Bespoke vs Template: Building Your Dream Website vs Picking a Pre-Made One
Posted on 2nd April 2024 at 11:22
It’s never been more important to have a website. Your online presence today is the equivalent of your traditional shop window. In the UK alone, 66.33 million people are using the internet; that’s nearly 98% of the population.
Your business website is the number one tool for promoting your business. So, making sure your website is well-designed and fully optimised helps you reach your customers, increases website traffic, establishes credibility, boosts online visibility, improves search ranking and improves engagement with your customers. In fact, first impressions from users are 94% design-related.
But when it comes to designing and building a website, there’s a decision to be made. Do you opt for a bespoke design or use a web template? There are cost advantages to using a template design, particularly for start-up businesses, but choosing a bespoke design and build could be more effective in the long term.
The importance of good website design
Ensuring good website design is important for various reasons, including drawing attention and acting as a platform for promoting your products and services. A well-designed, attractive website will deliver that all-important positive first impression and help in standing out in comparison to competitors. Indeed, it’s reported that a user will form an opinion about your web design in just 0.5 seconds.
Here are good reasons why website design matters:
SEO. An SEO-optimised website will boost organic searches online. This includes considering where your CTAs are located, user experience, functionality and engaging content.
Builds trust. A well-presented website that includes reviews and testimonials, as well as links to professional associations and backlinks, will provide a better user experience, helping build trust and credibility.
Brand consistency. Building brand consistency across your web pages, social media channels and other marketing channels goes a long way to gaining loyalty and engagement with customers.
User experience. The better the website design and build, the more likely it will deliver a positive user experience. 88% of online consumers are unlikely to return after a bad experience.
Performance. Great web design that is attractive to the eye and easy to use will drive traffic and encourage visitors to explore further, improving conversion rates and ultimately, your bottom line.
Recommendations/social proof. Statistics reveal that 57% of internet users won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website. That’s a lot to lose due to an unresponsive, slow-loading website.
Now you know why website design is important, let’s discuss the differences between bespoke and template web designs.
Bespoke vs template web design
Plenty of web-building platforms and web designers offer a huge range of template designs. But, what’s the difference between the two?
Well, a custom website is designed and built from scratch by a website designer/developer. However, a template website can be built by anyone from a predetermined design, or template. Let’s look at some other differences.
Adaptability and scalability. A template website is far less flexible and is limited in the scalability and adaptability you will need as your Coventry business grows. However, a custom website will be built to include the functionality and flexibility necessary to allow it to grow and develop with your business, making it easier to add new features or expand your product range.
Security. A template design will usually rely on third-party security providers and updates, with security coding that may not be able to run with the latest plugins or CMS security versions. But, with a custom website, you don’t need to rely on third-party updates or outdated coding, ensuring your web security is consistent and thorough.
Functionality. Template designs come with limited functionality while an experienced web developer will add the functionality you need.
Appearance. Whilst the template may be what you wanted initially, particularly if you are a start-up business and funds are limited, there is little room for making changes to the design and layout of the website. With a custom website, the website designer will make any changes you want. Also, there is the option to update it later – there are no limitations to the look and layout of the website.
SEO. Search Engine Optimisation is essential for any business, particularly when it comes to website design. Whilst most templates come with basic SEO capabilities, you may find that there is limited control over how these tactics are implemented due to the built-in CMS features. But, with a custom-built website, customised SEO options can be incorporated, adapted and changed, including specific URLs, the metadata and the schema markup.
Maintenance. Although most template designs are easy to maintain and there is usually plenty of support if you need it, keeping it up-to-date can be a time-consuming exercise. The advantage of a custom website is that it can be built with an easy-to-use CMS that has unique coding specific to your website. This allows developers to fix any problems quickly and apply updates when needed.
There’s a lot to be said for template websites, especially if you have a start-up business or side hustle and funds are limited. But it’s important to remember that if you choose this option you must be aware of the associated limitations.
When considering bespoke vs template website design, think about the future of your business in terms of growth, expansion, flexibility and security. The answers to these may determine which choice you make and, while a template may seem a better decision initially, long-term it could hold you back.
At it’seeze Coventry, we specialise in creating and building mobile-friendly, SEO-optimised websites that perform beyond your expectations. We will design a website that truly reflects your business and win customers. With ongoing support and all the tools you need to stay secure, get in touch with us for hassle-free web design in Coventry.
Share this post: