Six reasons why a custom website is best for your business
Invest in a custom website design vs. template to establish a unique digital presence that acts as a touch point for your sales efforts
With 50% of consumers reporting that a business’s website design directly influences their opinion of the brand as a whole, it’s clear that professional and strategic web design is vital to the success of your business’ digital marketing efforts. [1]
When it comes to choosing between a custom and template website design, a custom website is often essential to achieving all the goals that you want your site to reach.
Keep reading for the top six reasons a custom website is the right choice for your business.
#1: Save time and money in the long run.
Although a template website can be up and running more quickly than a custom one, you will run into many time-consuming problems later on.
A custom website typically takes six to eight weeks on average (depending on the project scope, client feedback, and availability for presentations), but if you choose a reputable web design team, there is a narrow chance that there will be lingering technical problems.
In addition to saving time, making the upfront investment in a custom website will also save you money long-term.
A simple search will show you that you could download a free generic template to work with, but that’s because it requires none of the extensive planning and strategy of a custom site. A custom design process will ensure your website is done right the first time and that it is unique to your business. It’ll exceed your expectations, feature clear calls to action (CTAs), follow your brand guidelines, and cater to your target audience.
By creating a custom website that is properly designed and developed from the start, your website will be able to evolve with your business without the limitations and restraints of a template site. A custom website will save your business from downtime and loss of revenue in the future.
#2: Express your business’s individuality.
If you’re a small business owner just starting out, a one-size-fits-all template website could be sufficient for what you need. However, businesses that want to stand out and grow need a website that is uniquely designed to fit their brand and reach their goals.
On a template website, you may be able to change some colors, pictures, and text, but the ability to change the overall layout or configuration is rare. Typefaces, button styles, navigation links, and animations all add to the user experience on your website, and unfortunately, these will almost always remain the same for templates.
On top of that, many template themes aren’t even responsive, which is a major point of concern considering 73% of web designers believe that the number one reason visitors leave a website is a non-responsive design. [2]
When you get a custom design, your website will accurately communicate your unique selling propositions (USPs) through both the design and copy to help you stand out amongst your competitors.
The choice of individuality will make a powerful impression on your existing clients and prospective customers, generating better results than a generic template through increased site visits and low bounce rates.
#3: Maintain ownership of your website.
If you have an agency design a custom website for you, then it’s your website meaning you will maintain complete ownership of the site once it’s live.
If you download a website template theme or use an online website builder, you’re simply leasing a website that belongs to the developer that created it, giving you no rights to the site or its assets. While you might save money in the moment by downloading a template, issues with ownership can easily cost you more time and money down the road than it would’ve cost to get a custom site.
#4: Ensure your website is properly secure.
If you choose to use a template theme for your website, there is a significantly higher threat of cyber security issues, which is especially risky for e-commerce businesses.
Considering 64% of people would leave a website immediately if it was not secure and 46% would not enter their name, password, or bank details into an unsecured website, risking your site’s security could significantly decrease your number of site visits and sales leads. [3]
To protect your business and clients, work with a trusted web design agency to ensure that your custom designed website is secure with features such as HTTPS, SSL certification, and reCAPTCHA.
#5: Ongoing website maintenance support.
If you download a template website theme, there is typically a small degree of support included in your purchase that allows you to email the web developer with questions and download new updates. More complicated tasks like customization and installation services are not included with a drag and drop website.
That’s why it’s best to work with a web design agency that will create a custom website and be there for you to call or email with questions once it’s been launched. Whether it’s making updates to improve functionality, security, or user experience, an agency can take care of everything you need so you don’t have to worry about it.
Many agencies will offer the option to sign up for ongoing website maintenance or be available for as needed support depending on your level of need after your custom site is live.
#6: Properly optimize your website for search engines.
In modern-day business, it’s essential that your website is built according to best search engine optimization (SEO) practices to ensure it’s worth your investment.
Agencies that design custom websites will be able to implement practices that Google’s search algorithm has listed as important ranking factors to increase your online visibility over competitors. Considering the average click-through-rate on Google drops from 28.5% at position one to 15.7% at position two, the more efforts you pool towards increasing your ranking on search engines is extremely worthwhile for your business. [4]
The right agency will optimize your site for SEO by ensuring you have optimal site speed, a responsive design, intuitive navigation structure, strong security features, and properly optimized images.
There are many options to consider when creating a website for your business, but none is more important than deciding to choose a custom web design. When compared side-by-side, it’s not hard to see that the long-term value of a custom website far outweighs the short-term perks of a template web design.
What are you waiting for?
It’s time for our team to create a custom website for your business! At Different Perspective, our team exclusively builds custom WordPress websites because we believe every business is unique, so their website should be too.
After addressing your business goals, we begin our website projects by developing the content and then designing a site that matches your brand identity.
We guarantee your custom website will be visually stunning, content-rich, and SEO-ready as the foundation you need to create a successful marketing campaign that will help you improve customer experience, increase conversion rates, and boost your brand message.
Interested in learning more?
Explore all the details of our website design services.
Sources:
2: GoodFirms | Website Design Stats And Trends For Small Businesses
3: Real Business | Stuck with an unsecured business site? Here’s what your customers are thinking.
4: SISTRIX | Why (almost) everything you knew about Google CTR is no longer valid
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