.png "Google Is Shutting Down 22 million Websites")
Managing your Google Business Profile is often one of the first steps a small business owner takes when setting up their online presence.
In the past, one of the easiest ways to create and manage a website for your small business was to create a website through your Google Business Profile. However, Google has announced that it will be shutting down support for websites created through Google Business Profiles in March 2024. This shutdown is estimated to impact over twenty-two million websites created through the service.
After March, when your customers go to your website, they will be redirected to your Business Profile and this redirect will only work until June 10th, 2024. After June 10th, the redirect will no longer work and that link will be dead.
This is especially bad news for small business owners because not every small business owner has the funds or resources to be able to afford another website. Here in this article, we will highlight potential alternative services that you can use to replace your current website that you made through your Google Business Profile.
Here are potential options for where you can get a replacement website:
You already know that EZlocal can help you manage every aspect of your small businesses' online presence, and website management is no exception. We offer website services tailored to whatever you need. Whether you simply want to transfer an old website or want a new one built, EZlocal can help you make sure you do not lose any of your online presence in the switch. Not only will we build your website for you, but we can also take care of your website hosting as well.
WordPress is one of the most popular and longstanding website creation services. Their website builders have gotten much more intuitive with the introduction of their "Divi" and "Elementor" builders which function as a visual builders/visual alternatives to their previous options.
Furthermore, WordPress is a great choice for your new website as since it has been around for a long time, there are a wealth of tutorials and resources on how to use and make the most out of their tools. Because of the wealth of resources available on platforms like YouTube, it is also one of the most customizable builders once you get comfortable using it.
However, it should be noted that WordPress is regarded as one of the less secure web design tools, so make sure you have everything set up correctly before going live with WordPress. Once you create your site, there are a variety of services and companies that you can pay to host your WordPress website.
As opposed to WordPress, Wix is a more modern and updated website design platform. Sporting a visual or "drag and drop" website builder, Wix is a much more intuitive and natural website builder to use, especially if you do not have experience building websites in the past.
Wix, like SquareSpace which we will discuss next, is a hybrid design/hosting service which lets you both design and create and then host your website through their company. When compared to WordPress, you have the convenience of both a more intuitive creation proccess and not having to find a seperate hosting service, but these bonuses come at the cost of less customization options that WordPress would offer.
SquareSpace is similar to Wix in that you do not need any prior website or coding experience in order to make the most out of their intuitive visual website builder. The most convenient element of SquareSpace, however, is that like Wix, they can also handle your website hosting services too.
However, some of this intuitivity does come at the cost of a lack of interactability tools and customization options. If you want a website that can scale with you and your knowledge, SquareSpace may not be the best choice. It is the most intuitive out of the three we have covered, even moreso than Wix, but comes at the cost of customization and scalability with problems akin to Wix. Choose SquareSpace if you simply want a new site up as quickly and easily as possible.
Summary
When it comes to picking where to create your new website for your business when Google shuts down websites made through their Google Business Profiles, it depends on what you value. EZlocal can handle everything from transferring over your old website to creating you a brand new one. However, if you want to do it yourself, there are many options available that we have previously mentioned.
WordPress has the best customization options and the largest amount of resources available to help you make the most out of your website, but does not have the advantage of being as easy to pick up and use like Wix or SquareSpace. Meanwhile, if you want something that would make it as easy as possible to get your site up and running or a platform that wouldn't require much maintenance, maybe you'd do better with SquareSpace.
