Site Build It! Thoughts?

[Griffin Lilly Jr]

[Lynn Terry]

[Bonnie Lowe]

I built my first site with SBI. It was a fantastic tool for LEARNING -- not just about how to build a site, but about all aspects of internet marketing: tips and techniques, what works and what doesn't, how to sell (and presell), and much, much more.

So I'm extremely happy that I used SBI at the beginning. I'm sure it made me a better and more successful online marketer.

That being said, I would not use SBI now, for any new sites. I've found that XSitePro is much easier (and as Lynn pointed out, much more economical because it's just a one-time cost).

I would still recommed SBI for newbies. I don't think there's a better system out there for first-time site builders, and Ken Evoy is always overdelivering and constantly improving his products (they also have a great members forum).

But if you don't need the extra education about internet marketing in general, or are getting that elsewhere, XSitePro is easier and faster and cheaper.

Bonnie
www.cookie-crazy.com
www.best-interview-strategies.com
www.networkaholics-revealed.com

[Jim Guinn]

SBI is a great tool! Just look at their website....what is written there is accurate.

The only "downside" is you can't install scripts and modules (i.e. article directory, forum, etc.). You have to install them on another server and then put links to them. Downside? SE's will see these as links rather than new content on your site....and, content is King when it comes to rankings.

If you are not interested in other scripts/modules, then go for it.

Jim

[johndilbeck]

Site Build It has been extremely useful for me and my annual renewal is a no-brainer. I just do it.

I use the tools in SBI to help me make all my other sites better, and I still don't use all the tools SBI offers.

Yes, the interface can be clumsy, but the results are very good. There is a lot that goes on under the surface with an SBI site that helps you get more traffic.

I have many websites, blogs, and forums. I have one SBI site.

When I'm composing a page for one of my sites, I frequently create the page first using SBI to analyze it, before uploading it to the site I want to use it on.

Most of my large sites are built using the static site tools in Radio Userland and the entire sites are stored in its database.

Some sites are built using Mambo (cumbersome), PHP-Nuke (too prone to hacking), and other tools.

I use what I have learned from Make Your Site Sell!, Site Build It!, Ken Evoy's newsletters, and the SBI members-only forum to make more money with all my sites.

I can hand-code HTML with the best and I have no problem with PHP and SQL, so most of my sites are hosted on Linux/Cpanel servers. I have reseller accounts with several webhosting companies.

Yet, I keep coming back to Site Build It to learn how to build better sites.

I don't agree with everything Ken says, but I have found that I make more money when I follow most of his advice.

I've also found that I spend more money and get less results when I follow the advice of other "gurus" out there.

When I want to build a site using tools that SBI doesn't support, I still use SBI to brainstorm and plan the new site, and then I build it using the tools that work best for me.

I use SBI's tools for tracking advertising and traffic patterns.

I can hardly be considered a newbie, and I love SBI and what it offers me for about $25 per month (based on an annual payment of about $300).

Since I earn more than that from affiliate sales of SBI and Ken's ebooks, my SBI site is essentially free.

It won't do everything, but what it does, it does extremely well.

Nowhere else (that I know of) can you find step-by-step instructions, tools, and help to identify a niche, design a site, build and host it, and then promote the site and the products and services you want to sell.

Without a doubt, people do better with SBI sites than with other hosting options - until they develop a high degree of skill at building sites.

I have several ideas for sites I will develop this year, a couple will be built on SBI, others on different platforms.

I highly recommend Ken Evoy and the products he develops and markets at Sitesell.

The following are affiliate links.

Learn more about Site Build It!: http://sbi.linktodetails.com

Make Your Site Sell!: http://myss.linktodetails.com

I still refer to MYSS on a regular basis. The salient points are still valuable, even though a lot of things have changed online over the last four years. It's still the best $30 I ever invested in learning how to make a living online.

And, all of this works just fine on my overworked Macintosh.

All the best.

Act on your dream!

JD

[Oregon Coast Guy]

I am an absolute SBI fanboy! This is coming from someone who has worked as a professional web designer for 8 years now.

It's meant for all level of users. Easy as pie for business people with no or little web experience and robust enough for professionals who want to build a great business. For everyone because it removes all the tedious work of designing and promoting a web business, allowing you the freedom to concentrate on your content, which is the ultimate traffic generator.

My Romantic Oregon Coast Vacations web site at http://www.romantic-oregon-coast.com is nearly a year old now and it's doing terrific. I'm having so much fun and plan to build my little empire and buy a home down at the Oregon Coast.

The price is right, too. You can spend a crud-load of cash on hosting, SEO tools, this that and the other thing or spend $299 a year and get all the tools you need to build your business right there. Plus, they are always coming out with new things that are not costing me a cent extra. The forum community is the best I've found and Ken Evoy is in there, contributing and helping daily.

I refuse to accept a request to do anyone's web site anymore unless they use Site Build It. The reason is that if I just build a web site for them, it's like putting up a Wallmart Superstore in the middle of the Mohave. It may be pretty, but without all the advertising, promotion, SEO and such, it is something no one will see. All the extra maintenance, advertising and stuff will cost them big time. If they build with SBI, they have everything at their fingertips that they need to build that business, get the traffic and exposure and make the money. Best of all, they can do it all themselves.

I can honestly say that SBI is the best move I've made in a very long time and I recommend it to noobies and professionals alike.

