Bespoke vs Template Design
There’s long been a debate about which is best; do you spend the money on a bespoke website or stick to the budget with a template design? But this begs another question - are bespoke websites more expensive than using a template design? In the last few years, your website has become more important than ever. The constantly evolving digital drive and increased internet use mean that, for many businesses, their website is their key marketing weapon.
Particularly for online businesses, but it also applies to physical businesses, your website is the first point of contact with your customers. Indeed, 75% of consumers will judge a business’s credibility based on the design of its website. Standing out and being memorable are two boxes that must be ticked. Aiming for uniqueness, engagement, informative and attractive are also on the list. So, with all that in mind, do you opt for bespoke or template?
Custom websites vs template websites
Click on this text to edit it.
Other key differences between a bespoke and template website design are:
Security. Template designs rely on third-party providers and security updates. You may find the in-built security coding may not be compatible with the latest plugins or CMS platforms. With a bespoke website, there are no third-party updates or outdated coding, ensuring the built-in security measures are robust and consistent.
Functionality. Template designs have less functionality available, while a custom-built website can have as much functionality added as you wish, with the capacity for more later.
Appearance. Most templates can be adjusted, but not by much, however a custom website can be designed as you wish.
SEO. Again, templates will incorporate a limited amount of SEO capabilities, and you probably won’t have much control over it because of the standard CMS that’s part of the template. However, with a bespoke design, you can customise all your SEO tactics to suit your company and be able to adapt them when needed.
Maintenance. Possibly, one of the major differences is maintenance. Template designs are generally easy to build and maintain, but keeping them updated is time-consuming. There is also the factor of the CMS; if it’s not one you’re familiar with or you are new to website builds, it may be confusing, and support is not always readily available. With a custom website design, an easy-to-use CMS incorporates coding unique to your website. Your website designer is on hand to ensure it is updated, run the necessary updates and fix any issues that arise.
Why bespoke website designs are better than templates
That first impression is all important, particularly when statistics reveal that visitors to your website will form an opinion about your business in about 50 milliseconds. That’s not long at all, so the better your website, the more you will retain the attention of your visitors.
So, let’s look at custom website design vs template website design across several important features:
1. SEO optimisation. With a custom website, you control your SEO activity, from placing your CTAs and optimising for organic and local searches to user experience and functionality.
2. Enhanced user experience. You can put the user’s experience at the heart of your website with intuitive navigation, functionality that is powerful and seamless, a well-designed user interface and logical organisation.
3. Scalability. Your website designer can build as much capacity as you like to allow for scalability and expansion as your business evolves and grows. This lets you integrate new features, add new products and services, increase functionality and improve usability in the future.
4. Greater security. You can implement a range of security measures tailored to your business, including the latest security protocols to reduce the risk of data breaches and ensure it is kept updated.
5. Higher search ranking. Being able to manage your own SEO tactics, there is more opportunity to rank higher on search engines. A recent study of billions of search results showed that more than 25% of people click the first result in a Google search result.
6. No need for plugins. Template designs have multiple plugins pre-installed that will impact your website’s performance, from page loading speed to user experience and functionality. With a bespoke-designed website there is no need for any plugins, so the performance and speed of your website are greatly enhanced.
When combined with a strategic content plan that conveys your business message to your target audience, a bespoke website is designed around your business, making it unique and consistent with your branding. It promotes a professional image, increases credibility and trust, and helps you establish your business as an authority within your industry. Ultimately, this leads to more visitors to the site and an increase in website conversions.
It’seeze is your professional web design company in Bristol, specialising in providing affordable website packages for start-ups and small businesses. Combining our easy-to-use website editor with ongoing expert local support, we build bespoke, high-quality, engaging websites that are fully SEO-optimised for local searches. Call us today to start building the website you deserve to make your business a success.
Share this post: