Websites are one of the most important aspects for businesses in this digital era. It helps you to reach out to your target customers and promote your products or services online more effectively. Therefore, more and more businesses are paying attention to their website design to create a good first impression and achieve better conversion rates.
Website design promotes your brand, builds trust with your target audiences, and grows your business. This can be done in two different ways; either you can go for a custom website design or use a website template.
There are advantages and disadvantages to custom website design and using website templates. When you look closely, you realize that there is a wide range of distinctions between these two approaches. Selecting one option over the other depends on various factors such as your budget, time, and business goals.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of custom website design vs. website template:
What Is Custom Website Design?
A custom website design is a unique and original website created from scratch as per your specific business requirements. It is not based on any pre-designed template. In custom website design, you get complete freedom to choose the look and feel, functionality, and features of your website as per your requirement.
Pros of Custom Website Design
Unique Design
A unique design helps you to stand out from the competition. It enables you to create a strong impression on your target audiences and differentiate your brand in the market. A custom design will give you an edge over your competitors, and no two businesses can have the same custom website design.
Scalability, Flexibility, Manageability
With custom website design, you get complete control over your website. You can easily scale up or down your website as per your business needs. You can also add new features and functionality to your website as and when required. It is very flexible and easy to manage.
You can easily add features and functionality to your website as per your specific business requirements. It is not possible with a website template. You will not be stuck in a box with a website design and allow your business to grow, depicting how cool your company is.
Better SEO
A custom website design can be easily optimized for better search engine ranking. You can add all the required SEO elements to your website and make it search engine friendly. With a custom website design, you can achieve better visibility and organic traffic to your website.
A solid web design agency will constantly be thinking of ways to help you rank higher in SERPs. They will look for ways to increase organic traffic to your website. The website template does not offer such features.
It can also help you create a responsive website design and choose the domain with www or non-www, which is very important for better ranking.
Cons of Custom Website Design
Costly
A custom website design is a bit costly compared to a website template. Therefore, you need to invest money to get a unique and original website designed for your business.
Time-consuming
A custom website design is time-consuming as it involves a lot of planning and designing. Understanding your business requirements and creating an entirely new website design takes time.
What Is a Website Template?
A website template is a predetermined site that you can buy and install on your domain. It is created by someone else, and you can customize it as per your need to some extent. Modification like layout, colors, font, images, etc., can be done in website templates. But, you cannot change the overall structure and design of the template. Website templates are much cheaper and quicker to develop than a custom website.
Pros of Website Templates
Cheap and Quick
A website template is cheaper and quicker to develop as compared to a custom website design. You can easily find a suitable website template for your business at a much lower price than WordPress themes. And, it takes minimum time to develop a website using a template.
These platforms offer hosting, domain, and a suite of business tools like payment processing and shipping integrations all in one spot. If you have a less budget and want
To quickly get a website up and running, a template is a way to go.
Better Support
Website templates come with better support as compared to a custom website design. Most of the template providers offer good customer support. They have a dedicated team to help you with any issue you face while using their template.
With a custom website design, you need to rely on your web design agency for support. However, they may not be able to help you with all your issues spontaneously as they have other clients to take care of.
Cons of Website Templates
Less Flexible and Scalable
Website templates are less flexible and scalable as compared to custom website designs. As a result, you cannot easily scale up or down your website as per your business needs. And, it is not easy to add new features and functionality to your website.
Less Customization
Website templates offer less customization as compared to custom website designs. For example, you cannot change the overall structure and design of the template. And, it is not possible to add new features and functionality to your website.
Static Design: What You See is What You Get
The design of a website template is static. You cannot change it as per your business needs and requirements. Therefore, if you love the template’s design, you have to use it as it is.
Who Should Get a Custom Web Design?
Custom web design is ideal for businesses that
- Have the budget to invest in a completely new website
- Want a unique and original website design
- If you need a highly scalable and flexible website
- Require a lot of customization and new features
- Need better support from their web design agency
Who Should Get a Website Template?
A website template is ideal for businesses that
- Have a minimum budget and want to get a website up and running quickly
- Need a simple website
- Do not require a lot of customization and new features
- Do not need a highly scalable and flexible website
- If okay with a static design
In Conclusion
It is crucial to understand your business needs and requirements before you decide which one to choose for your business. If you need a simple website quickly and have a limited budget, go for a website template. But, if you need a unique and original website, it is better to get a custom web design service.
Web design agencies help you with both custom web design and website templates. So, you can explain your requirements to them, and they will help you decide which one is better for your business.