Why Do I Need A Bespoke Website, Rather Than A Pre-Built Template Website?
Some Drawbacks of a Template System
- Pre-built template websites are designed to be quickly and easily put together using standardised code and blocks. This means that you, along with potentially thousands of other users, are effectively using the same design for your new website. A bespoke website design will provide you with uniqueness.
- Many pre-built template websites are hard coded to always show the builder’s brand on each page. This will quickly show your clients that you are using an off-the-shelf generic website. How does that fit with your brand image?
- There is an inherent lack of control over how the blocks and elements of a pre-built template function under different scenarios. Their mobile responsiveness will be calculated or emulated upon screen size, rather than designed especially for specific screen resolutions and sizes.
- Having a web designer create a new website for you on a pre-built template can prove to be false economy. You can end up paying way over the odds because you get the website designer to alter the template if it does not fit what you want, out of the box. The result can be a costly compromise where you find yourself paying prices nearer bespoke website design costs, but with a sub-standard result.
Why Bespoke Web Design Is Better
Bespoke website design is the difference between buying an off-the-peg High Street store suit, and a bespoke Savile Row suit. The High Street suit is perfectly usable, but it lacks the quality of cloth and fit. A bespoke Savile Row suit will be measured to fit perfectly, be of the finest cloth and will look amazing. The same is true with a bespoke website.
The client will be at the forefront with bespoke website design, rather than the website itself. Right from the start, the bespoke website designer will analyse the client’s business’s image, its business requirements, its target audience, and much more. The designing phase will take into account the company’s brand image and colours to make sure that the website matches all products and branding.
The Web Designer's Expertise
When you commission a bespoke website, you are also in reality taking on the website designer’s expertise. With a bespoke website, you will be able to leverage the web designer’s skill to help you make the most of technical tricks and ideas to give your website the edge over your competitors.
What if you ask your web designer if this or that idea is possible? A good bespoke website designer will in most cases be able to find you a solution to creating your idea, though in some cases it may require custom coding to develop the result. You will not get this sort of service – or ability – through a pre-built template system.
Is Bespoke Web Design Expensive?
It depends upon your requirements! A large, complex eCommerce website can cost a lot of money. However, you may be surprised as to how little a relatively simple bespoke website designed for you can cost, especially when compared to template websites. Unfortunately, some template website companies can be unscrupulous and charge fees which are way more than they are worth.
Bespoke websites for the average small company needing an informational website, should generally cost in the region of £3,000 to £6,000, depending upon specification. If a very simple two to four page bespoke website is wanted, then you could find the price dropping to as little as £1,500 - £2,500. Our advice would be to always get a selection of quotations for bespoke website design before going with a pre-built template company, on the assumption that they will always be cheaper. It is not always the case!
Technology
Pre-built websites are based upon the business model of selling lots of websites to cover the cost of the development of the system. Developing pre-built / one-size-fits-all website platforms is an expensive business. It will also mean that the underlying technology could be old.
A bespoke website will always be designed using the latest technology. It should also be able to keep up with changes in technology as new things come along. The last thing you want is to spend a sizeable sum on your website to find that within a year or two that it is technologically obsolete. If you want to keep ahead of your competition, get a bespoke website designed for you.
Search Engine Optimisation
Website Maintenance & Security
Summary
As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for! If you need and want excellence, you need a bespoke website designed to suit your precise purpose.
Bespoke website design gives you the flexibility to have control of the website which you have commissioned. It will look exactly as you want it to and will have all the features you need to fulfil the main goals of the website
Always get a quotation from a bespoke website designer before making a decision to use an off-the-shelf template website. Be fully open about your maximum budget for your project. You may be pleasantly surprised about the cost and even happier about the outcome! We hope that this post about 8 reasons to choose bespoke website design has helped you. We would love to hear from you if you have more questions.