When you are considering a new website (or revamping an old one) it’s imperative that you understand how the website is built. Your web developer can create your website in two very distinct ways; they can build a custom-designed website or a theme-designed (template) website.
While the aesthetic differences between these two options can be subtle, the differences in cost, functionality, production and future maintainability are massive.
A custom-designed website is one that is designed, built and coded from the ground up with your business’ specific needs in mind. Building custom websites requires a highly advanced skill-set and much more time. As a result, custom websites are a bit more expensive at the outset.
A theme-designed website is one that uses an existing website with pre-designed elements as a starting point. Skilled designers can then customise the theme for your business. Creating websites this way drastically reduces the amount of time needed to build a website and therefore the cost involved.
Budget aside for a minute, when you should get a custom-designed website?
If you have special features that you absolutely need for your website, then going with a custom solution may be right for you. Some examples may include:
- You need users to have unique logins where they can do things like view their account, leave reviews, post to forums, etc.
- You want a website that’s an exact live version of a mock up that’s designed, but not coded.
- You need specific functionality such as secure payment gateways, ecommerce functionality, booking functionality.
It’s important to understand that some website features can be the difference between needing a custom-built website and a theme-designed website. Having a discussion about what you need your website to do, both in the short term and the long term, with a professional website developer/designer should be your first step.
Some will warn that some of the risks involved in having a custom-designed websites include mobile-responsiveness not being guaranteed, a CMS (content management system) is not standard, and SEO-friendliness is not guaranteed, but this is far from the truth. Working with website developer/designer on a custom-designed website will ensure that you have all this functionality built into your business website, along with all the other functionality that you require.
Theme-designed websites are an out-of-the-box solution. While they often contain all the basics – mobile responsiveness, a CMS, built to be SEO-friendly, they have their limitations.
The main limitation is that customisations that may seem trivial can actually be difficult to implement. This is why if you want a carbon copy of a website concept that’s been designed, but not turned into a live website, it will need to be custom-designed.
Here are some examples of requests that may seem small, but can be very difficult:
- Can you put the logo in the middle of the header instead of on the left?
- Can you make the text fade-in, left-to-right?
The answers to these questions depend on whether or not the theme supports these requests.
Often using a theme-designed website can be more affordable in the short term but end up being a bit of a false economy. People are often surprised how affordable a custom-designed website can be and you end up with a website that suits your business requirements and those of your customers perfectly.
To find out more about custom-designed website options contact the team at Website Design Centre.
