Why a “Free” Website Build is Often a Costly “Black Box” Trap

By Al Harlow | January 14, 2026 |

In the club management industry, it is common for vendors to offer a "free" website build to secure high monthly fees. While this may seem like an easy win, it often results in a "black box" trap where the club loses control over its own digital identity.

At Click IT, we provide a superior alternative based on ownership, transparency, and local accountability.

1. Total Asset Ownership

Proprietary systems often prevent you from taking your site with you if you decide to leave. Click IT builds on WordPress, the global standard. With us, CVAC owns the site, the code, and the data entirely.

2. Direct Domain Control

Your domain is your most valuable asset. We move it to a dedicated Click IT Hosting account that you control. You are never held hostage by a vendor's proprietary registrar.

3. Transparent Pricing & Real Equity

A "free" build with any monthly fee is effectively a high-interest loan. At $300/month, for instance, over three years, you pay over $10,000 for a site you don't own. Our Website Facelift offers a clear one-time investment with a lower monthly Enhance Hosting rate ($83.99), building actual equity for any club.

4. Proactive Care & Local Accountability

The current state of unmaintained legacy sites shows the risk of managed neglect. Our Basic Website Care Plan includes weekly uptime monitoring and monthly health reports to ensure your site is always performing.

5. Integration Without Constraints

Don't be forced into a "bundle" just because of a vendor's software connections. We can integrate the specific Jonas ClubHouse Online modules you need into a modern, mobile-responsive framework that you control.

_______________________________________

Why Click IT is still the best long-term option for CVRC (quick summary):

  • Ownership & control: We ensure you own the domain, DNS, hosting, and admin access—no vendor lock-in.

  • Security & maintenance: Our hosting + care plans include ongoing patching, security hardening, uptime monitoring, and proactive maintenance.

  • Modern design + performance: We rebuild into a modern, mobile-first WordPress platform that’s easy to manage and future-proof.

  • Search visibility & presence: A strong public-facing website isn’t just “pages”—it’s SEO, structure, speed, and long-term marketing presence (proprietary systems don’t typically cover this).

  • Best-of-breed integrations: We can use Jonas where it adds value (embedded member tools, statements, payments) without being forced into an expensive all-in-one web platform.
Posted in Uncategorized

Leave a Comment