Building a website is far more complicated than adding images and text to a pre-built template and making it available for everyone to see. This blog is designed to explain the crucial benefits you get with a professionally developed website versus a template.

You may have seen promotions for website services in a package, typically offering clients a choice of one design from a list of pre-designed templates and the option to add their own text and images. While this may sound good on the surface, the design and text are only two small components of a website and by using a template, you’re almost certain to have “the same” website as someone else! In short, unless you need a website in less than a week, and have less than $100 to spend, steer clear and get a custom-designed website developed and tailored just for you/your business.

So lets go over some of the advantages of a custom developed website.

1. With a custom built website you will get the beauty and design of a template without the risk of having another website out there that looks identical to yours. You can purchase exclusive rights to a template but that only stops others from using it moving forward. Plus, you will end up spending more than it would to have a custom website developed.
2. Customizing a website outside of a template allows you the freedom to funnel end-users in the direction you want. With the help of a professional who understands usability patterns, you can maximize the success of the website to meet your specific goals. A template will not give you the flexibility to design the website to support the most important objectives the users should accomplish.
3. Industry standards are set to ensure that proper work is done accurately and efficiently. Template design would be the equivalent to hammering a nail with a sledgehammer; it may get the job done, but you will also end up with a giant hole in the wall. A template website tends to take shortcuts when developing the flow and view and can cause errors associated with sloppy work. These shortcuts can effect your search engine ranking resulting in lack of activity and website traffic.
4. “What you see is what you get” is the concept of templates. This is a good option for those on a very limited budget and time frame. However, a professional website developer will sit down with you and figure out your needs, then structure a website towards those needs. With a template you are limited to making changes to the structure, especially if you lack coding knowledge.

Template websites do offer some benefits: cheap, easy and quick. However, the primary concept of a custom built website is your specific needs and goals. If you are looking for a professionally built, custom website that will offer your users a satisfying experience and meet your goals (new leads, traffic, etc.), then contact us.

Don’t worry, just because it’s custom doesn’t mean it’s out of your budget. There are many options for creating a unique site on a budget.