[RichardSchulz]

[Jim Guinn]

[dasheriprock]

There is a lot of talk about how SBI takes the barriers down to building a site, and I honestly think that's not true. I think the blockbuilding system is actually more difficult than learning how to build with any other WSYWIG editor or xsitepro. The only advantage to working with SBI is the handholding and training that you won't get elsewhere.

I wouldn't invest in the product though, I don't think. Even though the training is pretty good, it is not a product that you would use long term to build your web business so why even bother. You're much better off learning the skills on how to FTP, host, domains, install a blog, etc. than having to rely on a subscription based service to do all that for you.

Here are some of the issues I see with SBI:
-Blockbuilder is clumsy. Its much easier to use xsitepro and would make more sense to a newbie. You can use FP or DW, but if you are going to do that, why not just go the traditional route?
-Hosting doesn't support PHP
-Can't FTP into the site.
-You pay $300 for each site you create. If you want to create a sales site or feeder site, its the same price.


I probably sounded like I was bashing SBI. I used it for my first site, but have moved on since. Its an ok tool for getting started, but if I had to do it all over again, I would probably just buckle down and learn the basic skills. SBI does make thing easier for you but it only easier when compared to the first time building a site the regular way.

[Oregon Coast Guy]

Actually, if you check out the case studies at , you'll see that SBI is indeed for all levels of users. As I said, 8 years of building web sites and I would never do another site without it. To me, it's a no-brainer which is more effective.

[dasheriprock]

Anyone can use practically any website building software and get results, that's not really the point. SBI users seem to chalk up any success they have to the SBI software, when really it wouldn't have mattered if you build the site in FP or SBI. The difference is that you followed best practices to do whatever it was that you were doing. You were able to pick a niche because you had access to wordtracker and used their brainstorming tool. But in about 10 minutes, you can learn how to measure demand vs. competition without their brainstorming tool. Other things helped with their success like basic SEO stuff like keywords in titles, text, and getting links. That's why your site got traffic, not because of the software.

It isn't a bash on SBI, it's a good system for a new website owner. But its not just about building a big content site. And most people that are successful online will tell you that you need to have more than a single site (Those case studies even show that), so if your goal is to build your up to 10 websites, then you will pay SBI $3000/year. If you bought a wordtracker subscription, autoresponder service, hosting, and domains it would cost around $740 and that's really all you need.

You might say that if your 10 sites are covering the $3000 then you are ahead, but I'd rather pocket the extra $2200.

Is SBI 'easier' in the short run? Maybe. If you want a hobby site and don't want to fuss around with hosting or anything. If you want more than one site, you might as well learn some basic skills.

[Oregon Coast Guy]

You're wrong in saying that SBI is like any other package or FP. The reason being is when you build a regular site, you upload the HTML pages to a server and that's the end of that. When you build a page using SBI, it is uploaded and then all the elements of the page is translated into a database. That is what makes all the tools work with your site. It works as a unit and not separately.


When that happens, all the technology and hassle of dealing with everything else that you normally would is placed behind the scenes. You remember in Wizard of Oz: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain?" It certainly applies. hehe. This allows you to solely work on the content of your web site. Until you start marketing a regular site and submitting it to the SE's and directories, it's like a Walmart Superstore that has been built in the Mohave. It sure looks nice, but no one knows it's there and you're not getting any traffic. In the brick and mortar world, it's all about location because people walking down the local street can pass your store and walk in. On the web, you're up against millions of other sites around the world and no one knows you're there yet.

When you build a page with SBI and post it, it is submitted immediately to the search engines and SBI keeps track of when each page needs re-submitted. I just cut my work in half. That is just one small example of the power behind it.

You can get the same results with a normal web site as you can with SBI, but the difference is the SBI site is going to get better results in less time and with, I'd say, a good 80% less work. Remember, I've been on both sides of the fence, so I know what I'm talking about. I built web sites for many years before I found SBI. I'm not speaking from the point of view of someone who has only ever used it.


If you looked at the case studies, I don't understand how you can say that it is only for hobby sites. Every aspect is covered. From brick and mortar businesses to Web designers using it for their clients. Mine is not a hobby site. It's a business and I'm making great money from it in the very short time I've had it.


Regardless, if someone is a business person who knows nothing about the web and has never built a web page before, SBI makes it much easier for them all around than them learning coding, search engines optimization, newsletter building and software, blogging, and quite a bit more. Plus all the research to learn the latest to keep up. All they need to learn is how to build it the SBI way and they can pick the other stuff up along the way, but it's not essential. And SiteSell continually upgrades and integrates new tools into SBI at absolutely no cost to the customer. I don't remember the last time a regular web host gave me a brand new piece of software at their expense.


Many SBI'ers have more than one site. I plan to get more. If you look at the comparison page at , you can see the financial investment difference. You're spending far and away more getting all those tools to help you build your business as you would with SBI, in a side-by-side comparison. The order page gives a cost-by-cost breakdown:


Also:

Video Tour:


Bottom line is that you can choose whatever you like to build your sites and I'm sure you'll come out with some nice looking sites, but I'm working toward a home at the Oregon Coast and a few nice looking web sites is not going to make that happen for me. The small business I have with SBI is going to get me where I want to go. I'm sticking with what I've found works best.


Have a groovy week

[dasheriprock]

[Oregon Coast Guy]

[Teena]