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Why a custom web design is better than a templated design
Every day, business owners and marketing executives are tearing their hair out trying to decide how much or how little to invest in redesigning their embarrassingly outdated websites. We see it all the time.
Website design templates are great solutions for certain scenarios, just as custom websites are necessary for others.
At Yellow Peach we specialise in bespoke WordPress websites as they offer several advantages over using an off-the-shelf template. Below we’ve highlighted some of those reasons why we think a tailored solution is the right one.
Tailored to your brand
The simple truth is that if brand positioning is amongst the key objectives you have for your new website, and rightly it should be, then only a custom design will do.
A custom design allows you to create a website that reflects your brand identity and personality, as well as ensuring you stand out from your competitors. A custom website provides a blank canvas to start from, on which to create a bespoke experience and build an emotive connection with your customers. You will have complete control over the visual elements, layout, and features ensuring a unique and memorable user experience.
A generic website template can never capture the essence of what makes your business unique, and often imposes restrictions on the ability to differentiate your brand, and powerfully convey your offerings and credibility.
Functionality and scalability
Custom websites can be built to accommodate specific needs and will be scalable to accommodate future business growth. You can incorporate custom features, unique functionality and integrations that are tailored to your requirements, and those of your audience. Whether it’s an advanced form integration, an e-commerce solution, booking facility or interactive maps, we can create a website that provides a seamless user experience and meets your particular goals.
A template based website, however, may have limitations in terms of customisation and scalability, and not all templates are designed to be fully responsive. This is not a luxury but a necessity considering that mobile traffic accounts for more than half of all internet traffic these days. Templates tend to be a “one size fits all” solution, and come with lots of extra features you may or may not need. Features that can slow your site down or create coding conflicts when you try to extend the functionality of your website further down the line.
Optimal performance
Custom websites are designed and developed with performance in mind, built with clean code and optimised for superior performance. This results in faster loading times, smooth navigation, overall better user experience, and improved search engine rankings. In addition, custom websites are less susceptible to common vulnerabilities since they are not built on widely-used platforms. Developers can implement robust security measures to safeguard against potential threats.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
Custom websites enable the implementation of SEO best practices making it easier for search engines to crawl and index the site. You have control over the site structure, meta data, heading tags, and other SEO elements. So your business can maintain a competitive edge with improved visibility and higher rankings in search engine results. On the other hand, templates may not always be optimised for SEO or may have limitations in terms of customisation.
Better long-term investment
While custom websites may require a higher upfront investment and take time to design and build compared to using templates, they offer much better long-term value. They can expand and evolve with your business, add value to your brand’s performance, and give you complete ownership to make updates and changes as required.
If you prioritise uniqueness, flexibility, scalability, performance and SEO then a custom web design is generally considered the superior choice and a cost effective solution over its lifecycle.
Conclusion
It can seem like a stressful decision at first, but the choice between a custom website and website template is a no-brainer if you know the right questions to ask. If you aren’t limited by budget and timeline, a custom website is nearly always the way to go.
Website templates come with too many limitations on brand expression, functionality, and scalability. Any up-front savings they offer will generally end up costing you more down the road.
A custom website is created specifically for your needs, tailored to your brand’s identity and configured to grow with you into the future, and ultimately providing you with a powerful online presence.
