Once you’ve made the decision to invest in a new website, you’ll inevitably find yourself in front of a common dilemma: should you go for a custom web design service or opt for a template website? And if you’re new to this whole website creation process, this may not be the easiest of decisions to make, because what’s the difference between the two anyways?
In this guide, we’ll walk you through precisely that and highlight the pros and cons of both options, so you can make an informed decision that best suits your needs. Spoiler alert: there’s no winner between the two—it all depends on what you’re looking for in your website.
What Is a Custom Website Design?
When a website is designed and developed from scratch according to the specific needs and requirements of a client, it’s referred to as a custom website design. This means that the entire website, including its design, features, and functionalities, is tailor-made for a particular business or individual.
The Pros of Custom Website Design
Like all things custom-made, a custom website design has its own set of benefits. Here are the ones that make it a popular choice:
Fully Custom Branding
Color scheme? Typography? Branding elements? A custom website design allows for complete branding customization, making sure that every customer touchpoint is aligned with your brand image and identity. There are minimal to no limitations on how you want your website to look, so let your creativity run wild!
Unique Designs
As your website will be designed specifically for your business/brand, it won’t look like any other website on the internet. The entire browsing experience will be different than that of your competitors, making it stand out and be memorable for potential customers. This will also help in setting your business apart from others and creating a unique identity in the market.
Prioritized User Experience
With a custom website, you can leverage all the data you have on your target audience and their behavior to create a user experience that ticks all the right boxes. From interactive elements and personalized content to simplified navigation and intuitive design, the possibilities are endless. You won’t only attract them to your website but also keep them engaged, resulting in higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
Scalability
A custom website design is highly scalable, meaning it can grow and adapt as your business grows. If down the line, you need a sophisticated booking system, a customer portal, a mobile app integration, or anything else, a custom website can easily accommodate those changes. It also allows for future updates and maintenance without significant disruptions to your website’s functionality.
SEO-Friendliness
Custom websites are built from scratch, allowing developers to optimize every aspect of their code for search engine ranking factors. This includes page loading speed, responsive design, meta tags, and more. This puts your website in a better position to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), increasing its visibility and potential for organic traffic.
The Challenges of Custom Website Design
Although the benefits of custom website design are undeniable, they aren’t without their challenges. Below are some common ones:
Higher Cost
Custom website design requires more time, effort, and expertise compared to using a pre-designed template. This translates to higher costs for you as a client, particularly if you require a complex website with advanced features and functionalities.
Longer Development Time
Given that custom website design is done from the ground up, it naturally takes longer to develop compared to using a template. There’s an entire process of planning, wireframing, coding, and testing involved, which can take several weeks to months before your website is ready to launch.
More Resource-Intensive
Developing a custom website requires a team of skilled professionals, including web designers, front-end and back-end developers, quality assurance testers, and more. On top of this equating to higher costs, it also means that the process is a collaborative one, during which you’ll need to be available for feedback and decision-making throughout the entire process.
Who It’s Ideal For
With that said, custom website development is ideal for you if:
- You have specific goals that can’t be met by pre-made templates
- Your brand has a unique aesthetic or functionality
- You expect to scale or evolve your site over time
- You want full control over your website’s code and features
What is a Template Website?
In comparison, a template website is a pre-designed website that you can purchase or download and customize to fit your needs. Templates often have predetermined layouts, colors, fonts, and features. All you need to do is add your own content and branding to make it your own.
The Pros of Template Website Design
Template websites come with a range of advantages for those who are new to building websites. Those include:
Affordability
Given that templates are pre-designed and readily available, they’re often much cheaper than custom websites. Plus, with the vast array of templates available, you’re sure to find one that fits your budget while still providing a professional and polished look.
Quick Set-Up Time
With pre-designed templates, all the hard work has been done for you already. You don’t have to spend weeks or months designing and building a website. They allow you to have your website up and running in a matter of hours or days (maximum), saving you time and hassle.
Ease of Use
Templates are designed with the average user in mind, meaning they’re usually very user-friendly and easy to navigate. You don’t need any coding or design skills to make changes to your template – simply use the provided customization options or drag-and-drop features.
The Challenges of Template Website Design
Once again, just like any other product or service, there are challenges associated with using website templates (but not too many, we promise!) Here are the main ones:
Limited Customization Options
Templates are designed with specific layouts and features, so you may not be able to fully customize them to fit your exact vision. However, most templates do offer some level of flexibility, such as color and font choices, so you can still add your personal touch.
Potential SEO Limitations
Search engines look for certain elements on a website to determine its relevance and ranking. Some templates may not have these elements, making it harder for your site to be discovered by search engines. There are workarounds for this, such as utilizing certain SEO plugins or manually adding in necessary elements, but it’s important to keep this in mind when choosing a template.
Scalability and Customization
While templates may offer a variety of layout and design choices, they can be restrictive in terms of adding new features or making significant changes to the website’s structure. This could limit your ability to expand your website in the future as your business grows.
Who It’s Ideal For
Given this combination of pros and cons, website templates are ideal for you if:
- You want a simple website with a basic design and layout
- You have limited technical skills or resources
- You’re on a tight budget
- You need to create a website quickly
Custom Website or Template: Which One to Choose?
Now that you have the full picture of what a custom website and a website template each bring to the table, the choice really comes down to your specific needs and goals. To recap in a nutshell:
- Custom websites offer complete flexibility and control over design and functionality, but require more time, resources, and technical expertise to come to life.
- Website templates are more affordable and faster to set up, but may have limited customization options and aren’t meant for complex websites.
But remember that no matter what you decide, we’re here to make it happen!
At ShiftWeb, we’re all about building custom sites that reflect what makes your business special and fit your brand like a glove. Be it one that comes with all the bells and whistles from day one or one that’s simple today but built for your business’s future, consider it done.
And at ShiftWeb Sites, we bring you the best of both worlds with semi-custom websites with templates. You’re able to choose from our library of 300+ templates and get up to 10 hours of customization—all at a fraction of the cost of a fully custom site.
So, which will it be? A fully custom website or a semi-custom one? I guess we’ll know when you reach out to us! Let’s put your website in motion together.