photo: BreadnBeyond
custom websites vs premade templates
Every customer expects the company they work with to own a website. As you work on to ensure your company has an online presence, one key decision you need to make is the design of your website. In most cases, this choice boils down to acquiring a premade template vs. getting a custom web design.
Normally, premade templates or themes are sold to a wide range of businesses at a reduced cost, and are usually finished. On the other hand, custom websites are unique to a company, and that company has to collaborate with the web design experts to get a finished product.
Picking a generic free template may be appealing since its less costly, but will it be advantageous when it comes to the covering the needs of your business in the long run? To help you make an informed decision, we shall be discussing the reasons why you should get a custom website design instead and how to pick a suitable custom web design company like Web Design Auckland.
reasons why you need a custom website
1. it will be optimised for top ranking
A custom website is usually SEO friendly, meaning its perfect for digital marketing. This means it can quickly climb upwards in a search engine more than a generic free site. If your site stays longer on search engines, more people will see the site and start linking to it. Such links are vital because they will boost your rankings.
You should know that every day your website performs poorly online, your competitor is gathering more links and moving to a higher rank. A custom site is specifically designed to appear in top search engine ranking so, if you want to increase your pace against your competitors when it comes to websites, you should go for the custom-made site. Website design experts can design websites that attain high rankings and become visible to a wide internet audience.
2. it will be excellent for digital marketing & print media
Take some time to closely examine top sites that rank near the top of search engines without utilising sponsored ads and you will realize that they aren’t the free templates. So, if you really want clients to find your company online, rather than your competitors’ sites, you should make an informed decision by investing in a custom website designed by a professional website design developer. One who will ensure the design elements are not only search engine friendly but can be utilised for print.
3. it will be professional & unique in appearance
How do you handle your day to day business operations?
The chances are that you give a lot of importance to the quality of your services or products, not the price alone. This same concept applies to a website. When compared to a custom-made site, those made using free templates exhibit a lack of uniqueness and are of poor quality. Customers tend to correlate your unimpressive online 'me-to' representation to the kinds of products and services you provide. So a poor site will definitely drive away any potential clients looking for top quality services and professionalism.
4. you will have ongoing help & support
Cheap websites do not offer the same advantages as custom made ones. You will not get ongoing quick support, dedicated assistance and expertise from professionals. But, if you go for a reputable and reliable web design company, you can be assured of getting a well thought-out site which will appeal to your target market and showcase your company’s excellence. Such web design professionals can also help you develop your online presence with social media and digital marketing once the website is built.
5. it will show you are serious about what you do
When you have a professional-looking site, you will differentiate your site from the other many template sites out there and manage to maintain a decent online presence. It will also help you to have a favorable first impression from your visitors, hence boosting the chances or turning them into customers. This leads to increased sales and profits. Ensure you work with a company that’s experienced in this field to gain all these benefits.
6. it's timeless
A customized site can be improved, modified and tweaked more easily without incurring design fails and a lot of expense. A template site, on the other hand, cannot be changed, and this is disadvantageous when it becomes outdated.
When you get a custom site, it will be future proofed and fully functional. Since you have hired qualified web developers to work on your site, you will be able to inform them about your needs, the site functionality you require and how you want it to look. The experts will also ensure your website is fully functional, properly optimised with the latest SEO strategy, is user-friendly and well-targeted. You may decide to add other functional features that are not offered by a template site, particularly useful tools for running the business.
7. updating & configuring templates takes time
Since a provider sets a lot of limitations when designing a template website, you will be forced to spend a lot of hours and days configuring and updating your site. And don’t expect to get excellent services when you buy a cheap site. The template providers’ aim is to sell as many templates as possible with very limited support available. Often there is also a language barrier which makes support an uphill battle.
8. a custom web design will align with your brand
Other than impressing visitors, customised sites allow business owners to reflect their logo, brochure, content, signage, etc. helping them keep their branding intact. All this is quite significant when it comes to brand recognition and getting the confidence and trust of your clients. By choosing a custom-made site, you will be building a brand you’ll be proud of. This is an excellent investment because it’ll promote your business operations continuously for more years. Unlike the template sites that come and go, customised sites stay online for a long time. Evidently, getting a custom site is a long-term option for a smart business owner.
As you can see, customised websites provide lots of advantages to business owners who want to build their web presence. Make sure you work with a company that can tailor your site skillfully so that it can meet the unique needs of your business.
Now to the next problem: how do you pick a reliable web design agency for designing your custom website in New Zealand?
Read about things to consider when choosing a web design company.