Now more than ever, making a website and setting your mark on the internet is more manageable and accessible than ever. With website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress simplifying the website building process, many businesses may not see the value in investing in a custom web design. That said, custom web design and website templates have pros and cons and should be considered before continuing.
Creating a custom website does require a significant level of skill. If your business does not have an in-house developer, it would be a good idea to reach out to a digital marketing agency to create a custom website.
Website templates may look easy to use. However, they often are not flexible in terms of customization. As a result, you will likely have to compromise your business’s identity. Let us look at some of the advantages of custom web design for your business.
One of the main advantages of a custom web design is creating a unique website. The web designer will tailor a website that fully encapsulates the identity of your business. Essentially, you can make your website look like anything you want without having to deal with the limitations of a premade template.
Finding a good web design agency will give you a team of professional developers who can help you troubleshoot problems and have your site up with minimal turnaround. Troubleshooting services aren’t always necessarily free, but professional-grade quality rarely is. Additionally, having a web developer can give you peace of mind, having them fix any bugs with your website. This is a benefit compared to a template, where troubleshooting either falls upon yourself or somebody in your staff who is tech-savvy.
A website template is likely not updated regularly, depending on the developer’s activity. However, an agency that offers custom web design services will always be on top of keeping your code up to date. Furthermore, they will always watch for data changes and update your website accordingly to help you stay ahead.
Creating your website from scratch means you can continue adding to your site as often as you like. Adding new features as constantly as every month is as easy as contacting your web developer. A custom website may also make managing your business much easier. For example, tweaking how you collect email addresses for marketing can be made any way you desire. Website templates only allow you to manage your website to a limited degree. With custom web design, the possibilities of customization are only limited by the skill of your web developer.
Website templates are premade web pages that can be easily customized with videos, blogs, images, and more. You can purchase thousands of website templates online that offer all manner of designs and styles. Most website templates are easy to install though some are easier to work with than others. With so many website templates floating around online, the quality of the template may vary, and so can the level of support you receive from the development team. Website templates are perfect for smaller businesses or personal use.
The difficulty level in this regard is completely subjective and will depend on the financial status of each business. However, website templates are cheap, many of which cost as low as $45. Even high-end templates are relatively affordable.
If you know what you’re doing, putting together an excellent, templated website could be done within an hour or so. You will not have to worry about working with code or other tedious aspects of creating a customized website. With CMS services so easy to use, you can simply drag and drop until satisfied.
Custom web design and website templates are not always mutually exclusive. It is very common for a web development agency to create a visually appealing and engaging user interface that a web developer then transposes into a scalable template. This process will depend on the needs of your internal team. If content marketing is a marketing strategy that works for your internal team, then templates are essential. For consistently styled content that does not require custom code every time you want to add a web page, web designs will need to be applied to templates.
There is no one correct choice for every situation. If you are a start-up with a tight budget and do not have the time or expertise to create a coded website, then a digital template will likely be the best option. On the other hand, if you are searching for a website that is fully customizable, unique, built to code, and gives you complete control, you should consider a custom website.