You want your website to have an eye-catching design that will appeal to your visitors. Whether you’re just launching your website or you’re planning to update its look, you’re pretty much left with two primary options: bespoke website design or a “copy and paste” template.
The most important thing to keep in mind while making your decision is this: as important as your budget is, you want results and you want your website to truly reflect your business. A template will never really be effective for a few reasons. Plus, your business is unique and, if you want to really communicate this, you need a website design that reflects it. This means you need a bespoke website design that has been carefully planned and designed and functions as it should.
Why Templates are not the Answer
Templates are designed as a cut and paste option with a generic design that could be used by virtually any business. These off-the-shelf templates will probably not be effective with strong Calls to Action designed to increase conversions and capture leads, and they may not highlight your business or products in the best way.
Another consideration is the fact that templates are not necessarily easy to update or edit. Will the template allow you to adapt it to new types of content or products in the future, or are you stuck with what you get in the beginning?
The advantages of templates is they are usually very cheap (as they’re sold to dozens or even thousands of other websites), and they’re very quick to implement with very little requirements. On the downside, templates are:
* Not unique to your website,
* Do not offer a great deal of flexibility
* Often look less professional
* Offer no control over navigation
* Have code that is not necessarily search engine friendly, and
* May not be cross-browser compatible
The Need for Bespoke Website Design
Templates simply don’t suit the needs of most businesses, except for start-ups just trying to set up a website initially. Your website is the face of your business, and its design and development should be considered an investment.
A tailor-made web design offers the flexibility you need as your business grows and changes, and it’s made specifically for your business model, whether you’re trying to intice users to download, sign up for a mailing list or make a purchase. Every detail, from the user interface and calls to action to the layout and color choice, is based on the needs of your business, which is something a template simply cannot offer.
The bottom line is you should be careful about using pre-made themes for your website. While you may end up spending less money, it’ll cost you more in the long run if it limits the functionality and effectiveness of your website and turns away users. What’s more, it simply isn’t a good way to build your brand and show your audience that your business is truly something unique and worth remembering.
