Introduction
When it comes to creating a website, there are a lot of choices. There are templates, free sites from Wix and Weebly, or you can hire someone to make a custom site for you. There are pros and cons for each option.
Custom design is a natural fit for your business
As you may have noticed, custom websites cost more than templates or themes. But it's worth it because you get a website that's uniquely yours and that reflects your brand personality and values. Custom web design also makes sense if you want to align your website with other marketing channels, such as social media profiles or print collateral like brochures and business cards.
It’s more expensive, but the ROI is worth it
Custom website design is more expensive than a template. But the ROI is worth it because you get a better site that is more unique, relevant to your business, and optimized for SEO.
The costs of custom web design can vary depending on the platform you choose, but there are a few things to keep in mind when comparing custom vs. template-based websites:
Custom designs are usually more expensive than templates because they require more time and resources from developers (which many don't offer at a discounted rate). However, these costs vary substantially depending on your needs and what you want to build. Some sites may require significantly more time than others, while some platforms have higher requirements for hosting space or other features that can drive up costs even further.
Be sure not just look at upfront costs; consider how much longer it will take before your site generates an ROI compared with using a pre-built solution like Squarespace or Wix—and factor in ongoing maintenance fees into that calculation as well!
You’ll have an easier time creating a unique user experience
Custom website design gives you the flexibility to create an experience that is unique to your business. If you’re a small business, custom design may be especially useful because it lets you tailor your website and brand to fit your specific needs. You can create a site that is unique to your business, giving users a sense of who they are interacting with and what they can expect from each interaction.
Customizing the user experience also makes it easier for visitors to navigate around the site—this can be especially important if there are complex features or multiple products offered through the website. It also helps establish consistency across all of the brand's touchpoints with consumers, which helps build trust and loyalty in those connections.
You can align your website with other marketing channels
Let’s say you have a marketing strategy that includes a brand book, tagline and mission statement. You want to make sure everything is aligned across all of your marketing channels to help customers understand who you are, what you do and why they should care.
A custom website design can provide an opportunity for alignment with other channels like email marketing, social media and customer service. By creating a site that aligns with your overall brand strategy, customers will be able to experience consistency across all channels and fully understand who you are as an organization on each screen they visit.[1]
Your site will reflect brand personality and values
Your website is your main marketing tool, so it's important that it reflects the personality and values of your brand. A custom design allows you to make your site unique and reflect who you are, which will help people connect with what you have to offer.
It’s not a "one-size-fits-all" scenario
Custom design is more expensive than a standard template.
It takes more time to create and launch a custom-built website, so you’re looking at months of planning and development before it goes live.
If you’re on a tight budget or have an unpredictable cash flow, this may not be the right option for your business.
A custom site may take longer to create than a template website
If you're looking for a faster turnaround time, a template website might be a better option for you. The advantage of this type of site is that it can be created quickly and with little effort on your part. The downside is that the same design will often be used over and over again for different clients, which makes it feel impersonal.
In some cases, such as ecommerce sites or complex business websites with many moving parts (like an event calendar or social media integration), developers may prefer to create a custom design instead of using an existing template. This allows them to build your website exactly how they want it—but there are some important considerations involved in this decision.
It’s not ideal if you have a very shoestring budget
If you have a very shoestring budget, then you may need to settle for a template website. The difference between these two types of websites is that templates are pre-designed and can be bought for as little as $20 whereas custom designs generally require more time and money. Custom designs are also much more flexible than template designs because they can be modified to suit your exact needs. For example, if you have an e-commerce business that sells products in multiple sizes and colors, it would be cheaper to have someone design your site using an existing product template than building one from scratch with all the possible options already built in.
Conclusion
Custom website design gives you more flexibility, individuality, and control over your site—but it does come with some drawbacks.
Custom website design is typically more expensive than a standard template-based website. While there are exceptions to this rule depending on how much customization you want and how good of a designer you hire, generally speaking the average price of custom web design is higher than that of templates. This means that if your budget isn't very big (or even if it is), custom design may not be right for you.
Custom website design takes longer to create than template-based websites do because there's so much more work involved in creating each page from scratch instead of just using a premade template as-is or using one tailored specifically for your business model and brand identity. In addition to this time delay issue, having someone making every single page individually could lead them down rabbit trails that aren't necessarily relevant or helpful for what you need on the site—which will slow down the process further as they try different things out until they find something that works well enough but isn't necessarily perfect for everything else about the site. If speed matters at all (as it often does), then perhaps working solely with prebuilt templates would be better suited toward meeting those goals than taking advantage of all this extra customization power by going fully custom made instead."
We can’t make the decision for you, but we can help you weigh the pros and cons. If your business is ready to invest in a custom website, we’re here to help. We have years of experience creating custom designs that align with your brand identity and marketing goals. Our team works closely with you to ensure that every detail of your site reflects who you are as an organization and what makes it unique from other companies out there. If this sounds like something worth exploring further, give us a call today!