Hopefully, the vast majority of companies today are past the point of simply knowing they need a website and are looking for ways to maximize their online presence. So that naturally leads to the debate between templated or custom-built websites.
With templated sites, the design and coding are already built—you just have to insert your logo, images and content. Obviously, this costs much less than a customized design; however, it may cost you more in the long run via downtime, technical support and updates that might require a whole new design.
Yes, customized websites cost more, but they are worth every penny. Here’s why.
They help you make a good first impression.
Templated sites are fast, easy and cheap—but is that the impression you want consumers to have about your company?
When someone lands on your homepage, it’s the equivalent to walking through your front door. If you have a poorly designed physical space and customers can’t find what they’re looking for, you shouldn’t be surprised when they walk out the door.
The same goes for websites. Consumers who are greeted by a boring or irrelevant design combined with inconsiderate navigation, will click “back” in a heartbeat.
So, do yourself a favor and treat your website like another location in order to leave the best first impression possible.
They reinforce your brand.
Your company is unique, so your website should be too. Customized sites provide the opportunity to have a unique design that appropriately reflects your brand.
Although the turnaround is faster, web builder sites offer templated themes that you—or anyone else—can choose. Thus, you run the risk of having a site that looks exactly like, or similar to, another company or even a competitor.
Custom-built sites, however, are tailored to your needs. You don’t have to fit your company into a box because we’ll build the box for you.
They optimize your user experience.
When you build your own box, you can also tailor your user experience, meaning we can design a thoughtful navigation with your specific customer in mind.
All of our sites are mobile friendly, so once you approve a desktop design, we further customize the arrangement of navigation, graphics and content to shift based on screen size. This ensures that your user receives the best possible layout for consuming your content, regardless of the device on which it is viewed.
We can also make sure your site loads as quickly as possible. When using a pre-built template, you may be loaded down with functionality that you don’t need—but you still have it and it still affects the time it takes your page to load. Custom sites, on the other hand, have no waste because if you don’t need it, we won’t build it
They eliminate your frustration.
Creating your own site sounds easy enough if the design and functionality are ready-made, but the end result may not be exactly, or anything like, what you envisioned. And consumers may not respond well to it either.
Rather than trying to decide and/or guessing what to do on your own, you can have an entire team of professionals at your disposal. Our project managers, developers, graphic designers and content writers are all here to guide and advise you in the process of planning and building the perfect site for your company.
That may include any or all of the following: a content management system that is easy for you to update, SEO-friendly content that improves your search results, custom application programming interface (API) solutions, custom integration with existing API’s and web services and business email.
Frustration at maintaining the site is also eliminated. When something is amiss, there’s no more wondering who to call and then waiting on hold for tech support—from content updates and managing email accounts to fixing broken links and renewing domains, one phone number is all it takes.
They can easily be expanded or updated.
As businesses grow and change, so too should their websites. Customized sites offer the flexibility to do just that. With a built-in content management system, you can easily update your content and images on a regular basis. If you’re not comfortable managing your content, we can certainly handle those changes for you, either occasionally or on a regular basis.
Your trusted team of professionals is also available for any major renovations—like galleries, e-commerce or custom graphics. Remember that customization means you are completely in charge of how you want your site to look and function. Whenever you feel a change is needed, we can help you make those updates quickly and efficiently.
They keep your information secure.
Platforms from website builders are widely used and easy to find, so they are easily targeted when it comes to hacking. If you have a common content management system that everyone else is learning and using, you’re that much more vulnerable because when one site is breached, the door is opened to all of the others.
The unique code of a custom-built site adds one more layer of security because it is much more difficult to breach and thus better protects your information from malicious intent.
Just like anything tailor-made, a customized website costs more than an off-the-rack template. But the return of having a unique site that efficiently supports your business makes the additional cost on the frontend worthwhile.
The key is to think of your website as an investment and not something that you are simply expected to have—because if designed and utilized properly, it can be one of your greatest assets.
Invest in your company today. Give us a call.