First impressions count for a lot, and a great online presence is vital to the success of any business.
With numerous template-based website building solutions at our disposal, you may well question the wisdom behind investing in a custom website design.
Designed to your requirements
Every business is unique and should therefore have a website that differentiates it from its competitors.
Opting for a template-based solution can provide you with a great looking website but can also restrict you in terms of design and functionality.
More importantly, it can restrict you in terms of what you can offer your customers when using your website.
Templates vs Custom Web Design
We’ve had clients approach us because their competitors had all chosen to go with template-based solutions, and they wanted to stand out from the crowd even though the investment was greater.
When you think about your business, it’s important to determine the business goals and objectives, but also identify any problems customers are facing when interacting with your brand or website.
As a user-centred agency, we offer a “discovery” service where we sit down with all company stakeholders (before any design takes place) and go through a series of exercises to ensure that the business goals are realistic, achievable, and that the brand is connecting effectively with their ideal customers at every touchpoint.
Templates vs Custom Web Design
Our goal when developing a custom website is always to ensure the user experience provides visitors with a friction-less path to buying a product, or finding the information they need.
Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is a large determining factor in the success of a website and can help push your website up the rankings within search engines like Google.
Our custom solutions allow our experienced team to build a website with SEO techniques that can boost your search engine rankings, and ensure a website is ahead of its competitors who may have opted for a template-based solution that only offers minimal search engine optimisation options.
Future Proof Resistant
A great website is like a great logo: if it’s done right, it should be able to hold its own for years to come.
Spending time to understand your customers and their objectives before starting any design work means that your website should last longer than the average “trendy” template.
On the other hand, choosing a template means that you could be wanting to try a new design every 6-12 months, not knowing if it’s going to help (or hinder) your users.
Value for Money
Templates vs Custom Web Design
Whilst the initial investment may be greater, the benefits of a website customised for your customers’ needs are soon realised.
Custom websites should allow you to easily make content changes without it affecting your brand guidelines. This means that no matter what change you make, customers will always see a cohesive vision of your brand.
By getting the design and build right from the very start, less time and money is spent on training and getting your staff and customers up to speed on new procedures with regards to updating content or managing sections of the site.
Strategy + Design
By opting for a custom web solution, you get a product that is well-planned out (with strategy behind it), and therefore a lot more bang for your buck.
A professional web agency can create an experience for your customers that is designed specifically with them and their usage patterns in mind.
Being able to look back in 12 months time and see the increase in revenue and website usage, as well as reaching and exceeding those initial goals and objectives may well outweigh the financial outlay for a well designed, well thought-out website solution for your business.
Templates vs Custom Web Design
If you’d like to talk to us about a custom website design for your business or if you simply want some advice, feel free to get in contact with us today!
