7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Websites | Drawbacks & Benefits of Websites

Having a website is very crucial for a business. Websites have paved the way for businesses to carry out their operations as long as they are having internet access. Today websites are not only owned by businesses, even individuals who are interested in particular niche can write articles related to that. 

With all the benefits, websites isn't advantageous for everyone. Just like everything else, websites too posses certain drawbacks. By exploring the pros and cons, you could determine if websites will be right for you. 

In this article, I will be discussing about 7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Websites | Drawbacks & Benefits of Websites. At the end of this post, you will know the pros and cons of having a websites.

Let's get started,

Advantages of Website

1. Information

Internet contains millions of websites which is dedicated to different topics. Information related to studies, technical or IQ enhancement is provided by a website. Even some of these websites are focused on providing step by step instructions to solve a problem. Search engines display all the listed websites as soon as a user types the relevant keyword.

2. Communication

A website allows communication to take place between buyer and seller. Most sellers display their contact information or come up with a contact form to facilitate communication. For the purpose of communication, websites use modes such as video conferencing, chat box or other methods. 

This type of communication is considered to be a highly cheaper option compared to other traditional methods. Companies and some individuals prefer email as a more secured mean of communication.

3. Entertainment

Websites are also used as a form of entertainment. Numerous entertainment options such as games, music, movie are available from a website. Some services are absolutely free that does not require even a single penny from a user. 

Other than that, there is also a possibility of earning from entertainment industry. Users can start a blog and upload their own talents . Talents include singing, dancing and other entertainments where people will be interested in.

4. Banking

Banking industries also currently use websites so that customers could get connected to their service. Without even coming to the bank, customers will be able to check their account information. 

And this service is 24/7. Meaning, the service is available even when the bank is closed. Banks could notify their customers immediately in an emergency situation.

5. Marketing

Both startup and established businesses can be benefited from website marketing. With the use of websites, businesses can target their potential customers. Customers interested in your products and services can easily make transactions. 

However, businesses must make sure that their websites are user friendly and well optimized. Hence, customers could easily find information they are looking for.

6. Advertising

If you own a website, you can also place advertisements and start earning. There are various advertising services like Google AdSense and Media.net that offers advertisement for potential websites. Moreover, these advertisements have a tendency to reach customers more accurately than other offline methods of advertising.

7. Employment

Whether it can be for freelancing from home or online job applying, various employment opportunities are provided by a website. For an example, companies display their vacancies online so that suitable candidates can be found. 

Similarly, it is easy for candidates to find their required job by applying online rather than searching job opportunities from a newspaper.

Disadvantages of Website

1. Cost

Websites are not entirely a free service. For building a website, a professional needs to be hired who should be paid for his work. Furthermore, companies need to spend on web hosting and domain. Now this is not one time payment, the users need to renew them yearly. 

There are also other indirect costs involved like internet connection and computer system all which can increase the expenditure.

2. Privacy

Some websites require personal information from the user for market data. Most often these data is used by hackers for the purpose of identity theft and other frauds. For an example, banking websites need users to enter sensitive information such as Security PIN, CVV and account number. These information is at a risk of theft.

3. Socialization

Although websites helps to get connected with people all over the world, the same could take you away from the people around you. Users who focus more on websites prefer to chat in messages rather than having face-to-face conversations. They find it hard to talk to persons in real. 

Now this type of habit is not only bad to the user but also to the society around them, especially to their family. Ideally this is a risk to personal relationships.

4. Addiction

Excessive use of website after a certain period can bring many negative effects to the user. Particularly, websites that promote entertainment such as games could make a user addictive. 

Researches have found that playing games releases a hormone called dopamine which induces a feeling of happiness. Due to this feeling, unknowingly the players could become addictive that they cannot come out.

5. Illegal Activities

Websites are also used for illegal activities. Some of the information provided are used for cybercrime works. Even other dangerous crimes such as terrorism and kidnapping are carried out using a website. 

And also, privacy concerns are created if contacts provided by a website is from other sources. If necessary permissions are not obtained from the original owner, it can lead to copyright strikes.

6. Inappropriate Content

Not all the content posted on the internet is appropriate for everyone. Some highly inappropriate contents such as pornography and violence are easily available on websites. 

Especially, underage children can be exposed to such content without their parents consent. Although websites implement age restriction , anyone could easily fake their age to access these contents.

7. Spamming

Websites can also be used for spamming individuals. Particularly, fake e-commerce sites are setup by the attackers to defraud people's money. These types of website promote products which will never be delivered to a customer. Or else, the products will be of low quality. 

Once a user enters their personal information for a transaction, their data is collected so they will be used for other frauds.