Templates vs Custom Website for Your Business

A brand new website is one of the best solutions to give your business a fresh start and help define your brand. However, a website requires careful consideration and detailed planning for a successful build and launch. Are you ready to reinvent your brand for the New Year? Discover the pros and cons of implementing a custom website or pre-existing template for your business.

Custom Website Build

Pros

First, is it important for your business to be unique and stand out from competitors? A custom website combines your personalized touch with your business needs and branding. Also, opting for a custom designed website allows for the freedom to modify every inch (or pixel in this case) of the design. Engaging features such as animations that are unique to your brand persona add character, as opposed to the alternative options available within modifying a template. Plus, this gives the advantage to display your company culture and professional business identity to online users. After all—first impressions matter.

Furthermore, custom websites consider and keep search engine optimization (SEO) in mind. For example, page speed or loading speed can be seamlessly structured to be faster than template websites, which affects SEO performance. Best of all, a custom website is both search engine friendly and responsive. Meaning, it is designed to automatically adjust for various screen sizes across a wide array of browsers and devices. Is your website down or experiencing any troubles? A custom website built and backed by professional web developers will provide your business the web support you may need to accurately diagnose or troubleshoot any problems.

Cons

In comparison to pre-existing templates, custom websites will evidently cost more. However, you are paying for your very own preferences and strategic branding. You get what you pay for. Secondly, custom websites require careful planning and take more time to develop. If you are in need of a website within a short amount of time, a template choice is the way to go. Moreover, you can expect a realistic finished custom website to take multiple weeks to months depending on the website design, content, structure, and necessary edits or changes.

Website Template (Preexisting/Pre Made)

Pros

Need a website that is functional, yet features a simple and easy layout you love? A pre-made template website allows for a selection of color and font choices, but the general layout stays as-is. If in-depth customization is not of importance, a template will present a website that looks similar to others out there, but will be easily modified to reflect your brand as much as possible through navigation, imagery, content, and concept.

Additionally, choosing a template website can relieve any possible stress into figuring out specifics. Templates are essentially ready for a quicker launch time than a custom website. Most importantly, templates are cheaper and can support most low budgets. Even if you lack coding knowledge or do not fully understand how websites function, content is easy to upload and publish in a timely manner.

Cons

In comparison, templates are cheaper and less time consuming than custom websites. However, they inherently have restricted customization with fewer options on how to present your brand. Online users tend to remember websites that are eye-catching, personal, and distinct. Unfortunately, templates regularly neglect SEO performance and are often not search engine friendly. You may experience longer loading speeds, affecting the user experience. This is one factor that disinterests online users and prevents them from returning. Lastly, downloading a preexisting template from the internet frequently comes with no support and can be isolating if you have minimal experience with them. It is sometimes difficult to reach out to the individual that created the template to ask specific questions or effectively troubleshoot. We advise to reach out to a professional to help you with a template design to ensure it is up to date and to avoid issues later on.

Final Thoughts

Overall, a website is an integral component to establish your business online. Select a website solution that works best for your company. It is always important to keep budget and turnaround time in mind. However, do not forget what is most important to your business, brand, and target audience.

Start the New Year with a New Website Design from Bigfin.com

Bigfin.com is an industry leader in online advertising such mobile advertising, SEO and custom web design. Our comprehensive digital marketing solutions include social media management as well as content creation and management. Looking for fresh and authentic content or help with search engine optimization? Contact us online or by phone at (425) 822-8200.