When you want to have your business represented on the internet, you have two options for getting your own website. You can either use a free website design template or have your site custom made by professional web designers. Since the use of ready templates is the most popular option among businesses, it is worth looking at its advantages and disadvantages.
The low cost, which in this case is zero, is the main advantage of using free website design. It is true that it may take time and effort for you to learn how to manage and improve your site, but in monetary terms, you pay nothing. This is a great benefit, especially for businesses that are just starting up.
The wide range of options is another advantage of using templates. If you take some time to search the web, you will find numerous different templates with different themes. Given the great competition among website designers, you can find a theme for literally anything from cooking to local news.
Fast set up is certainly one of the pros for using free website design template. You can download the product and the tools that come with it in minutes and have your site ready in a couple of hours. No custom solution can give you this kind of speed.
Excellent functionality is a superb advantage of using a readymade solution. All the pages of the site are automatically preloaded for you. You have a content management system that is easy to use. Many designs are search engine optimized. You may also get additional features, such as blog, a FAQ page or even a shopping cart at no cost.
No uniqueness is probably the major disadvantage of using a readymade template. There may be other sites that look like yours. If you choose a common theme, you may get to have content that is similar in a lot of ways.
Limited customization is another one of the cons for this option. The reality is that you can change the different features and setting a limited number of times. This means that you may not get the look and functionality that you have hoped you will achieve.
Basic search engine optimization is another one of the disadvantages of this option. You have to optimize your entire content for the search engines, including text and images. This takes time and effort as well as a certain amount of knowledge and skill.
Overall, considering all the pros and cons, it is up to you to decide whether to use a free website design template or not.