hard to win me over or distract me because the product itself isn't all it's cracked up to be. This bad-taste advertising comes to my email now every time one of their "success story" people, SBI representatives sends me an email, addressing me by my first name as if we're old buddies and then gives the sales pitch--like a used car salesman.
The third misgiving I had was that I feared the options I would have to create the look I wanted would be too limited and I would end up with an ugly site just like everyone else and
nothing like I wanted. Those sales representatives wouldn't answer my specific concerns when I asked. I'm sure it is way too rigid to have accommodated what I wanted.
Add to that the distinct feeling that I got from them that, if I wasn't in this site for the money, I would fail. They say you have to use keywords that they give you and so on, or your site won't be successful. Well, my website was to be full of my own creative (and other types) writing and I wasn't about to put walls up around my creativity to fit into their get-rich-guarantee scheme. In other words, I wasn't making my site for the purpose of getting rich (but that didn't mean I didn't want it to be a success or to make money--sure I do, but on my terms and, basically, I'll accept whatever results my creative freedom and ideas bring, success or not).
I have since read about others' experiences with SBI on this site and I see there is a big learning curve to get the site up and a commitment of at least a week to figure out their system, so I think I came out ahead. I finally turned to WordPress. My site was up about 5 months after I had hoped it would be, and it isn't all I had envisioned, but it is good enough for me for right now, for starters and my writings and photographs have a home now
.